Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas

Airing on 16th December, this would be a stop motion special of the modern Christmas classic Elf (which I absolutely love & watch every Christmas with my family & never ever fails to make me laugh no matter how many times I watch it) This is also particularly notable as the only actor to return for this is Ed Asner as Santa Claus (So no, Zooey Deschanel, James Caan, Peter Dinklage or Mary Steenbergen didn't return to do this) & the songs used in this are actually taken from the Broadway adaptation of the movie (yes, it exists!) Since Will Ferrell & Jon Favreau are out of the picture, can Jim Parsons & making this stop motion bring as much charm to Buddy & the movie, or was I right to have doubts over this? Let's find out!

Story: I know, everyone has complained from the get-go because this is pretty much one huge recap of the movie & therefore feels useless! However, I will give it credit that it does everything in a caricatured way because this special knows what it wants to be: a special like the classic Rankin/Bass specials! There's changes, of course, with the romance between Buddy & Jovie being reduced, Miles Finch being replaced by an over the top Mr Greenway who fires people all the time & there's more shown after Walter tells Buddy to get out of his life & the climax is completely different despite the message remaining the same. But there is one massive issue I have: it lacks the heart. The relationship between Buddy & his father is severely reduced & isn't as developed compared to the live action film, although I can understand why in a way due to this just being a recap & the time being compressed. However, the comedy makes up for it with subtle references to the movie (i.e the World's Best Cup of Coffee joke being referenced through a World's Greatest Dad mug), funny slapstick & essentially being a homage & parody of them stop motion Christmas special as mentioned before (in particular Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer). Sure, it may feel useless with retelling the story with a few changes here & there, but the execution is really good since the special is fully aware of what it wants to be!

Animation: Since the special wants to be like them classic stop mption specials, they treat the animation like that with over the top character caricatured designs (which don't resemble their respective actors & feels pretty mixed as I'm not really a fan of Buddy's design) & the character animation & lip synching (which incorporates 2D animation) being pretty limited (up to the point they intentionally freeze the extras in the background). The backgrounds around New York & the North Pole also look pretty good even if most of it is made of cardboard & also looks pretty basic, but that's definitely how it should be for something like this. If there is moments where the animation shine, it definitely has to be during the musical numbers, as they are staged like a Broadway show (which makes sense since the songs are from the Broadway show) & the visuals go all out & make it look really Christmas-y. Another part I love is the use of 2D animation used when telling the stories But if I had one issue, it'd be that it looks a little bit too polished compared to the rough quality of the specials. Still, even if it's intentionally meant to look limited, it does look nice & does a great job at paying homage to the Rankin/Bass specials!

 

Characters: One thing's for sure, considering this is a stop motion special & a cartoon, therefore the characters are treated like this compared to their live action counterparts! Buddy, for example, is essentially the same Christmas fanboy being naive with a good heart yet is a bit more over the top. But I know what the big question is with Buddy: Is Jim Parsons as good as Will Ferrell? Well...he's actually really good! I mean, nobody can play Buddy like Will can but Jim does a pretty good job with his voice acting & manages to make Buddy his own character rather than trying to imitate Will's performance, being a bit more goofy this time round. His father, Walter (voiced by Mark Hamil) is the same cynical man as he was in the film, but his change in heart happens quicker & is a bit nicer. As for Jovie (voiced by Kate Miccuci) she feels pretty watered down compared to her live action counterpart & is pretty much the generic love interest & is less cynical compared to the film. Buddy's stepmother Emily (voiced by Seth MacFarlane's sister Rachel MacFarlane) & half brother Michael (voiced by Max Charles) are the loving wife & kinda cliched kid who are sad over Walter's cynicism & immediately accept Buddy into their family with Michael being down in the dumps over believing in Santa thanks to his dad. Santa (voiced by Ed Asner reprising his role from the film) is essentially the same as he was in the film, except is a bit more fun & less cynical compared to the film & also narrates the special. Oh yeah, and this special's version of Miles Finch, now called Mr Greenway (voiced by Gilbert Gotfried), a hilarious over the top villain that fires everyone he sees &Gilbert Gotfried's voice acting is of course hilarious, if not too similar to his performance as Iago in Aladdin (although you could argue it's intentional due them having very similar personalities) Sure, the characters may be more cartoony compared to their live action counterparts, but that's how it should be for something like this & the voice acting is very very solid!

 

Songs: Yes, this is a musical as the title suggests, and they genuinely surprised me with how good they are! The opening 'Christmastown' is a hilarious parody of them overtly happy Christmas songs & Jim Parsons' singing voice already shines when he first appears (oh yeah, and the tune from I'm In a Store & I'm Singing from the movie makes a subtle cameo!) with the witty lyrics making this hilarious. The World's Greatest Dad is a fun Broadway style number with Jim Parson's singing shining even more & is a nice way to quickly segway into the New York scenes. If You Were Real is probably the weakest song although it is nice to see more of Michael & Emily expressing how they feel about Christmas, Santa & Walter's cynicism. Sparklejollytwinklejingley (now moved from the store Buddy works in to Walter's apartment) is a very fun number during a very fun montage of Buddy decorating the apartment. A Christmas Song sung by Buddy & Jovie at Rockerfellar Centre is also a fun number rather it be the visuals or being a nice song to lift up Christmas spirit. Nobody Cares About Santa is also a funny parody of them sad & cynical second act songs as we see the perspectives of Christmas from department store Santas & is surprisingly depressing getting down to it! There Is a Santa Claus is also a fun song for Michael & Emily after they see Santa, even if it feels a bit pointless compared to the other songs in this. The reprise of A Christmas Song is also pretty good & fun for the reasons mentioned in the first version used earlier in the special. Finally, there's The Story of  Buddy The Elf, a fun recap of the events with the visuals being really creative (which makes sense for the finale) All of the songs are very well done in terms of visuals & are very fun to listen to along with some very very good singing from Jim Parsons to top it all off!

 

Overall, Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas really surprised me as it knew exactly what it wanted to be with a well executed version of the movie with very homagonist visuals, the characters we know & love being funny with very solid voice acting & very very fun songs from the Broadway show. It definitely wouldn't hurt to watch this once this Christmas (it'll actually air on Christmas Day on ITV in UK for those interested), but if I can be honest, my recommendation would just be watching the original Elf movie because that is now a staple in modern Christmas films & is such a joy to watch no matter how old you are (and yes, Will Ferrell is easily the best thing about it along with the humour). Still, this surprised me in many ways & really, it could have been MUCH worse! It's still much better than I thought it was going to be & Jim Parsons as Buddy genuinely surprised me with how good he was!
Story: 8/10
Animation: 7/10
Characters: 8/10
Songs: 9/10
Overall: 8/10