“The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” That’s a line from Elf, one of the best Christmas movies of all time, but you know what’s not a good way to spread Christmas cheer? Creating a horrifying, life-sized animatronic of Will Ferrell’s character, Buddy the Elf. Ok, it’s January as I write this, so that’s a moot point, but that doesn’t change the fact that this thing truly nightmarish, and it was introduced to Ferrell on live television.
During his visit to TODAY, Will Ferrell, who’s starring in the Amazon Prime Video subscription-exclusive movie You’re Cordially Invited with Reese Witherspoon, was shown this Buddy the Elf decoration. His reaction is pretty much what I expected, i.e. saying the same sort of things I would if I saw the animatronic. Take a look:
“It’s chilling” is an excellent description of this abomination of a Christmas decoration. As someone said in the comments section of this video, they were “terrified” to see this at Home Depot, and I’m in full agreement. It’s like Will Ferrell said, someone who signed off on this who wasn’t him, and this is the result of that decision. I’m not saying this decoration had to look like a Madame Tussauds-level waxwork, but how it ultimately turned out just doesn’t fly.
Will Ferrell “meeting” the life-sized Buddy comes a month after the actor dressed as a disheveled version of his Elf character who’d turned to alcohol and tobacco. The SNL alum amusingly attributed the changed look to Buddy getting laid off from the North Pole, and while that was a funny way for him to help bring 2024 to a close, all this animatronic does is make me feel uneasy. I can’t blame Ferrell for exclaiming “Get out of here!” and pushing it off camera. It did not deserve any more screen time.
This Christmas decoration may not have hit, but it in no way detracts for the popularity of Elf more than 20 years after its release. This is even a movie that fans are willing to watch during the 4th of July! Elf went on to spawn a 2010 Broadway musical and a 2014 stop-motion animation special, but alas, Elf 2 never came to be. The late James Caan attributed this to Ferrell and director Jon Favreau not getting along, but Ferrell later said it was because he wasn’t interested in the sequel’s “rehashed premise.” It’s ok though, some things should be kept as a one-and-done deal, and I’d argue Elf is one of them.
Unfortunately, Elf currently isn’t available on any of the best streaming services, but that will surely change once the Christmas 2025 season gets underway. Until then, you can keep yourself entertained on the Will Ferrell front by watching You’re Cordially Invited starting this Friday, January 31, and also join me in hoping the life-sized Buddy won’t be sold for the next round of holiday festivities.