Will Ferrell recently reprised a down-on-his-luck Buddy the Elf at an NHL game, going viral for the disheveled look.
Times have been tough for a lot of us. But we never expected it to hit Buddy the Elf! Long gone are the days of smiling being his favorite — at least how Will Ferrell recently portrayed him. As we reported on a couple weeks ago, Ferrell turned up in full Buddy the Elf garb at a Los Angeles Kings game after Christmas, sitting there looking absolutely miserable and out of holiday cheer. Now, Ferrell is explaining what made him dress up like that.
Appearing on the New Heights podcast, Ferrell said, “That was just…I get these weird ideas every now and then. We’re season ticket holders for the L.A. Kings. We have seats right on the glass. I told my wife, ‘Over the break, it would be funny if I just got a Buddy the Elf costume and didn’t shave for a week, and I’m just sitting there with a candy cigarette and I’m just gonna sit there for a period and see how people react.’”
Ferrell confirmed that he wasn’t promoting anything but rather just gauging the crowd. So, no, this wasn’t some sort of viral marketing for Elf 2 but rather a playful way to give a glimpse into a post-holiday Buddy. “Buddy the Elf got laid off, I think, from the North Pole…He’s having a pull from his beer, smoking a cig.” While we’ll never get an Elf 2 (nor is it warranted, despite the 2003 original being an immediate Christmas classic — and is perhaps the most recent movie to earn that title — we do have to give Ferrell props for spreading the cheer…although I’m a little miffed he helped the Kings beat the Flyers.
Pulling in $171 million domestically, Elf would become one of the highest-grossing movies of 2003. Numbers like that would normally force a sequel but it’s really one-offs like this that make you appreciate the movie — and its star — even more. Add to that that co-stars James Caan, Ed Asher and Bob Newhart have all since passed, and you’ve already lost so much of the magic that would help make the sequel work.
What did you think of Will Ferrell’s return as Buddy the Elf? Do you think a sequel could work or is Elf best left as a standalone movie?
