If you can recite the four elf food groups and answer the phone by asking people’s favorite color, you may be an Elf (2003) super-fan. But no matter how many times you’ve watched the holiday season staple, the deleted scene below may be new to you.
This unused footage shows Buddy the Elf (played by Will Ferrell) struggling to fit in at the North Pole before leaving to find his dad in New York City. During a game of ice hockey, he leads his team to victory by brutalizing his pint-sized competitors. The clip also includes a compilation of Buddy banging his head against ceiling beams and accidentally setting a Christmas tree on fire.
If the early scenes set at the North Pole look familiar, that’s because they were inspired by another Christmas classic. The makers of Elf modeled Santa’s home base after the 1964 television special Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer. They even secured permission to recreate Rankin/Bass’s iconic aesthetic, which is how they got away with using costumes and characters that are nearly identical to the original designs.
Elf is a movie that rewards repeat viewings, especially if you look at certain scenes in a new way. After watching this deleted scene, read up on these eye-opening fan theories about the beloved Christmas movie.
Michele Debczak
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