It’s almost Christmas and that means Elf is at the top of our watchlists for this month, but we could have had a sequel if the lead actor had accepted a massive payday.
That cotton-headed ninny-muggin.
If you’ve not been blessed enough to watch the 2003 film, it centred on Buddy (Ferrell), a human who was raised by elves at the North Pole.
When the (unsurprising) news reaches him that he’s not actually an elf, he travels to New York to find his biological dad, played by the late James Caan.
That’s when he encounters Zooey Deschanel (Jovie), and the pair have a few singing scenes and develop an unlikely romance.
The film also includes a fantastic list of celebrities such as the late Bob Newhart (Papa Elf), Mary Steenburgen (Emily) and Peter Dinklage (Miles Finch), as well as director Jon Favreau playing Dr. Leonardo.
Elf was super successful following its release and managed to gross a whopping $220 million (£178.9 million) at the box office against its $33 million (£26.8 million) production budget.
But even though fans would have been amazed to have been able to come back for round two, it seems not even a huge cheque could convince leading man/elf Ferrell to revive his iconic role for a sequel.
He’s obviously presented himself in numerous different roles since then, but fans will struggle to ever see him as anything but the excitable Buddy who just wants to spend his time asking people their favourite colour.
The film is so loved that many have called for a sequel over the years, and you might be either delighted or devastated to hear that one was actually written – just never made.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2021, Ferrell admitted he never expected Elf to be the hit that it was.
While dressed in his yellow tights, he recalled thinking ‘this could be the end’.
Remembering calls with his manager about test screenings, the actor said: “He was like, ‘Well, the family one went great, but we could really get eviscerated in this next one. I’m looking at a bunch of what look like USC frat boys about to go in’.”
The success of the film inspired the idea for a sequel, but Ferrell explained that he wouldn’t have been able to promote a follow-up without being honest about why he’d taken the job – which was, of course, a giant chunk of money.
Had Ferrell accepted the opportunity to return as Buddy, he would have walked away with an eye-watering $29 million (£23.6m) payday.
I know a lot of people who would put on an adult-sized elf outfit for a lot less, but Ferrell explained: “I would have had to promote the movie from an honest place, which would’ve been, like, ‘Oh no, it’s not good. I just couldn’t turn down that much money.’
