Christmas Special: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

Synopsis
It's Christmas time and the Griswolds are preparing for a family seasonal celebration, but things never run smoothly for Clark (or anyone else on Christmas...), his wife Ellen and their two kids. Clark's continual bad luck is worsened by his obnoxious family guests, but he manages to keep going knowing that his Christmas bonus is due soon.

My Thoughts
To tell you the truth, I've never seen this movie. I know I've been told I million times that it's great, but it has just never sparked my interest. I've sort of become a Chevy Chase fan, since I started watching The Community, and it does look entertaining and slightly similar to my own family Christmases, so I might enjoy it...Let's find out!

The animated beginning was pretty funny...showing us all the possible things that could go run if Santa tries to deliver presents to that 'unlucky' house...

Has anyone else lived through that embarrassing car ride, when the parents sing Christmas carols at the top of their lungs while the kids sit in the back seat rolling their eyes...and then the dad gets some road rage and ruins the whole Christmas spirit, but I guess they made it to the Christmas tree lot.

I wish it was always that easy to pick a tree...my family always took forever walking around and arguing over which one was better...Do we want a Blue Spruce? Nahhhh...Do we want that one? Big space...What about that one? Too crooked...If only a beam of light had come down and shown us which tree to pick... :-)





'The boss enters' scenes are always weird...I feel like most bosses probably don't walk around like a general entering a war room with have their troops marching behind them. Unless they are a general entering a war room...but you never know what those big corporate guys will do I guess.

And then the parents arrive...I never understood why in-laws don't get along. My parents' parents seemed to be okay, but they also had an entire country between them for most of the time. I do feel for the son, Russ...grandparents do tend to ask you for awkward favors that you can't say no to, because they're your grandparent.




I'm totally fine with surprise visits from old friends...but if you're planning on staying at my house for an entire month, could you at least let me know? That's kind of a long time...

At least Clark was smart enough to try the sled before his kids, but this movie takes the humor a little too far. I'm all for unrealistic humor, but the sled didn't need rocket boosters to make it funny...Come on, guys. I know a lot of people find that stuff hilarious. I guess I just need it to at least be in the realm of possibility for my poor logical mind to find it entertaining...




Then you get the old couple that's supposed to add all that ageism humor. They can't hear, they're always confused, and they're always yelling. They were only 80, though...I don't feel like that's super old. I guess it's pretty old...

I think the crazed squirrel in the new Christmas tree was the best part of this movie. Not positive why every person's reaction is to scream or faint, but squirrels are pretty quick...

"Fun, old-fashioned family Christmas". Yeah...that how all our Christmases go, too. I'm sure Dad's pep talk and Christmas magic will bring the family back together for Christmas...As always. The family comes together, the boss learns his lesson, the house gets surrounded by police cards...wait. Oh, it's okay, just Christmas at the Griswold house...




I was not a fan of this movie. And I know that my opinion might get be in some hot water with some people, but I just don't find this kind of humor entertaining. Parts of it were great. But the movie, overall, I just found to be trying way too hard to be funny...which makes things not that funny to me. Sorry, everyone who loves this movie...but I will most likely not be watching it again. :-\

Where I Recognize the Characters From:
Clark - Chevy Chase - The Community
Rusty - Johnny Galecki - The Big Bang Theory
Clark Sr. - John Randolph - Roseanne (which Johnny Galecki was also in)
Nora - Diane Ladd - Er and Touched by an Angel (John Randolph was also in both of these...)
Art - E.G. Marshall - 12 Angry Men
Francis - Doris Roberts - Everybody Loves Raymond
Eddie - Randy Quaid - Independence Day
Margo - Julia Louis-Dreyfus - Seinfeld and The New Adventures of Old Christine

Random Facts
The movie is based on John Hughes' short story "Christmas '59", the second Vacation story to be published in National Lampoon's Magazine (the first was "Vacation '58", which was the basis for the first Vacation movie). The Christmas story was printed in December 1980. The label on the home movie reel that Clark finds in the attic is labeled "Xmas '59".

Frank Capra III, the grandson of It's a Wonderful Life director, Frank Capra, was the assistant director of Christmas Vacation.

The Griswolds' neighbor's house is the same house Murtaugh and his family lived in through all the Lethal Weapon movies. The houses on this street are on the Warner Brothers Studios back lot.

The house front from Bewitched and The New Gidget appears in the home movie that Clark is watching in the attic.

After Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) unsuccessfully attempts to demonstrate his handiwork with the house Christmas lights to his family, he asks his son, Rusty (Johnny Galecki), to help him check all the light bulbs again. Rusty looks at his bare wrist, pretending to have a watch, and excuses himself. Looking at a bare wrist and pretending to have a watch is one of Chevy Chase's trademark gags. (I didn't know that was anyone's trademark gag...Isn't it everyone's?)

Final screen appearance of Mae Questel (Bethany), who's film career began in 1930 as the the voice of Betty Boop.

The old Dodge pickup that tailgates Clark and the family in the opening scenes of the movie was previously used as Kurt Russell's work truck in the movie Overboard.






The only Vacation movie to not feature the Lindsey Buckingham song "Holiday Road" throughout the entire film.

