Elf

Elf (2003)

8 revealing mistakes - chronological order

(40 votes)

Revealing mistake: In the beginning of the movie, there is a scene where Buddy hits his head on the roof of the house as he's running out. You can obviously see a machine pushed the snow forward to land on his head. [May be easier to see in fullscreen version]. (00:12:40)

Revealing mistake: While we see Buddy drinking the entire bottle of Coke, it is quite obvious that he is not actually drinking it. Buddy has his lips firmly sealed around the end of the bottle and gulps down the entire lot. If he was drinking it, the bottle would have caved in as no air was getting inside. It was not even possible for him to blow air from his nose back into the bottle due to the fact that he is continuously gulping.

Scrappy

Revealing mistake: When Buddy is chugging the bottle of Coke, there is a shot taken from behind Buddy. Look at his arm when this is happening. The dark line running down his arm is the tube used to carry some of the Coke away, so Will Ferrell didn't have to drink the entire 2 litres.

Revealing mistake: Towards the beginning, in one of the scenes where Buddy is sitting on Papa-Elf's lap, you can see Bob Newhart is not quite lined up with Buddy, or his legs in the foreground (Which are actually the legs of a little kid), as he is really a short distance away, to make it look as though he is shorter.

Revealing mistake: When Buddy is in the mailroom dancing on the table, you can see the sides of his pants flare out around the hips to see the outline of the harness used when he's low to the ground during some of the dance moves.

jerimiah

Revealing mistake: The number of snowballs the bullies throw at Michael and Buddy is very unrealistic. There are about five kids, and yet at any given moment, there are dozens, if not a hundred snowballs in the air.

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 sees the mail room for the first time.]
Buddy: It's just like Santa's workshop! Except it smells like mushrooms, and everyone looks like they want to hurt me.

More quotes from Elf

Trivia: Will Ferrell actually walked down Lincoln Tunnel in full costume, causing several minor accidents.

More trivia for Elf

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

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