Line #17 YMMV/Elf - TV Tropes


1	* {{Adorkable}}: Buddy is a friendly but socially inept and accident-prone {{Manchild}} whose goal is to make others happy.
2	* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Is Miles Finch an arrogant {{Jerkass}} or merely a ConsummateProfessional shaped by a life of discrimination? Buddy calling him an "elf" is obviously not intended to be malicious but it's somewhat understandable why Miles would get angry, even if physically attacking him might seem too much. It's also confirmed that Miles' ideas are genuinely good and his books are successful, though he does mislead the other writers in the meeting.
3	* AluminumChristmasTrees: The Central Park Rangers are a real law enforcement agency, and the "controversial" actions they took at the Music/SimonAndGarfunkel concert, [[NoodleIncident though never]] [[NothingIsScarier specified]], also happened. Apparently even the ''filmmakers'' were [[AccidentallyCorrectWriting unaware of this]], as Jon Favreau actually states in the DVD commentary that "Obviously there's no Central Park Rangers. We made them up."
4	* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: Creator/WillFerrell himself had his doubts. He's reported that when he was running around New York in a silly elf costume, he feared that this might be the end of his career.
5	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: There's a quite few of these in the animated version.
6	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment:
7	** Break-dancing in the mailroom to the Tag Team song "Whoomp! (There It Is)". Must be what happens when you get a lifelong elf good and sauced.
8	** The Central Park Rangers get introduced during the climax as faceless goons to threaten and chase after the sleigh purely to give the climax some tension. The reporter says they have a history of police brutality, and that's all we learn about them. They could easily be removed and the film would lose nothing.
9	* EnsembleDarkhorse
10	** Mr. Narwhal. He's actually voiced by Creator/JonFavreau.
11	** Arctic Puffin also has his fair share of fans.
12	** Miles Finch. Creator/PeterDinklage is ''really good'' at playing a character who's a total asshole.
13	* HilariousInHindsight:
14	** Will Ferrell building [[WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie a giant LEGO city]].
15	** [[Film/Spirited2022 This wouldn't be the last time]] that a Will Ferrell character would bring about a workaholic man's redemption on Christmas Eve.
16	* HypeBacklash: Despite becoming a Christmas Classic for many people and still seeing merch for the movie being sold in stores even today around Christmas time, there are also a lot of people who can't comprehend how it became a Christmas classic, seeing it as another run of the mill mediocre Will Ferrell comedy among his many other films.
17	* IAmNotShazam: The main character is named Buddy, not Elf. He's also not an elf, but rather a human raised by elves.
18	* JerkassWoobie:
19	** The Gimbels manager. He's a bit of a stick-in-the-mud and work-obsessed, but like everyone else there, he just wants to do his job and get through the holidays, and it's implied he's already on thin ice as it is. You can't blame him for getting fed up with Buddy making things more complicated. The ending implies that he and Buddy have since made peace (enough to get the ''restraining order'' he'd slapped Buddy with lifted) when [[spoiler:Buddy reads aloud a Christmas story to a large audience of children at the Santa's Village in Gimbels]].
20	** The MallSanta at Gimbels. He's just trying to do his job for the kids, and he has little patience for Buddy's antics. One can't fault him for snapping after Buddy removes his beard.
21	** Miles Finch beats up Buddy for ([[InnocentlyInsensitive albeit unknowingly]]) making fun of his disability to his face, something he's probably had to deal with his entire life.
22	* MemeticMutation: Like most Creator/WillFerrell movies, practically the entire script has wound up on a t-shirt.
23	** All together now: "'''[[ChewingTheScenery SANTAAAAA!!!!]]''' OH MY GOD!! I know him! I know him!"
24	** "But the children love the books!"
25	** "Ginormous!"
26	** "You sit on a throne of ''lies''."
27	** "I'm a cotton-headed ninnymuggins."[[note]]{{Gasp}}![[/note]]
28	** "Not now, Arctic Puffin!"
29	** "Bye, Buddy! Hope you find your dad!" And you ''have'' to do it in that goofy voice.
30	** Try whispering to someone nowadays without either of you (or a third person joining in) saying "I like to whisper too!"
31	** "Son of a nutcracker!"
32	** "Francisco. That's fun to say."
33	** "Buddy the Elf. What's your favorite color?"
