138 Fun Facts About Elf

The elves name the orphaned baby after what?

The baby crawls into Santa's sack wearing Little Buddy Diapers, so the elves name him Buddy after the brand of diaper; Papa Elf raises him at the North Pole.

What does Buddy pour on his spaghetti at his first dinner with the Hobbs family?

Maple syrup goes over Buddy's spaghetti at his first Hobbs family dinner; when there is none on the table, he cheerfully produces a bottle of his own.

Which actor plays Walter Hobbs, Buddy's biological father, in Elf?

James Caan plays Walter Hobbs, the workaholic publisher who first has security throw Buddy out of his office and ends up quitting his job to go looking for him.

Which department store does Buddy work at when he arrives in New York City?

Gimbels had closed in 1987; the filmmakers licensed the name after a real New York store objected to a scene that unmasks its Santa as a fake.

What famous Buddy the Elf quote follows 'You sit on a throne of...'?

Buddy tells the department store Santa, 'You sit on a throne of lies!' after declaring him a fake, then yanks off his beard and starts a brawl.

On his date with Jovie, what does Buddy mean when he warns that 'the yellow ones don't stop'?

Taxis: a cab skids to a halt as the pair cross a New York street, and Buddy passes on the lesson as a rule of city life, 'Watch out. The yellow ones don't stop.'

According to Buddy, what are the four main food groups for elves?

Candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup is Buddy's list at his first dinner with the Hobbs family, after Emily says, 'You sure like sugar, huh?' and he checks, 'Is there sugar in syrup?'

What does Buddy say is his favorite activity?

Smiling is his answer when the store manager asks why he is grinning: 'I just like to smile; smiling's my favorite.' The manager snaps back, 'Make work your favorite.'

Who plays Papa Elf, the narrator of the movie Elf?

Bob Newhart plays Papa Elf, the toymaker who adopts Buddy and narrates the film; at 94 he said the part 'outranks, by far' any other role he had played.

Which exclamation does Buddy use in place of swearing?

'Son of a nutcracker!' is Buddy's yelp when a gang of bullies ambushes him and his half-brother on the way home from school; instead of running, he decides the two of them can take them on.

What is the name of Buddy's younger half-brother in Elf?

Michael Hobbs, played by Daniel Tay, is Walter and Emily's son; he starts out pretending not to know Buddy and ends up telling a live TV camera that Santa is real.

Who plays Walter Hobbs' wife Emily (Buddy's stepmother) in Elf?

Mary Steenburgen plays Emily, who insists Buddy stay when Walter wants him gone; five years later she played Will Ferrell's mother in Step Brothers.

What does Buddy do overnight before Santa's visit to the store?

Buddy redecorates the whole floor overnight, and the result is so polished that the manager assumes corporate has sent in a professional who is after his job.

Which sign prompts Buddy to congratulate a diner's staff?

World's best cup of coffee is a boast Buddy takes at its word, bursting in to shout 'You did it! Congratulations!'; on their date he takes Jovie there, and she calls it a crappy cup of coffee.

What song does Jovie sing in the shower that Buddy joins in on?

Jovie sings 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' in the store locker-room shower and Buddy, not realizing she is undressed, joins in from outside the stall.

What actor plays Santa Claus in Elf?

Ed Asner plays Santa, who crash-lands when his sleigh loses its engine and needs Buddy to find it and fit it back on; Asner voiced the role again in the 2014 animated special.

After the Candy Cane Forest and the Sea of Swirly-Twirly Gumdrops, how does Buddy enter New York?

Through the Lincoln Tunnel is how Buddy says he reached Manhattan; the tunnel stayed open while Will Ferrell walked it in costume, and drivers gawking at him had a few minor accidents.

Why does Santa say his pursuers in Elf hold a grudge against him?

He put them on the naughty list, Santa tells Buddy mid-chase. Before Buddy left the North Pole, Santa had told him that his own father was on that list too.

Which actor plays the irritable children's author who beats up Buddy?

Peter Dinklage plays the star ghostwriter flown in to rescue Walter's pitch, a man who demands a car waiting at the airport with its interior at exactly 71 degrees.

