Peek behind the scenes of Apple’s cute festive film, shot on an iPhone 17 Pro

By Trevor Mogg Published November 27, 2025

For a bit of festive cheer, Apple has released a short film called A Critter Carol (top) about forest animals having some fun with an iPhone 17 Pro dropped by a hiker.

The light-hearted Critter Carol features the various animals using the iPhone 17 Pro to record a “song of friendship” — inspired by Flight of the Conchords’ Friends — before the hiker returns to pick up his lost phone containing the heartwarming surprise.

But Apple’s flagship’s phone didn’t only feature in the short movie — it was also used to film it.

“The power of the iPhone 17 Pro allowed me to capture the story in a really immersive way,” said the film’s director, Mark Molloy, adding, “That power is in all of our hands now.”

While Molloy’s claim is true to a degree, it’s worth noting that the highly polished and professional piece also utilized a movie crew, a studio set, experienced puppeteers, and some post-production magic, evidence of which you can see in the video below.

Apple CEO Tim Cook also shared the video on his X account, commenting, “Holiday cheer, a little bit of magic, and a whole lot of heart, captured on iPhone 17 Pro by a few handmade puppet friends!”

With each iteration of the iPhone, Apple likes to collaborate with filmmakers to showcase the handset’s latest camera features.

A recent example saw director Danny Boyle use a special rig kitted out with 20 iPhones to create a special effect for 28 Years Later that’s similar to the famous bullet-time sequence in The Matrix.

“There’s an incredible shot in the second half [of the film] where we use the [20-camera rig], and you’ll know it when you see it,” Boyle said prior to the movie’s release in June. “It’s quite graphic but it’s a wonderful shot that uses that technique, and in a startling way that kind of kicks you into a new world rather than thinking you’ve seen it before.”

Another recent Apple-supported effort, this one using the iPhone 16 Pro, starred British music legend Stormzy.

Apple itself also used an iPhone — in this case the iPhone 15 Pro Max — to shoot the entire event for the launch of its flagship laptops in 2023.