Buddy the Elf has fallen on hard times.
Will Ferrell showed up at an NHL game dressed as his beloved character from the 2003 family comedy Elf, only with a bit of a twist.
Ferrell attended Sunday’s L.A. Kings-Philadelphia Flyers game at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena.
There, the 57-year-old dressed as the ever-cheerful Buddy — only with two-day stubble, smoking a “cigarette,” drinking beer and glowering at the camera.
Will Ferrell and family at Sunday’s Kings game.
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Ferrell told sideline reporter Gino Hard that it had been “a tough holiday season.”
While Ferrell gave fans this bit of throwback fun for free, he famously had declined to reprise the role in a sequel to the film. In 2021, the actor told The Hollywood Reporter he turned down a “rehash” sequel — which had been fully written — which would have paid him $29 million to play Buddy a second time.
“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,’” he said. “And I thought, ‘Can I actually say those words? I don’t think I can, so I guess I can’t do the movie.’”
The original 2003 comedy directed by Jon Favreau starred Ferrell as a human raised alongside elves at the North Pole who travels to New York to meet his biological father, leading to plenty of fish-out-of-water antics. Ferrell said he remembered shooting the film, running around New York in yellow tights and thinking to himself, “Boy, this could be the end.”
In THR‘s original review, our critic noted, “While the words ‘instant holiday classic’ might be pushing it, Elf is at the very least a breezily entertaining, perfectly cast family treat.”
The film grossed $220 million at the box office, and has since became a Christmas classic, continually ranking as one of the most popular re-watches during the holiday season.
