Will Ferrell Just Admitted A Fact About Elf Fans I Find Truly Bizarre, But I Love How Much People Love The Christmas Flick

Will Ferrell as Buddy happy to meet his dad in his office in Elf
(Image credit: New Line Cinema)

It’s the beginning of holiday season and you know what that means. It’s time to turn on the best Christmas movies that’ll make you all warm and fuzzy like Jon Favreau’s Elf. But just when you think you know everything about one of Will Ferrell’s funniest movies, the SNL alum reveals a bizarre fun fact about Elf that shows how much people love the holiday flick.

A timeless Christmas classic like Elf is bound to have incredible fun facts. For example, the Netflix special The Movies That Made Us taught us about Elf that the scene when Buddy walks down the street of New York were actual New Yorkers around him and not paid extras. The holiday flick was also going to be a much darker movie with a more adult-oriented PG-13 rating. If you thought those facts were bizarre, Will Ferrell revealed to People another abnormal fact that shows just how much people love the commercially successful film:

And not only during the holidays, but year-round. I have people come to me saying, 'We watch Elf on July 4th. We just love it.'

As 4th of July movies tend to be ones like Born on the Fourth of July or Independence Day, I never would have put Elf on that shelf. Then again, it makes sense that people would like to celebrate America’s birthday by watching a movie that probably defined their childhood and know it’ll bring them a feel-good mood. It proves that holiday movies don’t have to just be watched during the winter season, but any time you’re looking for some laughs and fun.

It’s been 20 years since audiences were introduced to Buddy the Elf which has led to a musical, a stop-motion Christmas TV special, and a Cotton-Headed Ninny Muggins sweater to wear for your holiday party. As we’ve entered the month of Christmas, Will Ferrell reflects on how much Elf has meant to him after all of these years:

It's really quite special. I mean, it continues to grow by leaps and bounds, and it continues to kind of entrench itself as kind of a holiday classic for people. I'm so lucky to have a movie like that in my catalog.

Just like Will Ferrell feels lucky to star in a Christmas classic, I feel fortunate to say that I’ve gotten to see Elf twice when it first came out in 2003. There are so many reasons why the Christmas classic resonates after 20 years such as how funny it is, being a riveting father/son story, and showing us the meaning of Christmas spirit to those who could use it the most. Plus, the New Line Cinema movie takes place in New York, and who wouldn’t love spending the holidays in the Big Apple? If you can find a number of reasons why a movie resonates with you, you don’t need an excuse for why you watch it all year round.

Elf is such a magical Christmas treat that audiences don’t want to wait until the holidays to watch it. Whether you want Buddy the Elf on your TV screen on the 4th of July, Halloween, or any other holiday during the year, adding Elf to your watchlist is always a good idea guaranteed to make you laugh and fill you with heartwarming feels.

Don’t wait until Christmas to watch Elf as it’s available now on your Hulu subscription and Max subscription.

Carly Levy
Entertainment Writer

Just your average South Floridian cinephile who believes the pen is mightier than the sword.