by Jason Snell
Fuzzy creatures find an iPhone in Apple’s 2025 holiday film
Apple’s annual tradition of commissioning a special holiday-themed commercial film continues this year with “A Critter Carol,” a two-minute long film starring an array of singing woodland creatures portrayed by hand-made puppets.
The film definitely gives off muppet vibes, what with the shaggy forest puppets, occasional good-natured mayhem, and humor amplified by the spot’s use of a fun song, “Friends,” by Flight of the Conchords. Muppet vibes are good.
In addition to being imbued by the spirit of the holidays, does the film spotlight a blue iPhone 17 Pro? Yes, Virginia, it does. And as you might expect, it was shot (by veteran Apple short director Mark Molloy) on iPhone. (There’s also a brief behind-the-scenes video that’s almost as cute as the film.)