Which song does Jovie lead a crowd in singing at the climax of Elf?

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town starts with Jovie singing on live television; as the crowd around her joins in, the stranded sleigh finally rises and flies without its engine.

How does Buddy answer Walter's office phone?

'Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?' is how he picks up the phone on Walter's desk; told 'Please, don't touch anything', he is soon packed off to the mailroom.

Elf opened second at the UK box office in November 2003, behind which British film?

Love Actually, in its second weekend, took £4.66 million to Elf's £4.54 million; in the US, Elf had also opened at number two before climbing to the top a week later.

What technique was used to make Buddy appear much larger than the other elves at the North Pole?

Forced perspective filming used two sets, one smaller and nearer the camera, so Will Ferrell looms over the elves; the director says he had to fight hard to keep the effects out of computers.

What does Buddy drink in one go before the film's loudest sound effect?

The star said the sugary props left him feeling genuinely ill during filming.

What is the name of Walter's publishing company in Elf?

Greenway Press is named for Walter's boss, Mr. Greenway, whose parting shot when Walter finally walks out on him is 'You're finished at Greenway!'

What does a co-worker share with Buddy in the mailroom?

Liquor from a flask goes into the co-worker's coffee and then into Buddy, who asks to try some, gets drunk and soon has the whole mailroom up and dancing.

In its original cinema run, Elf took roughly how much at the worldwide box office?

$220 million came in during the original 2003–04 run, more than six times what the film cost to make, after an opening weekend in second place.

Which 1990s hip-hop hit plays during the mailroom dance party in Elf?

Whoomp! (There It Is), Tag Team's 1993 hit, is blaring in the mailroom when word reaches Walter upstairs that there is 'a situation downstairs'.

When Elf's script was first written in 1993, which comedy star was attached to play Buddy?

Jim Carrey was attached when David Berenbaum's script first went around in 1993; by the time it reached the screen a decade later, he had already played the Grinch.

What is the name of the jet turbine engine Papa Elf built for Santa's sleigh?

Papa Elf built the Kringle 3000, a 500-reindeer-power jet turbine, because Christmas spirit alone no longer kept the sleigh aloft.

Elf's North Pole scenes pay homage to which studio's stop-motion specials, such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?

Rankin/Bass specials were the model for Buddy's world; the director had its North Pole creatures animated frame by frame rather than digitally, so the film would feel timeless.

Besides New York, which Canadian city hosted much of Elf's filming?

Vancouver hosted much of the shoot, so parts of Elf's New York are really Canada; sets were built at a psychiatric hospital in nearby Coquitlam.

Which voice actor, the Brain in Pinky and the Brain, dubbed Buddy's enormous belch?

Maurice LaMarche supplied the belch uncredited; it was familiar work, since he had long provided the burps of Wakko Warner on Animaniacs.

In Elf, which doll does the little girl in the doctor's waiting room want for Christmas?

Suzy Talks-A-Lot is Carolyn's wish, which Buddy promises to pass on to 'the big man'; it is later read out on live TV from Santa's list as proof that he is real.

Instead of his job back, what does Buddy say the department store gave him after the brawl?

A restraining order, Buddy tells Jovie, means 'things worked out pretty good'; he has slipped back into the store anyway, to ask her out to 'eat food'.

What complaint does Buddy make about the department store's fake Santa?

He smells like beef and cheese, Buddy says, adding, 'You don't smell like Santa'; the row turns into a brawl across the store's display and ends with Buddy under arrest.

Which director turned down Elf in favor of making Bad Santa?

Terry Zwigoff passed on Elf to make Bad Santa, a far darker comedy about a thieving store Santa that reached US cinemas just 19 days after it.

What is the name of Buddy's biological mother in the movie Elf?

Susan Wells gave Buddy up for adoption and later died, and Walter never knew he had a son; her name is what stops Walter short when Buddy bursts into his office.

Santa warns Buddy that about 30 New York pizzerias all claim to be the original what?

