Disney’s Three-Minute 2025 Holiday Short Features an Invisible Horse

Disney replaced Taika Waititi with Dougal Wilson as director of its three-minute holiday short film for 2025, “The Invisible Horse.” Wilson directed Paddington in Peru. The familiar rule of thumb is blunt: “holiday ads starring cute animals rarely miss.” Disney has applied that formula to a creature nobody can see.

Jack believes he has outgrown Christmas. The published synopsis describes him as “convinced he’s outgrown Christmas.” The story follows Jack’s adventure with a mysterious, imaginary horse, whose arrival rekindles his imagination and draws him closer to his family.

Wilson’s earlier work includes Paddington in Peru and a few festive tearjerkers from the U.K., experience relevant to a campaign built around Christmas and family connection. The switch from Waititi gives Disney a new creative lead, with a director whose background already includes both Paddington and seasonal storytelling.

That background matters because the new short asks audiences to accept an unseen animal as a credible guide. Jack has to read the horse through his own reactions, which makes the film’s most expressive material a relationship rather than a visual trick.

The campaign beyond the film

The short sits inside a broader holiday package rather than operating as a standalone seasonal asset. Disney has grouped four elements around it:

• Festive experiences: Disney places the film within a wider program of seasonal experiences.
• Entertainment: The campaign connects the short to Disney’s entertainment offering, extending the story beyond one piece of creative work.
• Gifting: Holiday gifting forms another part of the package, alongside the film and seasonal experiences.
• Make-A-Wish Foundation partnership: A charitable partnership adds a further dimension to Disney’s holiday program.

The campaign announcement does not provide a budget, distribution plan, audience target or performance forecast. The concrete figures are therefore limited to a three-minute runtime, a 2025 holiday campaign and a director change from Waititi to Wilson.

That limited disclosure does not make the creative choice small. Disney has chosen a short, plain premise, placed it under a director associated with Paddington in Peru, and extended it into experiences, entertainment, gifting and partnership work. The campaign architecture is broader than the central story.

The film also gives the campaign a clear separation of roles. The short delivers the emotional premise, the seasonal elements and the Make-A-Wish partnership give that premise a wider setting, and Jack’s journey gives both a reason to watch from beginning to end.

What does this change for marketing teams?

Start with the tension. Jack believes Christmas no longer belongs to him; the invisible horse gives him a reason to reconsider. That movement, from resistance to renewed imagination and family closeness, supplies the emotional engine of the three-minute film.

The wider campaign pairs the film with festive experiences, entertainment, gifting and a Make-A-Wish Foundation partnership. The horse gives viewers a reason to look, while the package gives Disney several points of contact beyond the film.

For marketing teams, the lesson is specific: a seasonal character need not perform a product demonstration when the story gives people a reason to care about what that character changes. Here, Jack’s relationship with the invisible horse moves him from feeling apart from Christmas to reconnecting with imagination and his family.

Disney’s decision is therefore clear: replace Waititi with Wilson, center a three-minute invisible-horse story on Jack’s refusal to leave Christmas behind, and pair the film with festive experiences, entertainment, gifting and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The film carries the story. The package carries the campaign.