Taika Waititi has a long relationship with Disney and its studios. He directed a pair of Thor movies for Marvel Studios, won an adapted screenplay Oscar for Searchlight’s Jojo Rabbit , and voiced a droid in The Mandalorian , in addition to directing on the Disney+ Star Wars series. Now, he has added another line to that resume: directing the company’s annual holiday short.

The short, called Best Christmas Ever , bowed this week and is nearing 14 million views on YouTube. It centers on a young girl whose doodle comes to life after Santa Claus mistakes her drawing for a Christmas wish. John Goodman, whose voice work for Disney include titles such as Monsters, Inc. and The Princess and the Frog , voices the doodle.

“What makes this story uniquely Disney is the fact that it’s

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