Ray's Pizza: Santa says they all claim to be the original, 'but the real one's on 11th', right after warning Buddy that gum on the street is not free candy.

To console Buddy after he misses his toy quota, the elves point out he is their choir's only what?

Baritone: 'You bring us down a whole octave,' one elf adds, 'in a good way'; Buddy had finished only 85 toys, which put him 915 off the pace.

Which legendary stop-motion animator voices a polar bear cub in Elf?

Ray Harryhausen, whose stop-motion skeletons fought Jason and the Argonauts, voices the cub: fitting casting for a film that animated its own North Pole animals the same way.

What does the narwhal say as Buddy sets off for New York?

'Bye, Buddy. Hope you find your dad' comes from a stop-motion narwhal that rises out of the water to see him off; the voice is the film's own director, uncredited.

In his farewell note, Buddy apologizes for cramming eleven of what into the VCR?

Cookies: 'I'm sorry I ruined your lives and crammed eleven cookies into the VCR,' the note begins, before adding, 'I don't belong here. I don't belong anywhere.'

By what deadline does Walter's boss demand a new book?

Christmas Eve is when the boss flies back to hear Walter's plan for a new book, after the last one went out with two pages missing and dragged down the quarter.

Walter's writers boast that their star ghostwriter has written more classics than which author?

Dr. Seuss is the yardstick: by pitching the man they call 'the golden ghost', the two writers talk Walter into the idea of hiring yet another writer.

How does the grown-up Buddy first find out that he is human?

He overhears two elves talking: 'If he hasn't figured out he's a human by now, I don't think he ever will.' Only then does Papa Elf tell him about his parents, about 30 years late.

In Elf, Walter Hobbs works in which New York landmark, where Buddy first finds him?

The Empire State Building is where Papa Elf says Walter works, sending Buddy off with a snow globe of it; when Buddy turns up at the office, Walter has security throw him out.

Walter first mistakes the newly arrived Buddy for what?

Walter takes him for a Christmas-gram messenger sent as a prank and has building security eject him, even after Buddy sings him a song about finding his dad.

What does Walter take Buddy for after bailing him out of jail?

Walter drags Buddy to his doctor for a DNA test, which confirms Buddy is his son and ends Walter's hope that the man in tights is a prank.

Buddy wins over his young half-brother by beating a gang of bullies at what?

A snowball fight in the park ends with Buddy routing the bullies; the boy is so impressed that he coaches Buddy on how to ask Jovie out on a date.

Why does the children's author storm out of the meeting with Walter's team?

Buddy mistakes him for an elf, and the ghostwriter, who has dwarfism, attacks him and storms out; a furious Walter then tells Buddy to get out of his life.

On what does Buddy write his letter of apology before leaving the Hobbs home?

An Etch A Sketch carries Buddy's goodbye; his half-brother finds it and bursts into Walter's big pitch, and Walter walks out on his boss to go looking for him.

Buddy says the mailroom reminds him of Santa's workshop, but that it smells like what?

Mushrooms, he says, 'and everyone looks like they wanna hurt me'; Walter had sold him the basement mailroom as a place of 'shiny bins'.

Who chases Buddy and Santa through the trees at the climax?

The Central Park Rangers chase Buddy and Santa through the trees while Buddy is still struggling to get the sleigh's engine back on.

What does Walter's new independent company publish first at the end of Elf?

A children's book about Buddy, simply titled Elf, is the company's first release; Papa Elf's closing narration drily calls it a "fictional" story about an adopted elf who saved Christmas.

What is the name of the department store manager played by Faizon Love in Elf?

Wanda is on his name tag because Wanda Sykes was first cast in the part; when she dropped out, Faizon Love simply wore the tag that had been made for her.

Who plays Deb, Walter's executive assistant, in Elf?

Amy Sedaris plays Deb, who receives one of Buddy's sweetest compliments: "You have such a pretty face. You should be on a Christmas card."

Which Howard Stern Show regular plays the department store Santa who brawls with Buddy?

Artie Lange plays the fake store Santa; because their brawl smashes an elaborate set, he and Will Ferrell were given exactly one take to wreck it.

