Last week, Elliott and E.T. reunited for the first time in 37 years in Sky’s breathtaking Christmas advert. Now, there’s an extended cut – better grab the hankies.
In 1982, Steven Spielberg swept the nation off their feet with a friendship that transcended space: a humble, lovable alien and a little boy called Elliott (Henry Thomas).
Ever since John Lewis rattled the Christmas advert game into high gear in the early 2010s, there’s always been fierce competition for the best one. For 2019, Sky has easily emerged as the victor by bringing the pair back together.
Check out the extended cut of Sky’s Christmas advert below:
After the success of the advert, it’s no surprise Sky have dropped an extended cut – showing off more quality Elliott and E.T. time during the festive season.
With an adorable extra two minutes, we get to see our favourite alien enjoying plenty of Christmas jollity, whether it be snowball fights, sledding, or munching down on some sweet treats. E.T also learns about the internet (including the ‘mind-blown’ gesture) and how scary virtual reality headsets can be.
In another extended scene, Elliott catches E.T. looking longingly at the sky with a hologram of his family, before giving him a hug. It’s clear what has to happen – first, they need a bike.
E.T. directs Elliott’s son to the garage, where he points to the bike. As the pair shoot off into the sky, gliding across the moonlight vista in trademark Spielberg style, Elliott looks on from below in delight.
Sky said of the advert:
Although technology has changed our world since they last saw each other 37 years ago, their friendship remains strong and is a touching reminder of how important reconnecting is at Christmas.
We are honoured to be able to bring back these characters. We hope that seeing the story of E.T. and Elliott’s family inspires families to spend more time together this Christmas, and gives them the opportunity to share the magic of E.T. again, 37 years after the original.
The iconic characters from Universal Pictures’ E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial tell the story of their unbreakable connection using technology from Sky.
The clip rounds off with E.T. going home, complete with the unforgettable ‘I’ll be right here’. I’m not crying, you’re crying!
Stephen van Rooyen, CEO of UK & Ireland at Sky said:
It’s an honour to bring E.T. back to Earth in this new festive short story, helping us to celebrate the magic of family time at Christmas and Sky’s part in bringing our customers together at this special time of year.
Everyone else should give up with the Christmas adverts – nothing is topping this.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.