One of Marvel Studios' most renowned directors and an Oscar winner has a new Disney+ special available to stream now. Having picked up a "Best Adapted Screenplay" Oscar for Jojo Rabbit, Taika Waititi is widely regarded as one of the MCU's most extraordinary talents for his work on Thor: Ragnarok. While most are not as high on his sequel, Love & Thunder, he remains a fan-favorite to this day.
After leading the way on The Boy & the Octopus last year, Taika Waititi is back to direct this year's Disney Holiday Short, Best Christmas Ever. This festive special is now streaming on Disney+ just in time for the holidays.
Best Christmas Ever stars The Conjuring: Last Rites newcomer Molly Cartwright as a young girl who draws a scribbly doodle on her Christmas list.
In the spirit of festive wonder, Santa mistook Molly's doodle for a wish, bringing her scribbly creation to life underneath the Christmas tree.
Molly and Doodles quickly struck up a close friendship, going swimming, enjoying rides, and going for ice cream, but there was always one unfortunate catch...
Sadly, as Doodles had no mouth in Molly's sketch, he couldn't speak, something which brought some upset after the carol singers came knocking.
However, Molly was able to make one last wish to Santa, gifting her a Mr Potato Head whose mouth and moustache she could stick on Doodles.
Doodles ecstatically proclaimed, "Mouth! I have a mouth! Oh wow, I have so much to tell you. You're the best friend in the world." This was all delivered in the infamous voice of Roseanne and Monsters, Inc. star John Goodman, who lends his talents to Doodles in this year's Holiday Short.
What's Next for Taika Waititi and Is He Returning to Marvel?
Looking into Waititi's future at Disney, the filmmaker has his next project lined up for the House of Mouse-owned FX: Very Young Frankenstein. The filmmaker is executive producing and directing the FX pilot based on Mel Brooks' 1974 horror-comedy that starred Gene Wilder, Young Frankenstein, with Zach Galifanakis, Kumail Nanjiani, Dolly Wolls, and Cary Elwes confirmed to appear.
Sadly, the director of Thor: Ragnarok and Love & Thunder's prospects at Marvel Studios appear more bleak, as rumor has it that Thor 5 will replace him as director if the project actually moves forward after Avengers: Secret Wars.
That's not to say Waititi is done in the superhero game, as The Hollywood Reporter confirmed this summer that, as a longtime fan of the comics, he will tackle a Judge Dredd reboot from The Fall Guy writer Drew Pearce in "one of the hottest packages of the year to hit the Hollywood marketplace."
Waititi was among many major talents who began developing their own Star Wars movie several years back, which he hyped up as a "really good idea." That said, like most of the movies that begin development in the galaxy far, far away, there has been minimal movement or signs that it will happen at all recently.
Taika Waititi Breaks Silence on His Disney+ Christmas Special
Alongside Best Christmas Ever, Disney released a behind-the-scenes featurette featuring director Taika Waititi, offering some insight into his holiday special.
Waititi pointed out how Best Christmas Ever's child-minded focus makes it "uniquely Disney" with a touch of "friendship and imagination:"
"This story is uniquely Disney because it's set in the world of a kid, and it's always great to see the world that we take for granted through the lens of a child. And we're doing it with friendship and imagination."
The filmmaker appeared to be getting just as involved as one would expect from someone who had done the motion capture for Korg and Surtur in his own Thor movies. In the heartfelt carol-singing scene, he looks to be standing in for the 2D-animated Doodles amongst Molly's festive family.
Untold Studios animator Adam Droy explained the process of crafting Doodles, who "needed to be wonky, but also charming:"
"Doodles needed to be wonky, but also charming. We leaned into loads of traditional animation techniques that are found in 2D animation. He needs to look like a crayon drawing from every single angle."
The full BTS featurette, featuring Taika Waititi, can be watched below:
A Holiday Short: Best Christmas Ever is streaming now on Disney+.
