Did You Know These Fun Facts About 'Elf' the Christmas Movie? (2024)

There's something about the movie Elf that just ticks all the boxes. It's a funny Christmas movie that'll make you laugh alongside your whole family, it has inspired hilarious Christmas memories for the Drummond family over the years and has given us some truly iconic Elf movie quotes. Simply put, it's one of the best Christmas movies of all time! So, what is it about Elf that has made it such a fan favorite?

For starters, there's the heart-warming storyline: Buddy, a hilariously optimistic human who was raised by Santa's elves, embarks on a quest to find his real father in New York City. Of course, the star-studded cast featuring Will Farrell and Zooey Deschanel made it an instant success. But if you thought you knew all there was to know about the movie Elf, just wait until you see some of the unexpected facts on the list ahead.

Here, we're honoring Elf's 20th anniversary (the movie was first released on November 7, 2003) with some interesting tidbits that might just surprise you, like where the movie was filmed. Plus, which other famous Christmas movie actors made a cameo appearance. (Hint: It has to do with A Christmas Story.) Read on for more fun facts about the movie Elf.

Will Farrell wasn't originally slated to play Buddy.

The original script for the movie in the early 1990s had comedian Jim Carrey chosen to star in the role of Buddy the Elf. Turns out, Carrey ended up playing a very different Christmas character in the 2000 film How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Buddy's infamous belch scene was recorded by someone else.

It wasn't Will Farrell. Actor Maurice LaMarche took on the job of recording the long burp for Buddy the Elf. You may recognize his name from being the voice of Brain in Pinky and the Brain.

Ralphie from A Christmas Story makes a guest appearance.

When two Christmas movies collide—that's what happens in Elf when you realize that Peter Billingsley, who played Ralphie in A Christmas Story (1983) also played the head elf in Santa's workshop nearly 20 years later!

The North Pole scenes weren't created with CGI.

While many films these days use CGI to create incredible worlds, the director of Elf (Jon Favreau) opted to use something called "forced perspective" to make it seem like Will Farrell was so much bigger than the other elves.

Will Farrell really did eat a sugar-loaded diet while filming.

Everyone knows that Buddy's main food groups include candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup. Well, that's exactly what Will Farrell ate! The actor actually had to consume lots of maple syrup while filming the movie.

Some of the movie wasn't shot in New York City.

Many of the scenes in Elf were shot in Vancouver instead. Of course, some recognizable scenes and classic landmarks were shot in the Big Apple.

The director of the movie makes a sneaky cameo appearance.

Remember when Buddy goes to the doctor to take a paternity test? Well, that doctor is none other than the director of the movie itself, Jon Favreau.

Buddy's elaborate Lego and Lite Brite display took over two weeks to create.

The movie's director said that the art department worked long hours for two full weeks to set up the extravagant scene of the Lego city-scape, Lite Brite display, and miniature trains.

Buddy's infamous brawl with a mall Santa was shot in one take.

This is all thanks to that intricate Lego cityscape again! Since it took so long to create, Buddy had just one shot to film the fight scene with the mall Santa which smashed the whole set.

Elf was inspired by another nostalgic Christmas film.

The movie's director has said that many of the scenes and costumes were inspired by those old-school Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer films.

We shouldn't expect an Elf sequel any time soon.

Though we would all love to see Will Farrell reprise his role as Buddy the Elf, the actor has previously said "no" to doing a sequel of the movie.