Jon Favreau's on-screen cameo in Elf is as what?

Walter's family doctor is Jon Favreau's on-screen part, yet he says his most famous role is one you only hear: Mr. Narwhal, "the one that's on T-shirts and sweaters".

Which news channel does reporter Charlotte Denon work for in Elf?

NY1 is Charlotte Denon's channel, called "New York One" on air; her live report turns into proof of Santa when Walter's younger son takes over the broadcast.

Which former child star appears uncredited as head elf Ming Ming in Elf?

Peter Billingsley, Ralphie in A Christmas Story, got the cameo partly because the director wanted some of that film's "good mojo" for his own Christmas movie.

Which jazz-and-blues revivalist voices the snowman at the North Pole in Elf?

Leon Redbone, a specialist in old-time jazz, blues and Tin Pan Alley songs, voices Leon the Snowman and also sings the closing-credits duet with Zooey Deschanel.

What is the gauge on Santa's sleigh called in Elf?

The Clausometer shows how much Christmas spirit is powering the sleigh, and Buddy calls its low reading "shocking".

What does Buddy call himself after falling far short of his toy quota?

Buddy laments that he is 'a cotton-headed ninny-muggins' after finishing far fewer toys than the other elves; Ming Ming assures him he is not.

What did Will Ferrell say made him feel ill while filming Elf?

Eating Buddy's sugary foods for real, take after take, left Will Ferrell with headaches and very little sleep, though he said he would do whatever the job called for.

Why did Elf's director add singing for Jovie that was not in the original script?

He learned Deschanel was a singer and wrote the shower duet in late, to show off what he called her "great Doris Day voice".

What does Buddy down in one go at dinner before his enormous belch?

A two-liter bottle of Coca-Cola disappears in one go; after the long belch that follows, Buddy asks, "Did you hear that?" and his young half-brother tells him, "You are so weird."

Which studio released Elf?

New Line Cinema released Elf and later wanted a sequel, but Will Ferrell turned down a reported $29 million to play Buddy again.

Who produced Elf alongside Jon Berg?

Komarnicki, also a novelist, later co-wrote The Professor and the Madman.

Papa Elf says Santa's workshop once tried gnomes as toymakers, but what was their problem?

They drank too much, says Papa Elf, and the trolls tried alongside them "weren't toilet trained", which is why he calls toy-building a job only an elf can do.

Which animal attacks Buddy when he offers it a hug on his journey south?

Buddy asks a raccoon "Does someone need a hug?" on his way to New York, and the animal leaps at him; "I just wanted a hug!" he protests.

Whose version of 'Sleigh Ride' appears on the Elf soundtrack?

Ella Fitzgerald's swinging "Sleigh Ride" is on the Elf soundtrack; composer Leroy Anderson began writing the wintry tune during a summer heat wave.

Buddy tells Walter he hoped they could make gingerbread houses, go ice skating and eat what?

Cookie dough: Buddy adds that they might "even hold hands", and Walter's only reply is a wary "Uh-huh. Come with me."

Who played the strangers Buddy meets in Elf's montage of him exploring New York?

Ordinary passers-by: on the last day of New York filming the unit shrank to the star, the director and one camera operator, who roamed the city recruiting strangers on the spot.

The North Pole snowman tells Buddy the world is full of wondrous creatures, except which animals?

Dogs, he says, before adding, "don't eat the yellow snow"; Santa later scoffs that the snowman has never been anywhere, because he "doesn't have any feet".

Which Dawson's Creek star was offered the role of Jovie before Zooey Deschanel?

Katie Holmes had to drop out over scheduling conflicts; Deschanel recalls being told at her audition, "We just offered it to Katie Holmes."

Asking Jovie out, Buddy says he feels really warm around her and that what swells up?

His tongue "swells up", Buddy tells her, right after saying he thinks she is beautiful; he then asks if she wants to go "eat food", and she turns out to be free on Thursday.

After falling short as a toymaker, Buddy is moved to the job of testing what?