34	** "I love to smile! Smiling's my favorite!" [[note]]Make work your favorite, that's your favorite, OK?[[/note]]
35	** "'''[[JustForFun/IHeardThatAs GAY PEOPLE!]]'''" [[note]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DqGgIgx4KU This YTPMV]] set to [[{{AwesomeMusic/Deltarune}} Jevil's theme]] that features the Gimbels Manager started taking off late 2021, with it exploding in popularity around the holidays. Following it, the movie became a popular source for [[YouTubePoop YTPMVs]], especially the mall scene.[[/note]]
36	* NarmCharm: The movie runs on it. It's not only yet another story about rediscovering the true meaning of Christmas, but also the most sincere, loving homage to classic Christmas specials from the '50s and '60s. And while ''some'' of it is [[LampshadeHanging played for irony]], the movie otherwise believes so strongly in its story and messages that it comes off as 100% genuinely heartwarming. The scene of [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve everyone in New York singing "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"]] is a prime example: on paper, it sounds corny as all get out, but not one character participating looks like as if they aren't thoroughly enjoying themselves. It also makes a lot of sense if you remember that not only is the film a story that Papa Elf is telling the viewer but that Buddy [[spoiler:eventually turned his story into a picture book, which obviously plays up some of the more sentimental moments for entertainment]].
37	* NauseaFuel:
38	** Buddy peels a piece of gum off a subway entrance stair railing. And chews it. After Santa told him not to[[note]]Santa told him not to eat the gum [[ExactWords from the]] '''[[LiteralMinded ground]]'''[[/note]].
39	** The breakfast Buddy fixes himself, which consists of spaghetti with maple syrup, marshmallows, Pop-Tarts, and other sugary things. Will Ferrell later revealed [[DyeingForYourArt that he got migraines from eating all of that sugar]].
40	** The gnome burping and troll farting in the opening scene at the North Pole.
41	* OneSceneWonder:
42	** Brenda [=McDonald=], embodying every sweet, helpless little-old-lady and kind-hearted, heartbroken nun in movie history.
43	--->''But the children love the books!''
44	** Creator/PeterDinklage's scene was mentioned in a lot of critics' reviews as being the most memorable sequence of the film. Even those who dislike the movie agree that his scene is great.
45	** While not as noticeable, Creator/JonFavreau follows his [[CreatorCameo usual tradition]] with his scene as the doctor who gives Buddy the finger-prick.
46	** Mr. Narwhal, who like the doctor [[CreatorCameo is played by]] Jon Favreau.
47	** Artie Lang as Gimbels MallSanta. He does indeed sit on a throne of lies.
48	* QuestionableCasting: Creator/WillFerrell in a kid's movie; Creator/JamesCaan for a Christmas film; and [[Creator/EdwardAsner Ed Asner]] as Santa[[note]]And believe it or not, that actually wasn't the first time[[/note]]. Even Creator/RogerEbert [[http://rogerebert.com/reviews/elf-2003 was surprised by how well that turned out.]]
49	* RetroactiveRecognition:
50	** Buddy befriends [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Lord Tirek]] in the mailroom.
51	** Creator/PeterDinklage (Miles Finch) would go on to become much better known as [[Series/GameOfThrones Tyrion Lannister]].
52	* ValuesDissonance:
53	** While Buddy's AccidentalPervert scene of him singing with Jovie while, unbeknownst to him, is naked in the shower can get a pass on Buddy just being that naive and socially inept, it would be a lot harder to downplay Jovie's discomfort at the assumption that someone was preying on her in an age where sexual misconduct is taken far more seriously.
54	** In her first scene, Deb is overheard talking on the phone with someone who wants her to help declaw their cats. In the years since this movie came out, declawing has come to be seen as a form of animal abuse, as it requires mutilating a cat's topmost phalanges (the equivalent of cutting off the tips of a human's fingers so their nails stop growing) and would not be discussed so passively, either in a movie or real life.
55	* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The North Pole scenes feature some truly amazing effects, both optical (the [[Creator/RankinBassProductions Rankin-Bass]] style stop-motion characters, courtesy of the Chiodo Brothers, [[RogerRabbitEffect interacting with the humans]]) and in-camera (the scenes of Buddy interacting with the elves are a masterful combination of forced perspective sets and child body doubles). Not only do they look amazing, but it makes the few uses of CGI, namely a few shots of Santa's sleigh flying through New York, all the more impressive. Jon Favreu reportedly had to fight tooth and claw for Creator/NewLineCinema to allow him to make the film this way, and it clearly paid off.
56	* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: Believe it or not, the Broadway musical version is considerably more adult than the movie, with an increase in language, sexual innuendos, and double entrendre[[note]]Some critics are saying that it's more of a grown-up show anyway, and that the kids would only be interested in the scenery[[/note]].
57	* TheWoobie: Buddy has no idea how to function in society, and most people treat him like a pariah, none the least of which is his father, whom Buddy travels hundreds of thousands of miles to meet and wants nothing to do with him at first. This is best exemplified when Buddy mistakes Miles for one of Santa's elves: every question he asks genuinely sounds like an insult, and Buddy [[InnocentlyInsensitive has no way of knowing]].

Context YMMV / Elf