We’re going to learn all about the 2003 Christmas classic, Elf! This beloved family comedy stars Will Ferrell as Buddy, a human who was raised by elves at the North Pole. From Buddy’s hilarious antics to the timeless themes of family and friendship, Elf is a holiday favourite for many. Here are 10 facts about the film that may surprise you.

Did you know all these facts about the movie Elf or are you a cotton headed ninny muggins?

1. Jim Carrey was supposed to play Buddy the Elf.

When the script was first written in the 90s Jim Carrey was supposed to play Buddy. Although Jim Carrey didn’t end up in this film you probably recognise him as playing The Grinch. An actor called Chris Farley was also asked to play Buddy but the writer of Elf didn’t think he was a good fit.

It took years before they found the perfect Buddy.

We can’t imagine anyone else but Will Ferrell playing Buddy!

2. Jon Favreau, who plays the Doctor in Elf, is the film’s director.

Jon Favreau directed the film Elf as well as starring in it.

He plays the Doctor Buddy visits with his Dad. He also voiced the angry racoon Buddy meets when he’s travelling from the North Pole to New York and the narwal that says ‘Bye, Buddy. Hope you find your dad’.

3. Lots of Elf was actually filmed in New York with real people in the background.

The scenes shot at Rockefeller Center, Central Park and where Buddy’s dad lives were all filmed in the real locations. Sometimes films use studios which look like the locations instead but in Elf most of the locations are real.

Will Ferrell even stopped traffic when he walked through the Lincoln Tunnel because people driving were so shocked to see an Elf.

When you see people in the New York streets looking confused as Buddy the Elf hops across a zebra crossing that’s because they are real people who were genuinely confused!

4. Will Ferrell who played Buddy turned down making an Elf sequel.

Will Ferrell was offered a chance to play Buddy in an Elf sequel but decided he didn’t want to.

We really hope he changes his mind because we would love to see what happens to Buddy and his family after Elf ends.

5. The reason Elf has music in it is because of Zooey Deschanel.

Deschanel, who plays Buddy’s love interest Jovie, sings a lot in the film – remember ‘Baby it’s cold outside!’ in the toy store?

The director added much of the music to the film when he realised what an incredible singer she was….after all ‘the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear’.

6. When Buddy is testing the Jack in the Boxes the actor was actually scared.

Remember when Buddy is sent to test the Jack in the Boxes because he isn’t doing very well working in Santa’s workshop? Well Will Ferrell, who plays Buddy, said he didn’t know when the boxes were going to go off so his reactions were real!

7. The cotton buds Buddy eats at the doctors were made from candy floss.

When Buddy eats the cotton balls at the doctors the actor was actually eating candy floss.

Will Ferrell also had to eat lots of sweets when pretending to be Buddy – he even got headaches from the amount of sugar he had to eat.

8. Will Ferrell did lots of improvising.

The actor who played Buddy improvised lots of his scenes, especially the ones in the streets of New York.

Improvising is when you make up what you are going to do on the spot without a script or rehearsal before.

9. The long burp when Buddy drinks the Coca-Cola was real.

That super long burp Buddy does was real but it wasn’t him that did it – instead it was voiced by Maurice LaMarche. Maurice LaMarche is the same person who does the voice for the King of Arendelle in Frozen and Mr Big in Zootopia.

10. Baby Buddy was played by triplets.

In movies twins are often used to play babies because when one baby is crying or sleeping the other baby can be filmed without anyone knowing more than one actor is being used.

In Elf they used triplet girls. They had originally cast twin boys who had curly hair like Buddy the Elf but they cried too much!

Did you know all these facts about the movie Elf?

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