open/close all folders
Buddy Hobbs
Buddy Hobbs aka "Buddy the Elf"
- Accidental Pervert: He walks in on Jovie in the shower and has no idea she was naked.
- All of the Other Reindeer: Played with. Although he doesn't really fit in, the elves all treat Buddy warmly. When he dubs himself a "cotton-headed ninnymuggins", they immediately insist that he's not.
- Animal Lover: He paints a butterfly, gets excited about a dog, tries to hug a raccoon, and has a few animals as friends.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: When Buddy sees the buttons on an elevator light up he thinks they look beautiful and he presses every button until it looks like a Christmas tree. Buddy is also distracted by the "sucky" vacuum tubes in the mail room.
- Berserk Button: It ticks him off if anyone impersonates Santa. When he sees a mall Santa at Gimble's and realizes he's an "imposter", it's just about the only time in the whole movie that he gets mad.
- Break the Cutie: Happens when Walter lashes out at him at the Empire State Building; he falls into a slump and says he doesn't belong anywhere. He gets better when Santa arrives and Walter apologizes.
- Bizarre Taste in Food: He likes syrup and candy on spaghetti.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Due to his sheltered life, Buddy sees the outside world differently. He thinks Miles is an elf due to his short size and thinks the World's Best Cup of Coffee really does have the best coffee in the world.
- Cool Big Bro: Michael initially wanted nothing to do with Buddy, but after Buddy fights off an entire gang of bullies in a snowball fight, he sees Buddy as this.
- Cordon Bleugh Chef: Insists on adding maple syrup to everything.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Buddy may be naïve and ditzy, but he can throw snowballs crazy hard and fast, enough to take out a whole group of bullies by himself.
- Fish out of Water: Man-childish Buddy arrives in New York wearing an elf costume.
- Friend to All Children: Buddy is great with kids, bonding with Michael and holding a baby in outro.
- Gasshole: Swallows an entire 2-litre bottle of Coca-Cola in one gulp and then lets out a very loud burp (dubbed in by Maurice LaMarche).
- Genius Ditz: Buddy acts like a 7-year-old trapped in an adult's body, but while his being human makes it harder for him to keep up with elf builders, he certainly builds faster and better than any human (you try making 85 Etch-A-Sketches in a day, let alone 1,000). He singlehandedly decorates an entire store for Santa's arrival in less than one night, complete with a Lego replica of New York City and the Mona Lisa on an Etch-A-Sketch, to the point that Jovie's boss is afraid that someone is trying to steal his job.
- Genki Guy: Is very cheerful and likes to run around and goof off.
- Gentle Giant: Giant by elf standards. And even then, being played by the 6'3" Will Ferrell makes him visibly taller than most of the human cast.
- Gosh Dang It to Heck!: Uses phrases like "Cotton-headed Ninnymuggins" and "Son of a nutcracker".
- Hero-Worshipper: Buddy adores Santa.
- Heroic Bastard: His parents, Walter and Susie, only had a fling and were never married. However, Buddy is very sweet and kind.
- Innocently Insensitive: Due to his childhood in the North Pole, Buddy has no idea what dwarfism is and assumes Miles Finch is an elf. Which greatly offends the man and he proceeds to beat him senseless. But Buddy is still none the wiser afterwards, concluding that he must be a "South Pole elf" (which are supposedly naturally grumpy). This goes from funny to tragic within seconds, as even though he's not hurt (merely confused) by Miles clobbering him, he is deeply hurt (emotionally) when Walter yells at him with an I Have No Son! rant and orders him to leave, still unaware of what he did wrong.
- The Insomniac: Somehow manages to cope with only getting 40 minutes of sleep a night.
- Idiot Ball: Due to being a ManChild Buddy isn’t exactly very bright, aside from being unfamiliar with the world outside the North Pole. Like when he first meets Walter for the first home, despite having been told and acknowledging that he never knew he was born, Buddy still expected Walter to know and recognize him as his son. He’s also very naive and gullible with no conceit of sarcasm and, as the Elves pointed out, didn’t realize he was a human until he overheard it being mentioned despite his physical differences.
- Insistent Terminology: Even though Walter accepts Buddy at his son, he prefers to be referred to as adopted rather than his first born.
- Large Ham: Often shouts and rants excitedly, for instance, when he yelled, "SANTAAAAA!! OH, MY GOD!!" upon learning that "Santa" was coming to the mall.
