Elf: 20 Years

In 2003, a new Christmas movie was released and dominate the Christmas box office. Will Ferrell would soon propel himself into be a household name as Buddy the Elf.

The movie follows an orphan raised by elves who discover that his father Walter Hobbs (James Caan) was placed on a naughty list. Hobbs is also close to losing his job with a publishing company if he doesn’t pitch a new story idea. Buddy makes a journey to New York to spread Christmas cheer and to reunite himself with his father.  

The movie would become a popular modern classic. It has much crude humor, yet if we look at this new classic with a different lense, we can understand how to celebrate Christmas like the beloved fictional character.

Now, I have seen this movie dozens of times and I saw it a few times more and discovered some remarkable lessons from the movie.

Pro-Life Story

Buddy’s parents Walter and Susan were college sweethearts involved in a tumultuous romance while attending college. It led them to conceive Buddy and left him at an orphanage. As the plot unfolds, Buddy found himself inside of Santa’s sack one Christmas Eve that led him to the North Pole.

This shows the power of how an unplanned pregnancy can unleash and how a mother says yes to the life conceived in the womb.

Buddy realizes that he is different than everyone else. He begins to beat himself up. Yet, with the help of the elves, he realized that he had a purpose in life.

Three Rules of Elves

Buddy lives by three rules for every elf in the North Pole. The first is to treat every day like Christmas. Next is that there is room for everyone on the nice list. Finally, the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.

For Buddy, he treated every day like Christmas. He brought his work ethic from the North Pole to a retail store. He went all out in decorating his father’s apartment that even his wife and son were amazed.  It was welcomed by many, but there were others who did not appreciate his enthusiasm, especially his own father.

The main goal of Buddy is to help those who were on the naughty list to get on the nice side. One of them was his father.

For Catholics, we can relate to this. We are surrounded by people who are not right with God. All it takes is for us to do is (in the words of Pope Francis) to annoy people with the gospel. At the same time, we must continue being the light that shines through the darkness. Let’s never forget that we must remember death and have to prepare our souls for when we meet God.

Buddy does spark a romance with a co-worker from the store named Jovie. Buddy would creepily sing along with her as she was getting a shower and ready for work. He would later compliment her amazing singing. She would help Buddy bring Christmas cheer to New York on Christmas Eve. For Jovie, she was nervous, but it was Buddy who inspired her to break through her stage fright.

Elf is a modern classic that is a popular movie choice for everyone. Sing loud for all to hear, help someone get right with God, and treat every day like it’s your last.