There doesn’t seem to be much – if anything – that Will Ferrell can do wrong in the eyes of his fans. And when it comes to the Christmas movie Elf, that goes double.
But no matter how much you thought you loved the film, these 15 facts may make you love it even more – something I doubt you believed was possible.
Challenge accepted!
#15. Ralphie from A Christmas Story makes a cameo.
Image Credit: New Line Cinema
Once you recognize him as Ming Ming the elf, you’ll never be able to unsee it.
#14. He’s not really eating cotton balls.
Image Credit: New Line Cinema
It’s cotton candy without any dye.
#13. That said, he did eat so much candy during filming that he made himself sick.
Image Credit: New Line Cinema
What a problem to have, my friends.
#12. Some of the movie was filmed in an abandoned mental hospital.
Image Credit: New Line Cinema
Specifically, Gimbel’s toy department, Walter’s apartment, and the prison cell. Sort of apropos, don’t you think?
#11. They couldn’t film at Macy’s because they refused to let them do the “fake Santa” scene.
Image Credit: New Line Cinema
Macy’s Santa is the real deal, y’all.
#10. Jim Carrey was originally cast to play Buddy.
Image Credit: New Line Cinema
I mean, he would have been great – but it would have been a totally different movie.
#9. Director John Favreau thinks his cameo as the narwhal’s voice is his most famous role, ever.
Image Credit: New Line Cinema
The line “Bye, Buddy. Hope you find your dad” is on t-shirts and stuff.
#8. Ferrell improvised a lot of Buddy’s lines.
Image Credit: New Line Cinema
This should come as a surprise to no one, but the director leaned on his star’s comic instincts.
#7. The jack-in-the-box jump scares were legit.
Image Credit: New Line Cinema
The director controlled them remotely in order to really startle Ferrell into those reactions.
#6. The fight between Ferrell and Lange was done in one shot.
Image Credit: New Line Cinema
No one wanted to reset everything they destroyed.
#5. Will Ferrell has always loved Christmas.
Image Credit: New Line Cinema
He worked as a Santa while he was a struggling actor – and Chris Kattan was his elf!
#4. But he turned down a $29 million dollar offer to do a sequel.
Image Credit: New Line Cinema
Buddy the Middle-Aged Elf doesn’t have quite the ring to it, according to Ferrell.
#3. Minor traffic accidents were caused during filming.
Image Credit: New Line Cinema
Apparently seeing Will Ferrell dressed as an Elf was enough of a curiosity to distract even NYC drivers.
#2. That crazy long burp is real.
Image Credit: New Line Cinema
But Ferrell isn’t responsible. It comes courtesy of Maurice LaMarche, the voice of Brain in Pinky and the Brain.
#1. James Caan kept cracking up.
Image Credit: New Line Cinema
You can see him turning away from the camera in the doctor’s office when Ferrell is getting pricked by a needle, and that surely wasn’t the only instance where he couldn’t keep it together.
I told you so!