- Line-of-Sight Name: When Santa took him to the North Pole by mistake the elves saw him wearing "Li'l Buddy Diapers" so they named him Buddy.
- Made of Iron: Can get mauled by a raccoon, hit by a taxi, take a beating, and walk away like nothing happened.
- Manchild: Most likely because, as Papa Elf said, Buddy grew twice as fast as the elf children, meaning by the time he was an adult, he was only elementary school age for an elf, so he still plays kiddie games like bouncing on beds. He eventually grows out of it to some degree in the end as he becomes a successful children's book author, publisher, and father, though he still sits on Papa Elf's lap.
- Nice Guy: Does not have a single mean bone in his body. This is partly Played for Laughs, but as the movie goes on, it is clear that his irrepressibly kind nature really does help those around him.
- Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: By elf standards, Buddy's toy making skills are considered subpar. But compared to other humans, he's The Ace and is able to build and design an impressive Christmas store display in just one night.
- Plot Allergy: Briefly mentions being allergic to mould in the musical.
- Practically Different Generations: Buddy with Michael, they share the same father but Buddy is old enough to be Michael's father himself.
- Saving Christmas: Save the day in the end by fixing up Santa's sleigh and having Michael and Jovie to raise up the Manhattan citizens' Christmas spirit in order to fly the sleigh so that Santa can finish his trip throughout the world.
- Small Parent, Huge Child: Buddy is a human raised by Christmas elves and is gigantic compared to his adoptive father figure Papa Elf.
- Still Believes in Santa: To people in the 'real' world, Buddy is an adult Manchild whose belief in Santa is played as a weird quirk. The plot of the film involves Buddy trying to get the rest of the adult world to renew their belief in Santa. Justified, as Buddy's been raised by Christmas elves (by Santa himself in the musical) so he knows for sure that Santa exists.
- Super-Speed: When it comes to making snowballs and throwing them.
- Sweet Tooth: Will Ferrell actually got a headache eating all of the sweets Buddy makes for himself.Buddy: We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup.
Walter Hobbs
Walter Hobbs
Played by: James Caan
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Sells a shipment of children's books on an installment plan (to what's implied to be an orphanage or at least a poorly funded school) and then personally brings in the customer to demand she return them because of a missed payment. And knowingly approves a run of misprinted books (a misprint that was due to his negligence in the first place) rather than take a loss. He later regrets this afterwards.
- Defrosting Ice King: Softens up considerably towards the end of the movie.
- I Have No Son!: After Buddy costs him a book publishing deal, he tells Buddy he doesn't care that he's his son and yells at him to get out of his life. Later regrets this after being called out by Michael for this.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While he's rather grumpy and frequently lets his greed get the better of him, he genuinely cares for his family; even willing to forsake his job in order get them the attention when they need it the most.
- Married to the Job: Spends most of his waking moments either at his job or doing something related to it.
- My God, What Have I Done?: After giving a furious I Have No Son! speech at Buddy who then leaves, he is visibly distraught at what he just did. Gets it again when Michael calls him out for driving Buddy away; later he even apologizes to Buddy for it.
- Papa Wolf: While he doesn't lose his temper, Walter isn't pleased when Mr. Greenway is rude to Michael.
- Parental Neglect: Walter is so focused on work that he neglects Michael. Emily points this out as the movie goes on, and Michael eventually calls him out on it after Buddy runs away.
- Parents as People: He's neglectful of his family and tends to be too invested in making a profit, but it should be noted just how patient he is with Buddy despite his quirks, only lashing out at him after Buddy costs him a publishing deal and immediately regretting it afterwards. He also calls out Greenway for being rude towards Michael.
- Pet the Dog: Does this as he bails Buddy out of jail following the Gimbels incident, helps Michael in finding Buddy in Central Park, and even apologizing for his outburst. He is even surprised to see that Santa actually exists and had the elves to raise Buddy; even willingly offering himself as bait to the Central Park Rangers so that Buddy can help Santa fly his sleigh again.
- The Scrooge: Tends to act grouchy as he is more focused in maintaining Greenway Press's profits, but this is only because Greenway pressured him to do so.
- So Proud of You: Feels this way watching Buddy helping Santa fly his sleigh out of Central Park. Does this again a year later after learning that Buddy has become a successful children's book author as his first book became a bestseller, which generated enough profit for both Walter and Buddy to start their own publishing company.
