Apple released its annual holiday film on November 12, 2026: the nearly four-minute, dialogue-free short titled “The Dreamer”: An Apple Holiday Film featuring MacBook Neo. Directed by Melina Matsoukas, with cinematography by Bradford Young and artwork by Hebru Brantley, the piece marks a shift from recent years’ focus on iPhone, Apple Watch, or AirPods by spotlighting the company’s entry-level laptop.
The story follows one boy from infancy to young adulthood and his evolving relationship with art. It opens with him as a baby under a colorful mobile, then shows childhood scenes of painting walls (sometimes with his mother), finger-painting, drawing freely, and receiving a necklace with a painter’s palette charm from his father. His parents notice and encourage his passion. As he grows, school, social pressures, peer judgment, and everyday demands push that creativity into the background — though he continues creating in quieter or secret ways. On Christmas morning, his parents give him a MacBook Neo. He uses it to return to his drawings and animate them (including a character in a red cape), rediscovering the part of himself that had faded. The film closes with him working at a desk under a lamp while his mother watches from the doorway.
Set to Strawberry Guy’s “Give Me a Dream,” the film relies on visual storytelling and music. Apple’s description states: “Watch the new Apple Holiday Film about a parents’ gift that helps their son rediscover his creativity. Sometimes all it takes to remember what makes us special, is someone who believes in us. A celebration of creativity and the people who inspire it, featuring MacBook Neo.” On-screen text reinforces the message with “Show someone you believe in them.”
The campaign was created with TBWA\Media Arts Lab. Brief flashbacks include nods for longtime Apple fans, such as an iPhone 3GS and an early-2010s iMac. Hebru Brantley created the artwork throughout the film (from early sketches to the final animation), drawing in part on his own experiences as a young creative.
The MacBook Neo, introduced in March 2026 as Apple’s most affordable MacBook (starting around $699 in the U.S. after earlier pricing), uses an A18 Pro chip, 8GB unified memory, a 13-inch Liquid Retina display, and is rated for up to 16 hours of battery life. It comes in Silver, Blush, Citrus, and Indigo and is aimed at students, first-time Mac buyers, and everyday creative or schoolwork use—fitting the film’s theme of accessible tools that can help someone reconnect with what makes them special.
MacDailyNews Take: Happy holidays from Apple!
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