Christmas classic Elf is a movie that everybody should watch during the festive season. Not only does this 2003 movie evoke feelings of happiness and joy, but it reminds us to reconnect with the family members in our lives too. Oh, and it also makes us laugh, which is just what we need after an oven-based disaster with the turkey and yet another unwrapping of a gift we will never use!
Elf is one of one of Will Ferrell's most popular movies. and without him, it might not be as memorable as it now is. His performance is nothing short of enthusiastic, as he goes in search of his father (James Caan) with wide-eyed innocence and a merry Christmas cheer. But did you know that the role was originally intended for somebody else? And did you know that Elf, while far removed from those bright and repetitive Hallmark Christmas movies, was almost a much darker movie than what it actually turned out to be?
The movie we now love and enjoy could have been very different, but thankfully, what we get each Christmas is more akin to a sweet and delicious Christmas pudding than a bowl of distasteful Brussel Sprouts! Still, let's take a look at what the movie could have been.
Jim Carrey Was Almost Cast In The Lead
It's hard to imagine anybody other than Will Ferrell as the manic man-child that is Buddy the Elf. However, before the Anchorman star was considered for the role, the part was originally offered to Jim Carrey.
Of course, Carrey is no stranger to Christmas movies. He famously starred as The Grinch in the movie of the same name in 2000, and he played another Christmas miser, Ebenezer Scrooge in 2009's A Christmas Carol. Elf would have become part of Carrey's hat trick of festive movies, albeit one where he played somebody who actually enjoyed Christmas instead of despising it.
The movie had been in development for years before Ferrell became involved, and as Carrey was a rising young comedy star, he was offered the part. However, as many movies do, it got stuck in development, so by the time director Jon Favreau became involved, the now high-earning star had long since moved on.
It's not hard to imagine Carrey as Buddy, as the actor's comic persona, like the character, is wacky yet strangely loveable. Still, it wasn't to be, but before Ferell was offered the part, another up and coming comedian was a contender for the role.
Chris Farley Was Also Considered For The Role
As revealed in the new Netflix series, The Holiday Movies That Made Us, SNL alum, Chris Farley was also considered for the role of Buddy. Elf screenwriter David Barenbaum said of the movie's original producers (at MPCA), "They wanted to make this a Chris Farley movie, which would have been a different movie, a very different movie."
With an anarchic comic persona, Farley was a bit of a leftfield choice for the role of Buddy, and the movie may have been more adult in tone if he had starred in it. Thankfully, Barenbaum pitched the movie to a different studio (New Line), and they gave the green light for Ferrell to take on the role.
The Movie Could Have Been Very Darker
Also revealed in the Netflix documentary, Elf was very nearly a PG-13 movie. The original script was apparently a lot darker, according to director Jon Favreau, and less family-friendly than what the movie eventually became. Buddy's character had a darker side to him too, and while we don't have an insight into what that was, it may have been why Ferrell was originally chosen for the role. At the time Ferrell wasn't known for making family movies, as he was the star of more adult fare, such as Old School and A Night At The Roxbury.
Thankfully, Favreau had a read-through of the script and decided on something far more child-friendly. In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2013, he said:
I took a look at the script, and I wasn’t particularly interested. It was a much darker version of the film.
I remember reading it, and it clicked: if I made the world that he was from as though he grew up as an elf in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, one of those Rankin/Bass Christmas specials I grew up with, then everything fell into place tonally.
A darker version of Elf is something that could certainly have been quite interesting, but the movie is special because of its innocence and (as we see below) its Christmas spirit.
The Original Ending Was Quite Different
The ending of Elf is quite magical. When there wasn't enough Christmas spirit to get Santa's sleigh off the ground, Buddy's friend Jovie encouraged the watching crowd to sing Christmas carols. It was a scene that showed people in the city coming together as one, and how being together in joy and cheer could have powerful and magical consequences: In this instance, making Santa's sleigh fly!
This ending is what makes the movie so special and is far removed from the ending in the original version where magic dust was used to make the reindeers fly and get the sleigh off the ground. It's a nice idea, but not as magical as the power of the Christmas spirit itself!
Thank goodness for Favreau who ordered a rewrite, and thank goodness for the movie, which can evoke the Christmas spirit in all of us!