Jack-in-the-boxes: Papa Elf says Buddy was sent "where the special elves work", and every clown that springs out makes him jump.

What does Buddy do with the "passion fruit spray" sample he is offered in the store?

Sprays it into his mouth: hearing only "fruit spray", Buddy says "Sure", takes a squirt and immediately reels in pain.

Which film kept Elf out of the number one spot on its US opening weekend?

The Matrix Revolutions opened the same week and took first place, but Elf overtook it to reach number one in its second weekend.

Which Russell Crowe film did Elf beat to top the US box office in its second weekend?

Master and Commander, a big-budget naval epic, opened that weekend, yet week-old Elf edged past it to claim the number one spot it had missed on its own debut.

How much did Elf's US opening weekend earn?

Elf's US opening weekend took $31.1 million from November 7-9, 2003, good for second place that weekend.

Which film critic wrote that Elf "charms the socks right off the mantelpiece"?

Roger Ebert expected Elf to be "clunky, stupid and obvious", then gave it three stars, won over after "about 10 seconds of seeing Will Ferrell in the elf costume".

The 2004 Elf tie-in was released for which handheld console?

Game Boy Advance owners got the tie-in game, which publisher Crave timed to arrive alongside the film's DVD, with missions that follow the movie's storyline.

Papa Elf says an elf can build toys, bake in a tree, or do what other job?

Make shoes at night, "while the old cobbler sleeps", is the first of the only three jobs Papa Elf lists; baking has its risks, he adds, with an oven in an oak tree.

Which Broadway house hosted the original 2010 run of Elf: The Musical?

Elf: The Musical played the Al Hirschfeld Theatre from November 2010 to January 2011 and returned to the same house for the 2012 holiday season.

Which Cheers star played Santa in the original Broadway cast of the Elf stage musical?

George Wendt said his Santa was nothing like amiable Norm, "more like a grumpy Walter Matthau"; he returned to the part at Madison Square Garden in 2017.

Who narrates the stage musical of Elf instead of the film's Papa Elf?

Santa himself tells the story on stage, and the 2014 animated special adapted from the musical kept him as its narrator.

Which department store does the stage musical of Elf use in place of the film's?

Macy's hosts Buddy on stage, a reversal: the film's makers wanted Macy's too, but the store would not allow a scene exposing its Santa as a fake.

Which film character is cut entirely from Elf: The Musical?

Instead, Buddy shreds the only manuscript of a story by a dead author, Chris Smith.

What does Buddy start when Walter reluctantly agrees to tuck him in?

A tickle fight: Buddy promises he will go right to sleep, then pounces the moment Walter gives in; told to stop, he says sorry and settles down.

Which former Girls Aloud singer played Jovie in the 2015 West End production?

Kimberley Walsh played Jovie opposite Ben Forster's Buddy in the 2015 London production.

Reassuring Buddy about his "special talents", an elf praises him for changing what?

The smoke detector batteries: "Triple-As," a second elf chips in, "and in six months you'll have to check them again."

Which Goonies actor played Santa in the 2024 Broadway revival of the Elf stage musical?

Sean Astin made his Broadway debut in the part, calling it a lifelong dream and joking that he had been preparing to play Santa since he was five.

Who voices Buddy in the 2014 special Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas?

Jim Parsons, then starring in The Big Bang Theory, voices a Buddy so relentlessly cheerful in the stop-motion special that even Santa finds him too much.

Which Star Wars actor voices Walter Hobbs in the 2014 special Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas?

Mark Hamill took over as Walter Hobbs because the special recast nearly every part; only the film's Santa returned to voice his role again.

What does Buddy do in the office building elevator on his way to find Walter?

Buddy presses every floor button in the elevator and beams that the lit panel looks like a Christmas tree.

Which studio produced Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas?

Warner Bros. Animation produced the special but hired Screen Novelties for the stop-motion, giving it the hand-made look of the vintage holiday specials the film had imitated.

Unable to match the other elves' quotas, Buddy is demoted to which lowlier North Pole job?

