Because it took over a decade for the film to finally be made, the Ace Ventura: Pet Detective star never ended up taking on the role. Who Is the Mother of Love Is Blind Season 3 Star Bartise Bowdens Son? Nowadays, Favreau is a big-time director with films like Iron Man and The Jungle Book under his belt. Video: James Caan, The Godfather and Elf Acting Legend, Dead at 82 (People) As with all successful family films, the movie manages to delight parent and child alike, partially by introducing the . Buddy works at the department store Gimbels with Jovie. James Caan's Biggest Movie Roles [PHOTOS] These Stars Love Posting Naked Photos, Jessica Simpson's Hottest Bikini Photos After 100-Lb Weight Losses: Pics, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's Teen Daughter Shiloh's Transformation, VPR's Katie Reveals Tom and Raquel 'Reeked of Cheating to Me', Bull & Fox show on Clevelands 92.3 FM radio station, Bummer! One Elf element Deschanel isn't a fan of is her character's blonde hair. Various scenes pay homage to other classic Christmas films, We used stop-motion animation like 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,' which was a big influence for us," Favreau said. Just cruel enough to end up on the naughty list, but just empathetic enough to pull himself off it after a little help from the family he loves, often despite himself. Notably, in the North Pole sequences, they used forced perspective to make Ferrell look much taller than his co-stars. The elf Ming Ming oversees toy production and unintentionally helps Buddy realize he's a human. The cotton balls Buddy can't stop eating in the doctor's office were actually pieces of cotton candy that had yet to be dyed. The fact that its in rotation is the highest honor that movie can have. Years later, it still holds true. Favreau said the team approached Macy's asking to use their store, which he thought seemed like be a natural fit for the movie, but Macy's declined. . I ingested a lot of sugar in this movie and I didn't get a lot of sleep. But Will would bust his balls a lot. "It was a much darker version of the film. Obviously they couldn't rebuild everything again, which meant Ferrell and Artie Lange, as the Gimbels Santa, had only one take to tear the production team's hard work apart. But [my Elf character] is the ne plus ultra Santa, and all of the others were [in] preparation for this!. People would be looking at him walking on the side and that would cause a few minor traffic accidents.". Hanukkah is great but there's kind of nothing like rushing down on Christmas morning and opening up presents," he told Philadelphia City Paper in 2013. Ming Ming The Elf Is A Holiday Movie Star. Aside from the jokes, the singing, the nostalgia and the quotable scenes, Favreau and producer Peter Billingsley spoke with "20/20" about some of the behind-the-scenes antics and stories from the set.