- Took A Level In Cynicism: If his picture from the time he went out with Buddy's late mother Susan was any indication, he was likely a young idealistic man of the Sixties who still believed in what really mattered (in his case, likely the anti-war movement) and played acoustic guitar. Fast forward to the events of the film and he's a cranky Corrupt Corporate Executive.
Jovie
Jovie
Played by: Zooey Deschanel
- Beautiful Singing Voice: Buddy loves the sound of her singing.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: She's rather bitter and standoffish at the beginning, but softens up thanks to Buddy's kindness.
- Does Not Like Spam: Refers to the coffee served at the cafe Buddy takes her to as "crappy".
- Freudian Excuse:
- The musical explains why she's such a humbug when we first meet her. She grew up in Los Angeles, where she describes Christmas as being, "surreal", because it never snowed; she had been living in New York for two years, and even then, she still never saw snow, so Christmas never felt special to her. That, and apparently she went out with a bunch of jerks over the years.
- While the film itself doesn't out right say it, her negative attitudes towards Christmas can also stem down to her being a retail worker at a large department store during the busiest shopping time of the year. What makes it worse is her having to wear a silly elf costume and deal with a control-freak boss.
- The Grinch: Makes it extra ironic that Buddy falls for her (and vice versa) because she initially only sees Christmas as a time to "get through" (although she does sing a Christmas carol in the shower).
- Hidden Depths: She may be grumpy and hate singing in front of others, but she sings very well when she's alone and she does grow to enjoy Buddy's games.
- Ironic Name: Jovie is anything but jovial.
- No Full Name Given: Her last name isn't revealed.
- Tsundere: To the point that some viewers interpret her character's constant repressed anger as flat boredom.
Emily Hobbs
Emily Hobbs
Played by: Mary Steenburgen
- Good Parents: Is essentially this to Michael. Even when finally meeting Buddy in person, she welcomes him with open arms and convinces Walter to help him move on with his life. Even by next Christmas, she is even more proud to see that Buddy has written a bestseller children's book that allowed the family to establish their own publishing company.
- Good Stepmother: She is a sweet, loving, accepting maternal figure to Buddy.
- Nice Girl: Perhaps the only person in the movie as kind and optimistic as Buddy. Noticeably, Emily is the only member of the Hobbs household to instantly accept Buddy as part of the family, while Walter and Michael take a little time to warm up to him.
- Parental Substitute: Serves more as a maternal figure to Buddy as his real mother died when he was an infant.
Michael Hobbs
Michael Hobbs
Played by: Daniel Tay
- Author Appeal: Is constantly wearing New York Jets apparel, no doubt because Jon Favreau is a fan of the team.
- Defrosting Ice King: Tends to avoid Buddy at all costs, thinking that he is a total weirdo. He isn’t wrong, but he also finds out this isn’t a bad thing, and that for all his eccentricity, Buddy is a kind and downright noble person. He warms up to Buddy faster than his own dad does.
- Hidden Depths: Even without Walter taking an active role in his life, he's still on Santa's nice list. He even convinces Buddy to go on a date with Jovie.
- Jerkass to One: While he starts off as a bit of a jerk to Buddy, he's really not a bad kid. Santa even has him on the nice list.
- Took a Level in Cheerfulness: Michael starts off the film a bit cynical and withdrawn thanks to his dad's aloofness. Hanging out with Buddy makes him much more open and enthusiastic about Christmas. Even upon learning that Santa Claus exists and that Buddy actually works for him, Michael is willing to help them out by reading Santa's book of gifts to the public in order to raise their Christmas spirit.
- Took a Level in Kindness: At first, he's a jerk to Buddy and wants nothing to do with him, but after being around him long enough he warms up to him.
Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Played by: Ed Asner
- Accidental Kidnapping: He didn't realize that the baby Buddy had crawled into his sack until he gets out at the North Pole. Even so, he considers either returning the child or raising him. Guess what Santa chooses.
- Badass Santa: Downplayed, but it is implied to have dealt with muggers in New York before and was ready to throw down with an intruder only stopping when he realized it was just Buddy.
- Benevolent Boss: No doubt about it as he treats Buddy and the elves with respect; even giving Buddy a few tips about traveling to New York City to meet up with Walter. Even when Buddy mopes over his supposed failure to reconnect with Walter, Santa cheers him up by telling him to accept himself for what he is.
