Buddy the Elf has seen higher days.
After going viral for reincarnating the title character from 2003’s Elf — as a beer-drinking and cigarette-smoking brooder, no much less — Will Ferrell defined the thought and preparation course of behind the stunt.
“Buddy the Elf acquired laid off, I feel, from the North Pole,” the multi-hyphenate joked to Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce on a recent episode of their New Heights podcast.
The second befell at a Dec. 29 hockey game between the Los Angeles Kings and Philadelphia Flyers, after per week of prep — merely for the vibes. Commentators joked that Ferrell’s demeanor and dedication to the bit made it unclear if he was truly having fun with the match-up or not. In the meantime, these on social media had jokes aplenty, with movie references deeming this model of Buddy the Elf a “South Pole elf” and saying he had lastly been sacked for not assembly his gift-making quota.
“He’s having a pull from his beer, smoking a cig,” the comedian defined. “That was simply … I get these bizarre concepts every so often. I informed my spouse — ’trigger we’re season ticket holders for the L.A. Kings, now we have seats proper on the glass, that are wonderful — I stated, ‘Gosh, over the break, it will be humorous if I simply acquired a Buddy the Elf costume and didn’t shave for like per week, and I’m simply sitting there with a sweet cigarette, and I’m simply gonna sit there for a interval and see how individuals react.’ And that was it.”
The Will & Harper star and producer stated he was taken unexpectedly on the response, which he described as “insane.”
“[People were] like, what’s he doing? Is he selling one thing? However often I simply love to do bizarre issues like that simply to stir it up,” he stated.
Late final 12 months, the writer-actor reflected on Elf‘s legacy as a Christmas basic: “It continues to develop by leaps and bounds, and it continues to sort of entrench itself as sort of a vacation basic for individuals. I’m so fortunate to have a film like that in my catalog,” he stated.
A rewatch staple through the vacation season, the Jon Favreau-directed comedy follows Buddy the Elf as he journeys to New York Metropolis in quest of his organic father (performed by the late James Caan) after lastly being let in on the not-so-secret reality that he’s the only real human at Santa’s elf-powered workshop within the North Pole. The lighthearted and ever-quotable movie additionally stars Zooey Deschanel as Elf’s love curiosity, together with Ed Asner, Mary Steenburgen and Bob Newhart, that includes a cameo by Favreau.
