In January 2024, Disney approached us with a simple but notable ask: share some Disney magic with the world this holiday season. For a brand as beloved and renowned as Disney, they needed to deepen the connection between consumers and the master Disney brand.
As one of the world’s most beloved storytellers, we understood that Disney had the rare chance to create a story people might actively want to spend their time watching. So, we shifted our perspective. We collectively decided what we should make was not a Disney Holiday ad campaign, But a Disney short film about the holidays.

This meant shifting our metrics for success. A typically commercial brand campaign would optimize for reach, via the most cost-efficient (while still emotive) video lengths. But for a short film, success meant maximizing intrigue and desire to drive views: how many people would choose to go and watch it?

We needed to strike a balance between creating something unexpected to get noticed and talked about during the busy holiday period, while also feeling undeniably Disney. A piece of content that would surprise and delight audiences in a way only Disney could.

Cue ‘The Boy and the Octopus’ - an enchanting four-minute story of friendship between a little boy and a curious octopus who wants to see the world. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Taika Waititi and set to an iconic instrumental recording of ‘Part of Your World’ from Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Hosted on YouTube and Disney’s owned channels, including Disney+.

To maximize intrigue and excitement around the spot, we teased the film on our social channels in the days leading up to launch like Disney would for its traditional theatrical releases. When it came time to launch, we hosted the full-length spot on YouTube so anyone could access the magic.