- Everyone Has Standards: As much as Santa checks twice on his nice and naughty lists, he permanently put the Central Park Rangers on the naughty list for a very good reason: they are infamous for Police Brutality.
- Friend to All Children: He's Santa. When having to pick between adopting Buddy and returning him, Papa Elf admits that Santa was too much of a "pushover" with kids to turn one away to an orphanage.
- Good Parents: Was the one who raised Buddy in the animated adaptation and was just as loving to Buddy as Papa Elf was.
- Grumpy Old Man: He tends to act like this when doing work but is otherwise cheerful and supportive towards the elves; even convincing Buddy to go to New York to reconnect with Walter if he has to.
- Santa Claus: He's the real St. Nick.
- Saving Christmas: Gets Buddy to fix up his sleigh at Central Park due to the lack of Christmas spirit among many of the citizens in New York.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Following Buddy's departure due to Walter's I Have No Son! speech, he spotted Santa crashing at Central Park, where he explained about his failure to reconnect with Walter, believing that he doesn't belong anywhere. However, Santa refuses to take any of that and calls Buddy a true elf and says there isn't anyone but him that he'd want to work on his sleigh.Santa: Buddy, you're more of an elf than anyone I ever met, and the only one who I would want working on my sleigh tonight.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: When Buddy says he's not an elf, Santa tells him he's more of an elf than anyone he's ever met.
Papa Elf
Papa Elf
Played by: Bob Newhart
- Adapted Out: Doesn't appear in the musical or animated adaption. Instead, Santa takes over his role as Buddy's adoptive father figure and the narrator.
- Character Narrator: In the live-action film.
- Good Parents: Is eternally patient with Buddy and raised him lovingly. When he realizes that a human really can’t live with elves effectively, he is ready to direct Buddy to where his real father lives. He is also happy to have Buddy and his new wife and child move in with him.
- Parental Substitute: Raised Buddy and loved him like a son.
Leon the Snowman
Leon the Snowman
Voiced by: Leon Redbone
- Adapted Out: Leon doesn't appear in the musical or animated adaptation.
- Animal Lover: While he doesn't like dogs because they make Yellow Snow, he does describe New York's other animals as "wondrous".
- Expy: Of Sam from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
- Ink-Suit Actor: He resembles Leon Redbone right down to his facial features and sunglasses.
- Snowlems: Is a sentient snowman.
Fulton Greenway
Fulton Greenway
Played by: Michael Lerner
- The Antagonist: He is the closest thing the movie has to an actual villain, being the main source of Walter's conflict.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Way worse than Walter, as he forces the latter to work on a new book by Christmas Eve or else he will be fired. Even when Walter tries to convince Greenway to reschedule the meeting on the new book as he has to help out Michael in searching for Buddy, Greenway selfishly refuses and impatiently threatens to fire him if he tries to leave.
- Establishing Character Moment:
- We see him coming into the office where Walter tries to greet him with a simple handshake, only for Mr. Greenway to rudely ask him to take his seat to the point of discussing the misprinted book, which at one point explains the main reason why he's visibly angry and treats one of his employees with zero respect.
- After complaining about how awful the book is (it has two missing pages, a nonsensical story, and a poor financial report as a result), he coldly and firmly demands that Walter finds a new book to publish or else.
- Evil Counterpart:
- You might say that he is this to Walter: both are greedy businessmen with a no-nonsense attitude towards others. However, Walter truly cares for his family, while Greenway is apathetic to others; he even forbids Walter to ever tend to his family on Christmas Eve to satisfy his own greed.
- He is even this to Santa, as the latter values the respect and happiness of his employees while Greenway on the other hand only values profit.
- It's All About Me: Greenway is about getting his company back on financial track; even forcing his employees to work on Christmas Eve when they want to spend the holidays with their loved ones.
- Jerkass: Doesn't give a crap about his employees' well-being; even refusing to show any sympathy over Walter's plight of driving Buddy away.
- Jerkass Has a Point: He bluntly, yet rightfully, points out that Walter was wrong to knowingly approve a release of misprinted books that was caused by his negligence in the first place, because that ended up with the company losing a lot of money and getting their reputation tarnished as a result.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Implied. It appears that his company will go out of business due to not having a bestselling book to publish.
- Mean Boss: The CEO of Greenway Press is who generally mean and apathetic to his employees, especially Walter.
- Small Role, Big Impact: It is possible that Walter's selfishness was a result of Greenway's treatment of him.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Mr. Greenway's fate is unknown, but it is likely that he and his company began to suffer financial troubles.
