Apple has unveiled its annual holiday short film, A Critter Carol, a whimsical story built around handmade puppets and filmed entirely on the company’s latest flagship, the iPhone 17 Pro. The three-minute piece follows a group of forest animals who stumble upon a lost phone and end up creating their own musical message about companionship.
Director Mark Molloy, who has collaborated with Apple on several past projects, says he approached the assignment as a test of how far a smartphone could go on a professional set. “The iPhone 17 Pro had far more range than I expected,” Molloy explains in Apple’s behind-the-scenes feature. “We could get perspectives and angles that would have been impossible with a traditional cinema rig. We even placed the phone directly inside the puppets’ hands to play with scale.”
The crew used the phone’s upgraded 8x optical-quality zoom, improved Center Stage front camera, and Dual Capture for split-angle moments. While Apple hasn’t disclosed the full technical workflow, the production appears to have relied heavily on ProRes RAW, a format introduced on the 17 Pro that preserves the sensor’s full dynamic data for grading work. ProRes RAW on the device supports Open Gate recording, capturing the full 4:3 readout of the camera modules — an approach long favored by high-end cinema productions for flexible reframing.
Although the film looks like it takes place in a snowy woodland, Apple confirmed the entire shoot was done inside a controlled studio environment. A team of fabricators built nine puppets, including a bear, a raccoon, and several smaller woodland creatures, each operated by multiple puppeteers. The short behind-the-scenes reel shows technicians in full-body suits manipulating the characters beneath carefully lit practical sets, with a blue screen used for environmental extensions.
Molloy says the decision to use handmade puppets instead of digital characters was intentional. “There’s something deeply human in objects that have been touched and shaped by artists,” he says. “The iPhone gave us the freedom to get extremely close to the puppets — to really honor the details the makers put into them.”
At one point in the story, the raccoon character discovers the stranded iPhone and records a rendition of “Friends” by Flight of the Conchords. The moment is interrupted when the phone buzzes via Apple’s Find My alert, leading its owner — a hiker — back to the spot where he lost it. When he retrieves the device, he discovers the animals’ homemade film saved in his camera roll.
Apple connected the handcrafted aesthetic of the puppets with the broader theme of the campaign. In its statement, the company says the choice to rely on analog methods “highlights the irreplaceable value of human creativity at a time when digital tools can automate almost everything.” Even the typography used in promotional posters was printed from hand-carved wooden blocks — each letter created individually to echo the distinct personalities of the characters on screen.
The campaign arrives alongside a new Apple TV intro sequence, which also leans heavily into practical techniques. The animated mnemonic was filmed with macro lenses, colored gels, and miniature light rigs — further reinforcing Apple’s emphasis on physical craft in an era dominated by digital shortcuts.
Apple has released both the short film and a behind-the-scenes documentary on its website and YouTube channel. All footage, including the making-of materials, was captured with the iPhone 17 Pro.
- Panasonic LUMIX 40mm f/2 S Lens and S9 Special Edition Announced at NAB 2026 - April 21, 2026
- How to Shoot Alone Without Losing Motivation - April 14, 2026
- How “Community” Became a Marketing Strategy - February 15, 2026
Do you have an inspiring story or idea to share? Email us at [email protected]. We’d love to feature your work!
