Disney's holiday ad is a sweet tale about storytelling and family bonding

A lovely sequel to last year's advert.
 By 
Rachel Thompson
 on 
Disney's holiday ad is a sweet tale about storytelling and family bonding
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Haven't you heard? Now that Halloween is over (sob), we're officially in the "All I Want For Christmas Is You" season of the year. Here to herald the start of the holiday season is Disney's festive advert, which explores the power of storytelling.

The Stepdad is a three-minute animated video about the magic of reading for a young family. The film is a sequel to last year's Lola advert, which celebrated the traditions passed down from generation to generation.

This year's advert features Nicole, who's the granddaughter from last year's advert. She's now all grown up and a mum to Max and Ella and partner to Mike, the step-dad of her two kids. The story shows what happens when Mike moves into the family home and begins to bond with Max and Ella.

The tale revolves around a storybook given to Max by his birth dad, and how reading the book brings Mike, Max, and Ella closer.

Grammy winner Gregory Porter sings an original track "Love Runs Deeper", which will be available to download from 3 Nov. 2021, with 100 percent of the proceeds to be donated to Make-A-Wish, Disney's partner charity.

Topics Disney

Rachel Thompson, sits wearing a dress with yellow florals and black background.
Rachel Thompson
Features Editor

Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.

A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.

Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.


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