Miles Finch
Miles Finch
Played by: Peter Dinklage
- Badass Boast: He gives Buddy one last warning to knock off his apparent ridicule."Hey, jackweed, I get more action in a week then you've had your entire life. I have houses in LA, Paris, and Vail, each one of them with a seventy inch plasma screen."
- Big Little Man: The movie initially implies he's a big guy via a Feet-First Introduction and many awed and intimidated looks from bystanders. His true height is only revealed when he pushes a chair.
- Depraved Dwarf: Downplayed. He has an unpleasant and vain personality, but he is still a well-known children's book author who is only truly mean to those who mock his dwarfism.
- Disabled Snarker: Gets in a few sarcastic jabs in response to Buddy's Innocently Insensitive comments.
- Hidden Depths: His initially quiet reaction to Buddy's apparent insults sounds very calm and controlled, suggesting this is something he's learned to do over the course of his life.
- Hypocritical Humor: During his meeting at Greenway Press, he shoots down the other writers' ideas for Christmas books about tomatoes and farm life, because tomatoes are "too vulnerable" and "everyone is pushing small town chic, it'll drown in white noise". Yet when the writers find his notebook full of pitches, apparently one of them is about a peach living on a farm.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Despite being a hotheaded person with an ego, it's hard to blame him for being pissed off at someone who, as far as he's aware, continuously mocks him for his dwarfism and just won't knock it off; he even lampshades this to Buddy. He doesn't even immediately maul Buddy; he lets the first few slide before getting increasingly pissed off.
- Little People Are Surreal: Defied; he does not respond well to Buddy's assumption that he's a Christmas elf. He also inverts this trope, as his encounter with Buddy only serves to highlight how out of touch the latter is with the normal world.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: After being a Large Ham all the way up until Buddy meets him (and considerably so afterwards), his response to Buddy's initial apparent taunt about his dwarfism... is a quiet, morose dismissal, sarcastically telling him he’s hilarious before returning his attention to his pitch. While he does begin losing his temper, the fact that he reacts in such a subdued way to what seems to be an attack on his dwarfism is extremely noteworthy.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: He's a much, much better fighter than his small size would indicate, as shown by how he manhandles a man about three times his own size. Admittedly, Buddy was barely fighting back, but the weight difference still makes it an impressive feat, and the moves he pulls imply he's a martial artist of some skill.
- Vocal Dissonance: In the live-action movie, he has a much deeper voice than one would expect from such a small man. This is used to help build up the initial impression that he's a big man literally in addition to figuratively.
Central Park Rangers
Central Park Rangers
- Adapted Out: From the animated adaption.
- All There in the Script: In the original script, they're compared to Genghis Khan and the Mongol hordes of the 13th century in their ferocity.
- The Dreaded: They are corrupt cops whose special brand of Police Brutality got them a permanent spot on Santa's naughty list. They are also insightful as they can tell who the real Santa is; even refusing to get themselves fooled by Walter when he poses himself as Santa. Mounted Police are nothing particularly special, but they're filmed in a way that makes them look like the Nazgûl or the Horsemen of the Apocalypse!
- Evil Is Petty: They are fully aware of Santa's existence and hold a grudge against him for putting them on the naughty list. And the reason why is this: they are infamous for their controversial and brutal tactics of controlling park crowds, especially with a Simon and Garfunkel concert held at Central Park in 1985.
- The Grinch: Santa put them on the naughty list for life, so they are going to make damned sure nobody will have a merry Christmas ever again unless Buddy and the others save the day.
- No-Nonsense Nemesis: Walter poses himself as Santa by taking his hat and coat in an attempt to distract the Rangers so that Buddy can help the real Santa fly his sleigh out. One would expect that the Rangers would just trample down Walter, but instead, they're not fooled one bit and rode past Walter to continue their pursuit towards Buddy and the real Santa, much to Walter's anger.
- Noodle Incident: Apparently some 20 odd years ago they did something at a Simon & Garfunkel concert, and the investigation is still ongoing.
- Rabid Cop: They resorted to brutal tactics of controlling park crowds, something that even Santa morally refused to overlook.
- Revenge: They only appear to catch Santa... and probably imprison or kill him for putting them on the naughty list.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: They are last seen witnessing Santa and Buddy flying their sleigh out from Central Park, upset that they can't get their revenge.
