Elf

Jon Favreau first read the script as something much darker and was not interested. The turn came when he decided to build Buddy’s North Pole as an homage to the old Rankin/Bass holiday specials, and the softer age rating followed that decision rather than preceding it. The register was chosen first; the certificate came after. Buddy towering over the elves was not done in a computer. Favreau insisted on forced perspective and has described fighting hard to keep the amount of digital work down. Some sequences were shot in stop motion. That is why the sequences still hold: the scale does not break when the actors move through the frame. Chris Farley was considered for Buddy first, then Jim Carrey. The scene in which Zooey Deschanel sings was not in the script and was added once Favreau found out she could sing. Ferrell improvised the singing in the department store and the shout of Santa. Shooting was split between New York and Vancouver. A good fit if you want Buddy never once made the butt of the joke, with the film mocking the people around him instead. Not for anyone hunting a real threat in the city stretch, because the conflict stays limited to a father who will not pay attention.