Toy tester is treated as a comedown in Santa's workshop, and it is while doing it that Buddy overhears his colleagues saying he is really a human.

How does Michael Hobbs convince television viewers that the crashed sleigh's owner is real?

By reading Santa's list aloud to the news cameras at the crash site, Michael wins over a sceptical city in a single broadcast.

The producer who cameos as head elf Ming Ming starred as a boy in which holiday film?

A Christmas Story made him famous as Ralphie Parker, and he later moved behind the camera, working with Elf's director again on Iron Man.

What does the furious star author leave in Walter's office that later rescues the Christmas book pitch?

A notebook of ideas is what Walter's writers find after the fight, and they mine it for a story until Walter walks out on the pitch to look for Buddy.

Elf's talking snowman is a nod to Sam the Snowman, the 1964 TV narrator voiced by which folk singer?

Burl Ives replaced the first voice actor so that the stop-motion special could boast a bigger star, a casting trick its makers repeated in later holiday specials.

What name do Buddy and Jovie give the baby daughter they take to meet Papa Elf in the final scene?

Susie appears only in the closing moments, a year after the sleigh flies, when the new family travels north to visit Buddy's adoptive father.

The actress behind Walter's secretary Deb played a middle-aged high-schooler in which Comedy Central series?

Strangers with Candy cast her as Jerri Blank, a middle-aged woman who goes back to high school, and she later wrote the 2005 prequel film.

Who insists that the Hobbs household keep caring for Buddy while Walter would rather see him gone?

His stepmother Emily argues that Buddy needs care until he recovers, and her patience gives the rest of the family time to warm to him.

What does Buddy pull off the Gimbels Santa in front of the children, starting their brawl?

His fake beard comes away in Buddy's hand, the children scream, and the furious impostor lunges at him across the display.

Why does the Gimbels manager put Buddy straight to work on his first visit to the store?

He is mistaken for staff because he arrives already dressed for the part, sent there by a sarcastic remark as he was thrown out of his father's office.

Buddy's brawl with the Gimbels Santa wrecks a display whose city skyline is built from which toy?

LEGO bricks formed a cityscape that the art department spent two weeks building, so the fight that flattens it had to be filmed in a single take.

Which famous painting, copied onto a toy drawing screen, appears among Buddy's handiwork at Gimbels?

Mona Lisa appears as a knob-drawn copy in a blink-and-miss sight gag, one of countless pop-culture reworkings of Leonardo's portrait.

Where is Jovie showering when Buddy hears her singing and wanders in to join the duet?

The store locker room is her stand-in bathroom because of trouble with the utilities at home, which is why Buddy can simply stroll in.

Which unsuitable gift, spotted in a department store display, does Buddy naively present to Walter?

Lingerie catches Buddy's eye because he cannot work out what it is for, and he later hands a set to his baffled father as a present.

Why did Elf's makers revive the defunct Gimbels name rather than film in an existing store?

Its Santa had to be real, the store they approached insisted, so the brawl with an impostor moved to a licensed, long-closed name and a set built in Canada.

At which Manhattan landmark did the real Gimbels flagship stand a block from its great rival?

Herald Square was ringed by big department stores, and when the Gimbels building opened there in 1910 its selling point was the many doors leading straight to the subway station.

The real Gimbels chain staged America's first department store Thanksgiving parade in which city?

Philadelphia saw it first in 1920, and the parade outlived the chain itself, carrying on under a television station's name after Gimbels closed.

Which luxury retailer grew out of a 1923 purchase by Gimbels, the real chain behind Elf's store?

Saks Fifth Avenue began as an uptown branch created after Gimbels bought its across-the-street rival Saks & Co., and it long outlived its parent.

What does Santa reveal about Walter Hobbs that horrifies Buddy just before he leaves the North Pole?

He is on the naughty list, Santa warns, but he adds that Buddy might be the one to redeem him, which gives the trip a mission as well as a destination.

In Elf, Santa says that Christmas spirit comes from doing what rather than from seeing?

Believing matters more than proof in Elf, where generosity and earnestness win over even the most cynical New Yorkers by the final reel.

