Happy 11th birthday, "Elf!" To celebrate the happy story of a sugar-junkie human-sized Santa's helper, let's take a look at 11 facts (and some fun moments) from the 2003 movie.
1. The role of Buddy the Elf was originally supposed to be played by Jim Carrey.
The script for the movie "Elf" was actually older than you think, according to SplitSider. It first started making the rounds in 1993 and Jim Carrey was supposed to star in the film. By the time production became a reality (10 years later), Carrey had moved on to other projects, including his Christmas hit, "How The Grinch Stole Christmas."
2. Tiny elves were not created with CGI - just forced perspective.
Director Jon Favreau wanted to keep it as real as he could and create a "nostalgic" feel to the film, according to The FW, so he used forced perspective instead of newer technology like CGI to make the elves look tiny and Buddy to look larger. Two sets were created and the film was blended together.
3. Will Ferrell had a bunch of health issues from eating all that sugar.
Yes, he actually ate some of that syrupy, gooey mess instead of being able to spit it out between takes. According to BuzzFeed, Ferrell had headaches and could not sleep.
The cotton balls that Buddy eats in the doctor's office are actually undyed cotton candy, according to IMDb. As Buddy said, "We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup."
4. There aren't that many buttons in the Empire State Building elevator.
Sorry. Another "throne of lies."
5. Buddy's 12-second burp is not the glorious acting skill of Ferrell.
The actor who voiced Brain from "Pinky and The Brain," Maurice LaMarche, is responsible for that mighty belch, according to IMDb.
6. Before fame and fortune, Ferrell worked as a mall Santa and Chris Kattan was his elf.
Truth, according to BuzzFeed.
7. In the scene where Ferrell tests the jack-in-the-box cluster, he is genuinely surprised.
Favreau used remote controls to regulate the popping up of the lids and he kept Ferrell guessing, according to BuzzFeed.
8. Peter Billingsley (Ralphie from "A Christmas Story") plays an uncredited role in the film. Can you pick him out?
9. Ferrell turned down $29 million to do a sequel to "Elf," according to IMDb.
10. What does "Freddy vs. Jason" have to do with "Elf?"
Sets like Walter's apartment and Gimbals' toy department were built in an abandoned mental hospital where "Freddy vs. Jason" was shot.
11. The sight of Ferrell in an elf costume walking around New York City was such a surprise that several traffic accidents occurred during filming, according to IMDb.
You can catch "Elf" on ABC Family on Dec. 19 at 8 p.m., Dec. 20 at 6 p.m., Dec. 24 at 9 p.m. and Dec. 25 at 7 p.m., according to TV Guide listings, or you can rent the DVD if you have Netflix DVD service.
