Elf - Due to a mix-up at an adoption centre at Christmas, human baby 'Buddy' is transported to the North Pole and raised by Santa's elves. (Hint: An affinity for elf culture is a good start. That room was actually in the Empire State Building, not in our Gimbels location, and we had to go around the corner and pop it off as quickly as we possibly could. This is not uncmomon in the world of films as the apartment building roofs in Ghostbusters and The Devil's Advocate were also given the CGI treatment. Eschewing CGI was part of the aesthetic. This movie is destined to become a classic that will no doubt be enjoyed during the holidays for years to come. Warning: Spoilers ahead for the movie "Elf." New Line Cinema, Credit: The scene in the Will Ferrell Christmas favorite Elf where Zooey Deschanel’s character Jovie sings in the shower was added just for her. Independent Premium Comments can be posted by members of our membership scheme, Independent Premium. © Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. ELF FILMING LOCATIONS Little does he know, Buddy (Will Ferrell) is a human living in an elf’s world. “He had a vision very clearly of a holiday classic. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Our parental guide and scene content help parents decide if it is for kids. It had to be grounded in heartfelt honesty, but still in a weird, fantastical situation. “It gave us a background for the world that was based on something that was kind of real, but fantastical in its own way,” he explains. But the second-best way to spread Christmas cheer is to really go to town on the decorations. Offers may be subject to change without notice. "You sit on a throne of lies!" It took weeks and weeks for that alone.”, When it came time to shoot the scene, the department had cut and crafted hundreds of paper decorations, all of which had an individual feel. We had to draw it up because we needed to know how tall each Lego was, and we needed to figure out how many Legos we would need per building.” Smith cites this set piece as his favorite in the film because of the ingenuity involved and the fact that it allowed them to incorporate a timeless children’s toy in the narrative. “We had Legos, and [Favreau] said, ‘How about a whole city made of Legos and then they destroy it?’ I was like ‘Yes! Though they’re not part of Buddy’s decorations, Smith says he’s particularly proud of the Gimbels front windows, which Walter (James Caan) passes on his way to work and where he sees Buddy fast asleep. No matter what, once a year, people get to see it, and it’s pretty exciting to be a part of.”, Credit: Gimbels, where Buddy (the elf the movie is about) works, used to be a real department store in NYC, but it closed in the '80s; the Textile Building was used as the exterior of Gimbels in the movie instead. “He said he wasn't a singer, so I wasn't expecting much,” she said. I've got houses in L.A., Paris and Vail. But … “It had to feel handmade. The most insightful comments on all subjects will be published daily in dedicated articles. We took an elevation of each one of these very specific, iconic New York buildings, and we drafted it. They knew that I was a singer, so they put that in to be my special thing that Buddy could discover I was good at.”, Deschanel was surprised by Ferrell’s singing talent. The film has so many standout scenes such as Elf's first sighting of a department store santa who he innocently mistakes for the real thing, the duet with Zooey Deschanel in the shower room, but the climax of the film however sentimental it may be, gets me every time. Create a commenting name to join the debate, There are no Independent Premium comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts, There are no comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. “I wanted them to feel like actual skyscrapers and be the right colors of the Empire State Building or the Chrysler Building or whatever,” Smiths recalls. “We only had a very limited amount of time to shoot it,” he recalls. “Like when he’s cutting up the snowflakes and it’s blowing all the paper cutting past him — that was a tricky bit to coordinate with a blower and with special effects.”, Buddy’s most astonishing creation is the scale model of New York City’s skyline that he builds entirely out of Legos. This quiz is about the holly jolly Christmas comedy Elf. Jim Carrey was initially eyed to play Buddy the elf in Elf. 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Elf proved to be a big break for Zooey Deschanel, who played down-on-Christmas department store elf Jovie, whom Buddy falls in love with. “I remember [director] Jon Favreau telling me that they were catering it to whoever played the part,” the actor told Entertainment Weekly. Screenwriter David Berenbaum is from Philadelphia, and in real life, Gimbel's was a prominent Philadelphia department store, and sponsor of the country's first Thanksgiving parade held in that city in 1920. Some websites have claimed that the exterior was a digitally-altered version of Macy’s Department Store on 34th Street, opposed to the Textile Building on 30th Street. In Elf it was digitally altered to look like Gimbels. “We didn’t want any of the stuff that [Buddy] did in any part of the movie to feel digitized or fake, so it had to look like he was really doing it, but also be witty,“ Smith says. Are you sure you want to mark this comment as inappropriate? It had to feel like Buddy actually did it,” Smith says. Inspired by a sarcastic remark from a security guard, Buddy heads to a local Gimbels department store, where the manager mistakes him for an employee. Smith says this was the art