In Elf, what does Buddy keep eating in the doctor's examination room until his hand is grabbed?

Cotton balls vanish into Buddy's mouth two at a time, and when his hand is grabbed he produces more from the other one like a magician.

Will Ferrell's wrap gift to his on-screen father in Elf was a box set of which trilogy?

The Godfather came with a note joking that its first part is a little slow, a tease aimed at one of the saga's own stars.

What news is Buddy bursting to share when he barges into Walter's crucial meeting with the star author?

He is in love with Jovie after their first date and cannot keep it to himself, with disastrous timing for his father's deal.

Which kind of Santa did Jon Favreau say he wanted for Elf when casting the role?

Gruff with a heart was the brief, and the part went to a veteran sitcom curmudgeon whose growl audiences had trusted for decades.

By the director's account, how was most of Buddy's verbal sparring with the Gimbels Santa created?

Improvised over several takes, the back-and-forth stayed loose, but the fight that follows got exactly one try because it destroyed the set.

In Papa Elf's opening narration, which creatures were rejected as Santa's toymakers for their drinking?

Gnomes were tried before the elves and found wanting, one of them shown mid-burp, which leaves toy-building as a job only an elf can do.

To which 1950s Hollywood singer has Jon Favreau compared Zooey Deschanel's voice in Elf?

Doris Day was his comparison, made in more than one interview, for the warm, old-fashioned tone Deschanel brings to the film's songs.

By the director's account, Jovie drops which elf name, borrowed from a humorist's memoir of a store job?

Crumpet was the name its author went by in his account of a Christmas job at a New York store, an essay that helped inspire the Gimbels scenes.

In Elf, what does Buddy spin around in so many times that he is sick into a bin?

A revolving door is one of Manhattan's novelties for someone raised at the North Pole, and he circles it until his stomach gives out.

What does Buddy pry off a New York handrail and pop straight into his mouth?

Used chewing gum looks like a treat to someone raised on sugar, and he works through several lumps of it before moving on.

Buddy's North Pole upbringing has made him a whiz at making which seasonal decorations in Elf?

Snowflakes are his speciality, one of the cheerful North Pole skills that turn out to be not especially useful in Manhattan.

Which toy lures the baby Buddy to crawl into Santa's sack at the orphanage in Elf's opening?

A teddy bear catches his eye, he crawls in after it, and Santa flies home without noticing the stowaway until he is back at the workshop.

What keepsake showing the Manhattan skyline does Papa Elf hand Buddy before his journey south?

A snow globe of the city holds the skyscraper where his father works, a building Elf's director said Buddy had long dreamed about through its glass.

Which playground game does Buddy play to get across a New York street crossing in Elf?

Hopscotch carries him across the road in one of the sight gags that an early trade review singled out for praise.

Buddy's lonely moment on a New York bridge was staged as a nod to which Christmas film classic?

It's a Wonderful Life also brings its hero to a bridge at his lowest moment, and Elf's director said the echo was intended.

Where does Buddy get the Christmas tree he brings home to the Hobbs family apartment?

From a city park, where he chops one down with no idea that it is wrong; Mrs Hobbs has to promise that the tree will be replaced.

What embarrassing flaw sinks Walter's newest children's book, leaving his job at the publisher in danger?

Two pages are missing from The Puppy and the Pigeon, which flops, and Walter is ordered to come up with a winning pitch quickly or be fired.

Which hip-hop duo's 1993 party anthem enjoyed a resurgence after it soundtracked Buddy's mailroom dance?

Tag Team saw Whoomp! (There It Is) revived by the scene, in which a tipsy Buddy dances on a table while the whole mailroom pounds along.

At which Midtown landmark are Buddy and Jovie ice skating when he first kisses her on the cheek?

Rockefeller Center's rink comes at the end of their date, just after the pair stop to admire its giant Christmas tree.

The Hobbs family's Upper West Side apartment building in Elf is best known from which 1980s comedy?

Ghostbusters used the same tower as the haunted home of Dana Barrett, adding eight extra floors and a rooftop temple with matte paintings.