Apple’s 2025 holiday film, “A Critter Carol,” is available in full on the company’s official YouTube channel. Watch the full commercial here, then see Apple’s official making-of film. Released on November 27, 2025, the story combines woodland puppets, an unexpected friendship and an iPhone 17 Pro camera showcase.
Watch the full Apple holiday film
Apple Holiday: “A Critter Carol” Shot On iPhone 17 Pro is the longer online version of Apple’s 2025 holiday campaign. Apple’s message appears at the end: “This holiday, remember that friendship is a gift.”
The campaign also includes a behind-the-scenes video, which Apple published here. It shows how the handcrafted creatures, practical forest set and performance were brought together.
What happens in “A Critter Carol”?
The film opens with two hikers moving through a snowy forest. One of them loses an iPhone 17 Pro, which is later discovered by a group of handmade woodland creatures. The animals experiment with the phone and use it to record themselves singing and performing together.
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- This phone is unlocked and compatible with any carrier of choice on GSM and CDMA networks (e.g. AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon, US Cellular, Cricket, Metro, Tracfone, Mint Mobile, etc.).
- Please check with your carrier to verify compatibility.
- When you receive the phone, insert a SIM card from a compatible carrier. Then, turn it on, connect to Wi-Fi, and follow the on screen prompts to activate service.
- The device does not come with headphones or a SIM card. It does include a generic (Mfi certified) charger and charging cable.
- Tested for battery health and guaranteed to have a minimum battery capacity of 80%.
The owner eventually uses an Apple Watch to help locate the missing phone and retraces his route. When he finds it, he also discovers the animals’ recording. The plot is deliberately simple: the lost device becomes the reason a group of strangers—or, in this case, creatures—finds a shared creative outlet.
Although the iPhone is central to the story, the commercial is not just a camera demonstration. Its emotional subject is unexpected friendship, collaboration and the way making something together can turn an accident into a gift.
What song is in Apple’s “A Critter Carol” commercial?
The song is “Friends,” originally recorded by Flight of the Conchords. Despite the holiday setting and the commercial’s title, it is not a traditional Christmas carol. Apple’s film is inspired by the Flight of the Conchords recording.
Which animals appear?
The principal woodland characters include a raccoon, bear, owl, deer, squirrel and rat or mouse, along with other forest creatures. The campaign’s supporting materials do not use one consistently defined total: different coverage refers to nine or 11 puppets, apparently depending on which campaign characters are included.
It is therefore safer to describe the group than to give an unqualified animal count. The important visual idea is the ensemble of tactile, individually made characters gathering around the phone.
Rank #2
- This phone is unlocked and compatible with any carrier of choice on GSM and CDMA networks (e.g. AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon, US Cellular, Cricket, Metro, Tracfone, Mint Mobile, etc.).
- Please check with your carrier to verify compatibility.
- When you receive the phone, insert a SIM card from a compatible carrier. Then, turn it on, connect to Wi-Fi, and follow the on screen prompts to activate service.
- The device does not come with headphones or a SIM card. It does include a generic (Mfi certified) charger and charging cable.
- Tested for battery health and guaranteed to have a minimum battery capacity of 80%.
How was the commercial made?
Apple’s making-of video emphasizes physical craft rather than presenting the creatures as purely digital creations. The animals were handcrafted puppets operated by professional puppeteers on a practical snowy forest set.
Puppeteers and animators worked beneath or around the set to control the characters. Where necessary, those performers and supporting elements were removed digitally in post-production. That combination matters: the film’s handmade appearance comes from physical puppets and live performance, but it should not be described as a production with no digital effects or post-production.
Even the lettering and typography were made with a tactile process, using individually stamped or hand-set elements. The result gives the title cards and on-screen words the same imperfect, crafted quality as the animals themselves.
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The commercial was directed by Mark Molloy, an Australian filmmaker. Industry credits associate the campaign with TBWAMedia Arts Lab, with Smuggler listed as the production company. More production detail is available in the campaign credits and in the official behind-the-scenes film.
Was “A Critter Carol” really shot on an iPhone?
