by As far as Christmas movies go, it takes a hard-hearted creature not to have the slightest whiff of affection for Jon Favreau’s 2003 Elf classic.
Like those great festive movies of yore, it’s jam-packed with old-fashioned Christmas cheer as Buddy, Will Ferrell’s super-enthusiastic Santa’s helper, sets out to find his real dad after being raised by elves at the North Pole.
Alongside veterans like James Caan, Bob Newhart and Ed Asner (and with a breakout role for Zooey Deschanel), Buddy’s love of Christmas is utterly contagious.
Read more: The best Christmas movies of the 21st century
To celebrate, here are 17 things you probably didn’t know about Elf.
1 | It could have been Jim Carrey
Because screenwriter David Berenbaum had been developing the script since 1993, Will Ferrell was not the first actor to play the role of Buddy. Jim Carrey approached the most, but turned it down to do Ace Ventura, the film that would make his name.
2 | The Incredible Vocal Cameo
In the scene where Buddy says goodbye to an array of stop-motion creatures, the polar bear club is voiced by none other than animation legend Ray Harryhausen (director Favreau voiced the narwhal). Favreau snagged Harryhausen while at a speaking engagement, at which he picked up a contract and a DAT player to record his line.
3 | The first babies were wild
The baby playing Baby Buddy was actually triplets. They had a set of twins, who apparently looked like Ferrell with curly blonde hair, but they kept crying during takes, so they were eventually replaced.
Read more: Will Ferrell reacts to Asda’s Elf ad
4 | Classic Elf Outfits
The elves’ outfits were modeled after those in “Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (seen above), an American stop-motion television special that has been repeated annually in the United States since 1964.
5 | Ferrell turned down a MASSIVE paycheck for Elf 2
Will Ferrell reportedly turned down $29 million to star in Elf 2. “That’s what was offered,” he told the Guardian. “But I killed the idea of a sequel. I never liked it – $29 million seems like a lot of money for a guy to wear tights, but that’s what the market will bear.
“It’s insane, but it’s not my decision. The studios perpetuate it and they have a hard time saying no. I remember thinking: can I stand up to criticism when it’s bad and they say “He did the sequel for the money?” I decided I wouldn’t be able to.
6 | The Discworld Niche Benchmark
When Buddy says his favorite color is “Ocatrine”, it’s a reference to Terry Pratchett’s famous Discworld series of novels, most notably The Color of Magic.
Read more: Is Elf the most overrated Christmas movie?
7 | Ferrell kept it in the family
Will Ferrell’s brother, Patrick, plays one of the Empire State Building’s security guards.
8 | Zwigoff got bogged down
Ghost World director Terry Zwigoff was offered the film, but he pulled it off. But he went on to make another top Christmas movie, Bad Santa.
9 | Another nod to the classics
Peter Billingsley, who as a child actor starred as Ralphie in another festive classic A Christmas Story, appears in an uncredited role as the supervising elf in Santa’s workshop.
10 | tunnel vision
Ferrell caused several minor road accidents during his ride through the Lincoln Tunnel, with many seeing the actor in an elf costume and looking away from the road.
11 | Jack in the box shock
When Buddy is testing jack-in-the-boxes at the North Pole, one of his many menial tasks, Jon Favreau wanted the final shock on camera to be authentic, so controlled the box with an off-screen remote device so that Ferrell may I don’t know when he was about to open up.
12 | sugar daddy
The sugar that Ferrell had to consume in the film did not suit him at all. He suffered from severe headaches throughout filming and often insomnia at night.
13 | No CGI for elves
Rather than using CGI or dwarf actors, Favreau instead opted for the old cinematic technique of “forced perspective”, constructing two sets – one for the full-size actors who were full-size and one who was a lot smaller for Ferrell. With intelligent use of lighting, the sets are then merged.
14 | Caan on old Joanna
In the last moments of the film, it is really James Caan who plays Auld Lang Syne on the piano. It is versatile.
Read more: James Caan Says Ferrell/Favreau Tension Killed Elf 2
15 | Santa’s list is real
When Santa Claus shows Michael his “good list”, it is made up of the names of the film crew and what they wanted for Christmas.
16 | The art imitated by life
Will Ferrell actually once worked as a Santa Claus at a mall when he was part of the famous Los Angeles-based improv band The Groundlings. One of his elves was Chris Kattan, who was also on the Saturday Night Live crew with Ferrell.
17 | The burp
The massive burp, after Buddy drank a two-liter bottle of Coca-Cola, was performed by Maurice LaMarche, a voice actor for cartoons like Animaniacs and Futurama. He also played Egon in The Real Ghostbusters.
He says he’s burped like this since he was a kid, especially on Animaniacs. A crew member on Elf recalled his wind talents on the cartoon show, and the rest is gassy history. Ferrell lip-synced accordingly.
Watch: Will Ferrell responds to Asda’s Elf ad
