Elf

Question: When The Central Park Rangers are called in action it mentions the Simon and Garfunkel concert and their actions being under speculation - was this a real event (their questionable actions), and if so what was the problem, or was it just a fictional jokey reference?

Answer: This was a real event. The Simon and Garfunkel free concert drew a crowd of over half a million people and the Central Park Rangers were investigated for being a little "over-enthusiastic" in their methods of crowd control. It was 1981 though, not 1985 as stated.

Absolutely correct and thank you - I was there at the concert and it was 1981. I love the movie Elf but that incorrect reference is a slight irritant - LOL.

Answer: I believe that this refers to an incident I was involved in. I was a new ranger riding Captain Cutter, an ex-race horse that we had Nick named Captain Goofy due to his propensity to suddenly spin in circles without warning. We were leading buses of handicapped people through shoulder-to-shoulder crowds when Goofy did his thing sending people scattering in all directions. It was over pretty quickly. I did not realise at the time that it was news.

Question: Has anyone noticed what looks exactly like a Buddy Elf doll standing on the kitchen counter during the breakfast scene where Buddy is pouring syrup for the mom? If you pause when the camera pulls back to show Buddy pouring syrup and the back of the moms head, you'll see the elf doll on the right side of the scene (our right, Buddy's left) facing away from the camera. It's on the counter directly below the cabinet knobs; behind the back of a chair and in front of what looks like a radio that sits against the counter wall. Ideas? Looks just like a Buddy doll to me.

Answer: It might just be a regular elf doll that, coincidentally, is dressed in real elf clothes.

Answer: This was probably deliberately added to the scene. Movies often add in-jokes like this. I believe it was "HP and the Chamber of Secrets" that while Harry, Ron, and Hermione are in Diagon Alley, the entire Harry Potter book series can be seen on a shelf in the background. In "Raiders of The Lost Ark," there are a little C-3PO and R2D2 carved into the stone hieroglyphs in the Well of Souls. "Jurassic Park" openly displayed JP merchandise, the same merchandise that was sold in stores. Filmmakers love to add little "Easter eggs" like that for audiences to find.

raywest

Answer: Yes.

Question: Is Buddy left handed or right handed? I'm just asking this because during the movie he acts left handed and then he acts right handed.

Answer: I can think of two possibilities: (1) he suffers from cross-dominance, where he uses one hand for certain tasks and the oppostie hand for others, or (2) he's ambidextrous (which is a rare variant of cross-dominance), which means he can perform tasks using either hand with equal adeptness.

Cubs Fan

I have cross-dominance. Never knew what it was called, thanks.

Answer: Maybe they reverse the image occasionally to make the scene 'work' better. Or to make Buddy appear ambidextrous?

Question: I am confused. Buddy has blood drawn in order to do a DNA sample and they get the results almost right away. Doesn't it take weeks for DNA samples to come back? If so, how can they get the results so quickly in the movie?

SAZOO1975

Chosen answer: More than likely, it was done for storyline reasons. Since the results of DNA tests *do* take a while to come back, it slows the plot down to show them waiting. I guess, in a way, this situation calls for a suspension of disbelief; it may seem like it took no time at all, but in order to enjoy the film, you have to just accept that the necessary waiting period has passed.

Cubs Fan

There's an old story where someone asked a major sci-fi producer how fast one of his space vehicles could go. He answered, "At the speed of the plot."

Answer: It was most likely a blood typing test (it can take minutes and its done through a finger-stick test). If the doctor's office had the test cards. If both parents have type A blood, their child can't have type B and vice versa with type B and A. Type O is rare enough that its more likely that Walter and Buddy's mother were either type A, B, or AB. -college student who has rewatched the movie and had to go through several allele genotype/phenotype lectures.

Actually, type O is the most common type. O - is more rare than O+, which is true for every blood type, but O is still the most common for most ethnic groups.

Answer: Most private labs can return DNA testing results in 1-2 days because the test isn't that complicated, even in the early 2000's. It's usually court ordered testing that take weeks to process because of all the bureaucratic red tape, paper work, and signatures required. Some labs do get extremely busy and therefore it might take up to 2-4 weeks to get results back, but that also usually includes more extensive DNA testing.

Bishop73

Answer: Even so the test came back almost immediatly.

lartaker1975

Yes, but again, for the sake of moving the plot along, Walter needs to know that Buddy is his son. The movie could not drag along while they were sitting around waiting for DNA results.

wizard_of_gore

Blood typing is immediate. Can you believe we used to do it in 5th grade science.

Question: In the trivia section, it mentions that Will Ferrel had a few minor accidents in a tunnel, what accidents did he have?

Answer: Seeing a tall man dressed up in a giant elf costume caused some minor car accidents.

Sparky6640

Question: I thought Santa, according to all stories, only had a list of naughty and nice children so how does Walter get on there? He's an adult.

Rob245

Answer: Obviously in this version of the Santa legend adults are on the list as well, like the reporter.

Lots of stories rely on 'believers' indicating adults are involved too. So if adults are included they're on the list too.

Ssiscool

Answer: Charlotte Dennin was on the list too.

Question: Can anyone explain the idea of "vulnerability" in the conference when they mentioned fruits, vegetables, and kids?

Answer: They're discussing the best approach for the story. They think children will identify with vegetable characters, but Miles Finch disagrees, saying vegetable characters are "too vulnerable" meaning children will identify with them, but will be sad reading the story.

Answer: A tomato is easily squashed just like children are easily overlooked put down or made to feel like they don't matter it's like a tomato being squashed.

Continuity mistake: In the very beginning, when the nun puts the baby in the crib, she puts a blanket on him he pushes it down to his feet, then the camera goes to the nun walking out of the room, and when we see the baby again the blanket is covering him again. (00:04:25)

More mistakes in Elf

Buddy: You sit on a throne of lies!

More quotes from Elf
More trivia for Elf

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