Top 10 Things You Never Knew About Elf

Sugar, sugar, and more sugar: that’s Buddy, the human-raised-as-an-Elf’s diet. Whether it’s pouring loads of what he thinks is syrup in his coffee or making a spaghetti sundae, actor Will Ferrell felt the effects of his character’s unhealthy eating habits. In an interview, he explained that the sugary diet caused him many headaches and sleepless nights. It’s no wonder! Even those cotton balls he eats during a doctor’s office scene were actually candy floss balls! But, as the comedy star suggested, if a sugary diet was what it took to play the character, then so be it. Lucky for us, because the funny scenes involving Buddy’s oh-so-sweet diet make him and the movie that much sweeter.

How can you help an actor best display a seemingly genuine surprise reaction? That question must’ve been going through director Jon Favreau’s head while imagining the jack-in-the-box scene in “Elf.” The answer ended up being quite logical: make the reactions legitimately genuine. As Ferrell cranks the jack-in-the-boxes, Favreau would be off-stage controlling them by remote control. Thanks to this great idea, when you watch Buddy get jumpy and react to the jesters popping out at random moments—or react to them not popping out—the reactions come off so authentically. Just watch! One even pops out seconds after Buddy has stopped cranking!

After hearing an announcement that Santa Claus is coming to town, Buddy the Elf is stoked. Santa is supposedly coming to Gimbels department store, to be exact. In a later scene, the day that Buddy and many kids had been looking forward to has arrived. Now, will the real Santa please stand up? Because that ain’t him. Buddy the Elf knows that. Of course he does. He was raised in the North Pole, where the real Santa resides. They go way back. So, what other choice does Buddy have than to give this phony an earful? This awesome, hilarious scene culminates in an epic, destructive scuffle lasting over 30 seconds. The fight was all shot in one take because it had to be: everything would be smashed, so they couldn’t exactly start over!

Perhaps you’ve noticed that the director of “Elf” appears in the film as Dr. Leonardo, who is tasked with determining whether or not Buddy is Walter’s son. Buddy is far from the most cooperative patient he’s ever had. Jon Favreau gave himself the chance to shine in the movie he directed; and that he did. But, even if you knew that Favreau directed the movie, and that he played the role of the family doctor, you likely didn’t know that he also played a few other parts in the film. He voices a few animals: Baby Walrus, Arctic Puffin, and Mr. Narwhal!

We could’ve gotten an extra look at what the elves do during their free time with an “Elf” hockey scene, but it didn’t make the final cut of the movie. We do, however, have access to the deleted scene. Buddy is a physical specimen compared to the much smaller elves. With hockey, given its physical nature, he could demonstrate that—and further demonstrate how he fundamentally differs from his elf companions. In the deleted scene, Buddy lays out multiple elves—and, hilariously, hits one so hard that the elf ends up crashing into the stands. He also sends a laser of a shot to a spot where no one wants to be hit. We’ll let you decide for yourself: should this scene have been left in?

An integral element to the film “Elf” is forced perspective. This technique is what enables the apparent size differences between Buddy and the other elves. In other words, the use of forced perspective makes Buddy look so relatively big while the other elves look so relatively small. Director Jon Favreau favored more traditional effects in general, which is why, according to him, the film’s only use of CGI comes in the form of the snow. He opted for stop-motion instead, which was a timeless favorite of his. We think it’s fair to say that it not only worked out, but it worked out really well.

With Buddy now in town with the Hobbs family, it's time for them to get to know him - and he’s not your typical human being. For instance, he chugs a two-liter bottle of Coke and asks for maple syrup to put on his spaghetti, to the bewilderment of the others. But, perhaps the most memorable moment of the scene occurs after Walter and Emily excuse themselves from the dinner table, leaving Buddy and Michael alone together. Buddy lets out a gargantuan, prolonged burp. This comically unorthodox sound didn’t actually come from Will Ferrell, though. Rather, it was voice actor Maurice LaMarche. Ferrell can do A LOT as an actor, but a belch like that required an expert burper.

If you like Easter eggs in your movies, then “Elf” has a special gift for you. Perhaps not realized by a lot of viewers of the Christmas classic is the appearance of a man known for his work in another Christmas classic. Peter Billingsley, who stars as Ralphie in the 1983 film “A Christmas Story” appears in “Elf,” which was released about 20 years later. He plays the role of head elf Ming Ming, who oversees toy-making operations. With a much more matured face, some facial hair, and an elf costume, it may have gone over your head that this elf is little boy Ralphie now as an adult.

The original script for “Elf” was darker and more PG-13 than PG, according to director Jon Favreau. He later reimagined the Christmas film as a more lighthearted world with a more innocent main character, drawing inspiration from Rankin/Bass Productions’ “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” This connection can be seen in the costumes as well as some of the stop-motion scenes. In fact, it’s been reported that lawyers came to the set of “Elf” with concerns brewing about the film perhaps being too similar to “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Favreau explained in a Q&A that they had to change a few things for this reason.

The Grinch who stole Christmas also could’ve stolen the spotlight as the main character in “Elf.” That’s right: Jim Carrey had the chance to play Buddy before Will Ferrell got the job! The timeline is what seemingly caused things to work out as they did. The original script for “Elf” came out in 1993, about 10 years prior to the film’s 2003 release. Over this time period, Carrey moved on to other film ventures. Obviously, casting Ferrell as Buddy did wonders, and now both he and Carrey are associated with their own respective holiday classics.

Does “Elf” make your list of top 3 Christmas movies? Let us know in the comments!