Apple says the film was captured entirely on an iPhone 17 Pro. That describes the camera used to capture the commercial’s footage; it does not mean the entire production was made with only a bare phone and no professional equipment.
Rank #3
- This phone is unlocked and compatible with any carrier of choice on GSM and CDMA networks (e.g. AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon, US Cellular, Cricket, Metro, Tracfone, Mint Mobile, etc.).
- Please check with your carrier to verify compatibility.
- When you receive the phone, insert a SIM card from a compatible carrier. Then, turn it on, connect to Wi-Fi, and follow the on screen prompts to activate service.
- The device does not come with headphones or a SIM card. It does include a generic (Mfi certified) charger and charging cable.
- Tested for battery health and guaranteed to have a minimum battery capacity of 80%.
A commercial of this kind still requires lighting, a controlled set, puppet rigs, stabilization or other supporting hardware, direction, editing and post-production. Trade coverage also notes that the fine print identifies additional hardware and software. The accurate takeaway is that Apple used the iPhone 17 Pro as the capture device within a professional filmmaking workflow—not that the phone independently created every part of the finished film.
Nor does the handmade look establish that the production used no CGI, artificial intelligence or other digital tools anywhere in its workflow. What the film clearly foregrounds is practical puppetry, human performance and physical craftsmanship.
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The campaign showcases several camera and video capabilities associated with the iPhone 17 Pro:
- 8× zoom: used for closer views while retaining the commercial’s cinematic framing.
- Center Stage: Apple’s front-camera functionality helps keep subjects framed during movement.
- Dual Capture: the front and rear cameras can be used together, allowing the person filming and the scene being filmed to appear in the same recording.
- Video recording: the animals’ musical performance is presented as footage captured on the phone.
These are the features highlighted in campaign and trade materials; not every feature is necessarily demonstrated in an obvious, isolated product shot. Apple’s official iPhone 17 Pro page provides the current product specifications and availability.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why does the Apple Watch appear?
The owner uses an Apple Watch to help locate the lost iPhone and retrace his path. The scene places the phone in a wider Apple ecosystem: the iPhone is the missing object, while the watch helps the owner find it.
Rank #4
- This phone is unlocked and compatible with any carrier of choice on GSM and CDMA networks (e.g. AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon, US Cellular, Cricket, Metro, Tracfone, Mint Mobile, etc.).
- Please check with your carrier to verify compatibility.
- When you receive the phone, insert a SIM card from a compatible carrier. Then, turn it on, connect to Wi-Fi, and follow the on screen prompts to activate service.
- The device does not come with headphones or a SIM card. It does include a generic (Mfi certified) charger and charging cable.
- Tested for battery health and guaranteed to have a minimum battery capacity of 80%.
The film does not need to be read as a technical tutorial for locating a lost device. It shows the owner using the watch’s locating or ping function, without establishing every detail of the underlying workflow.
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How long is the commercial?
The full online film is approximately two minutes long. A separate listing from iSpot catalogs a 60-second television version under the same “A Critter Carol” title.
Those runtimes are best understood as different edits rather than a contradiction. Apple released a longer holiday film for online viewing, while television placements can use a shorter broadcast cut. If a version you saw on television ends sooner or omits parts of the animals’ performance, it is likely the 60-second edit.
What the commercial is really selling
“A Critter Carol” is an iPhone 17 Pro advertisement, but its product claim is wrapped in a deliberately handmade production. The phone’s zoom, front-and-rear-camera functions and video capabilities are showcased through a story that depends just as much on puppet construction, performers, set design, lighting and editing.
That distinction is useful for viewers considering the phone. The commercial demonstrates what the iPhone can capture, not what the phone can produce unaided. Buying an iPhone 17 Pro would not, by itself, reproduce the lighting, puppetry, direction or polished post-production seen in Apple’s film.
As a holiday commercial, however, the contrast is the point. A modern camera phone records a warm, imperfectly physical world, and the device becomes a tool for connection rather than the emotional center of the story. The final idea is less about owning the newest camera than about what happens when people—or woodland puppets—use technology to make and share something together.
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