Deliberate mistake: In the orphanage scene, Santa's bag drops dead center in the fireplace. The noise of the impact gets baby Buddy's attention in a quick shot, and the camera shifts back to the fireplace. Now, the bag has shifted to the viewer's left when Santa's boots are coming down. The shift of the bag is presumably to make room for the boots coming down the chimney.
Elf (2003)
1 deliberate mistake
Directed by: Jon Favreau
Starring: Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Bob Newhart
Other mistake: When Buddy's brother is reading Santa's list he reads the newscaster's wish he looks and mutters something about letters meaning they were in alphabetical order. However when he is saying random names he does not turn the page and the names are not in alphabetical order. (01:23:00)
Suggested correction: After he says each name, it cuts to that person and their reaction. Most of which was done without going back to Michael. Therefore, we can't say he didn't turn the pages.
Trivia: Originally, the store Buddy and Jovie work in was supposed to be a Macy's. However, Macy's quickly dropped out of the project when they got the script and saw that there was a scene where Buddy confronts a fake mall-Santa in the store for not being the real Santa. Reportedly, Macy's representatives indignantly told the studio that "Macy's Santa is the REAL Santa!"
Question: Did Will Ferrell have a stand-in for the mailroom dancing?
Answer: Yes.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.