This is the sort of thing I mean when I say I want a proper Christmas advert.

This year Disney went down the stepdad root of Christmas in following a man who has joined a family of three as the new stepdad and is trying to find his place with them while using the magic of Disney and their books to connect with them.

I liked how this advert had a story to it. We see the stepdad getting on with the new children learning who they are and why they love Disney and finding his place in the family. They decide to make a gingerbread house and unfortunately it crumbles, and this is almost a metaphor of a broken home, so the stepdad decides while the children are sleeping to build an even bigger and better gingerbread house for them that really connects them all together. It’s very deep in its symbolism of family and broken homes and new people coming into your lives but with a Christmas flare to it.

But I won’t lie if they did not include the parts of Disney in this advert, the parents reading the books to the children and the children reading books to each other and the books coming alive, really this advert could be for any company. It didn’t scream Disney to me and the Disney elements almost felt put in as an afterthought rather than being intertwined into the main story. I almost expected more from Disney after last year’s advert was absolutely spectacular and really surrounded the magic of Disney, this one didn’t and as I said, it could easily be an advert for any company.

That being said though I did enjoy it. I think it’s a lovely advert that looks at a different part of life that can be overshadowed often in family stories i.e. a new parent coming into the mix, and I appreciate that. There are a lot of children from broken homes who are dealing with new stepparents and it’s a scary and weird time and it can be very hard, even as the parent to go into this new world with children that don’t know you, and I think Disney portrayed this very well.

I feel children will enjoy this advert for the creativity of the books coming alive and parents will enjoy this advert because they can resonate with the character of the stepdad coming into this new family, however it’s not overly Christmas, but it is very sweet and I did enjoy it.

Watch the advert here and let me know what you think.

Until next time.

Published by shonaharding

Media graduate with a passion for reviewing film and TV. View all posts by shonaharding