department’s greatest challenge, simply because it required so much individual work: “Basically the set decoration department started right away making stuff homemade, so while people would be on the phone, they’d be sitting at the desk cutting up paper, cutting out little dolls, cutting out little curlicues to make snowflakes. She added: “It's funny because obviously everyone knows it's not appropriate to walk in the girls' bathroom when someone's showering, but he's so believable as this guileless elf. It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and more. In the scene in question, Buddy walks into … Alan Markfield/New Line Prods./Kobal/REX/Shutterstock. The highly festive store is heavily featured throughout the rest of "Elf," but viewers may not have realized that Gimbels was a real department store in New York City that closed in 1986. But he said the actual fight between the characters had to be done in one take. “That was on the side street of the Empire State Building. “We were all spitballing,” he recalls. Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates. You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies to your comment. Buddy turns to a colorful piece of nostalgia to create his cheery “Welcome Santa” sign: the Lite-Brite. Elf Movie Elf Decorations Elf Christmas Decorations Holiday Decorating Decorating Ideas Christmas Displays Office Decorations Snowflake Decorations. While filming on location in New York, Favreau paid a visit to Macy’s and told Smith he wanted their windows to look as grand as the famous department store’s … !’ In order to make it that fantastical, it took a lot of hands.”, One of Favreau’s guiding principles for the team was doing as much as they could with practical effects and camera tricks. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Using the illuminated pegs, Buddy spells out a snow-covered welcome sign in huge blue and red letters. “A Lite-Brite comes with a certain number of colors. ‘Gimbels Dept Store’, where Buddy redecorates the toy department overnight, is the Textile Building, 295 5th Avenue at the northeast corner of East 30th Street, embellished with CGI. “We wanted it to feel homemade, and it had to feel improvised,” production designer Rusty Smith tells EW. ), Buddy tears the stuffing from a stack of pillows and turns it into snow, which he nails to the roof of Santa’s house to lend it that extra air of authenticity. I should've known he'd be secretly good!”, Read our full mailing list consent terms here. The 2003 Christmas movie starred Deschanel as department store employee Jovie, opposite Will Ferrell ’s Buddy the Elf. The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Premium. Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. Smith says he took cues from the special’s modular white backdrops, as well as from Nordic architecture, to establish a baseline for his designs. But the sequence in the department store had to feel different. It was another case of very short turn-around. When David Berenbaum's spec script first … You have to get extra things in order to peg it in there to fill up the void to make it a consistent background. Because the buildings needed to be to scale and stand at 5 or 6 feet tall to really register on screen, the team had to build the designs from scratch rather than relying on prepackaged Lego sets. The film has so many standout scenes such as Elf's first sighting of a department store santa who he innocently mistakes for the real thing, the duet with Zooey Deschanel in the shower room, but the climax of the film however sentimental it may be, gets me every time. HomeSense has a fine selection of Bed and Bath & Home Décor products at great prices. I love that moment.”, A decade and a half later, Elf has become a perennial favorite — a Christmas movie that families watch again and again alongside the likes of White Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street, and yes, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The skyline Buddy builds at Gimbel's contains many Philadelphia skyscrapers, including One Liberty Place. 10 Reasons to Watch Elf. Buddy the elf could have fought a fake Santa Claus inside a Macy's in the movie Elf, but didn't.. However, there was still a little misinformation associated with this scene and its fictionalized version of Gimbels Department Store. “Jon came up with the Lite-Brite thing. The department store takes up a whole block in Manhattan. Advertisement. New York film locations from the movie Elf starring Will Ferrell. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. “When you come in the next morning, it has to be like ‘Holy crap, he did this? The Lego skyline required five sculptors to build the structures over the course of two weeks. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. This design presented a similar challenge as the Legos. This duet wasn't in the original script but was tailored to Deschanel's skill set. Of course there's a big scene involving Buddy's confrontation with the department store Santa Claus, who (clever elf that he is) Buddy instantly spots as an imposter. The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear. The final shot of the Mona Lisa in the film was created from a graphic manufactured to read as an Etch A Sketch screen when placed onto the actual toy and captured on camera. Here are all 70 puppies competing in Puppy Bowl XVII, The best books to keep you warm this January. Fun Trivia. “He goes through and he decimates the department store,” Smith says. “One actress they were looking at was good at skateboarding. 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