Chevy Chase appears in some scenes wearing a black Chicago Bears ball cap. He wears the same cap throughout all four Vacation movies.







In the scene when the police storm into the Griswolds' house, the song "Here Comes Santa Claus" sung by Gene Autry is used for the background music. Randy Quaid (cousin Eddie) is the third cousin of Gene Autry.

A minor earthquake occurred at the time when they were filming the scene where uncle Louis and aunt Bethany arrive at the Griswold house.

The brand of beer Eddie is drinking as he empties his septic tank is Meister Brau.

When shopping with Clark, Eddie asks Clark if it was his company that "killed all those people in India". He's referencing the Bhopal disaster, also known as the Union Carbide disaster in which leaks from a Union Carbide pesticide plant escaped into the air, killing thousands of people and sickening many more.

When Clark is in bed trying to read the People Magazine with sticky fingers from the tree sap, the person shown on the cover of the magazine is Producer Matty Simmons.

This is one of three films released in 1989 to feature an animated title sequence. The other two are Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (one of my favorites from when I was a kid) and Troop Beverly Hills.

The scene where the cat bites on the Christmas lights and gets electrocuted was nearly cut from the movie. Prior to the first test screening, the studio execs wanted the scene taken out, fearing it might offend some viewers, but producer Simmons begged them to leave it in, and they eventually gave in. After the first test screening, the test audience had scored the cat electrocution as the No. 1 favorite scene throughout the entire movie.






Clark (Chevy Chase) uses thirty words to describe his boss (Brian Doyle-Murray).





Despite being a "Christmas movie," Christmas Day is never actually seen. The film ends on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Special: Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)

Synopsis
Sam the snowman tells us the story of a young red-nosed misfit reindeer who, after being ousted from the reindeer games because of his beaming honker, teams up with Hermey, an elf who wants to be a dentist (a busy profession for someone who lives with elves), and Yukon Cornelius, the prospector (which gave me Toy Story 3 flashbacks). They run into the Abominable Snowman and find a whole island of misfit toys. Rudolph vows to see if he can get Santa to help the toys, and he goes back to the North Pole on Christmas Eve. But Santa's sleigh is fogged in. He looks over at Rudolph and gets a very bright idea...


My Thoughts
Since when is Rudolph Donner's son? Haha. I know that this movie came out quite a few years ago, but I don't think I've ever seen it...so I guess he's been Donner's son for a while and I'm just behind the times. But I've never heard that one before. Is he gonna end up like Persius? He's Zeus' son, no he's Poseidon's son. Rudolph is Donner's son, no he's Dasher's son! We need another origin story! :-)

In my opinion, Hermey seems similar to Buddy the Elf...An elf misfit who doesn't fit in with the elves that he lives with. He's not 4 feet taller than all the other elves, but he still doesn't even look like the rest of the elves, and he leaves Santa and the elves to find where he fits in the world. I guess he and Rudolph will probably join forces at one point or another. Team of misfits. :-)

I think if I had grown up watching this movie, I would have found it a little more enjoyable. I think it's a movie that should be introduced to people as children, not necessarily as 24-year-olds. It's a great Christmas treat, I think, but the animation or level of corniness may be a little beyond me at this point. It might just be the build-up of corn from all the other Christmas movies, but it's just starting to get to me...

It's so disappointing to see the people in charge of Christmas be so mean and discouraging to a little kid (deer...). Even Santa! So sad. Only one person accepts him for him, and it's a little doe that likes him. And they even take her away!








I thought at least Santa would be more accepting! The other deer are horrible, Santa's dismissive and horrible, and even his own father hates it and makes him cover it up with a fake nose!

Then he meets Hermey and the misfits unite! Is the abominable snowman just another misfit like them?? Or is he really just a monster looking for some scrumptious deer and elves to gobble up?









Yukon Cornelius...interesting character. He licks his ice pick to see if there's gold...wouldn't his tongue get stuck to it? And those dogs really have him trained :-) One question: What exactly is the poodle supposed to do? I think Corny fits into the misfit group pretty well...

Why are there always jack-in-the-boxes?!? I hate them! They creep me out...Are there really kids out there who put jack-in-the-box on their Christmas lists? Charlie-in-the-box? Maybe one of those would be okay...I hope the real Santa would be a little nicer to misfit toys. Fix them? Instead of just tossing them on an island all together? Oh, well I guess Santa didn't know about them...but what did he think happened to the misfit toys?? I may be over-estimating this Santa, too...He might just throw them out like he dismissed Rudolph...




I never realized how much Elf stole from this movie! The elf uniforms, the North Pole creatures, the traveling to and from the North Pole on chips of ice, the jack-in-the-boxes, the misfit elf...I mean, it's not a huge deal and I'm positive they did it on purpose with permission and all that, I just never would have noticed if I hadn't watched the two movies so close together.

I feel bad for the abominable snowman :-\ Everyone hates him, and he's just hungry! And the dentist elf took all his teeth out and pushed him off a cliff! That's just rude...






Oh well, as long as the misfits are now accepted. All is forgiven and the misfits are an integral part of the community now (even the abominable snowman). And Rudolph saves the day! Random: why is the sleigh pink and purple??

Random Facts
During the original network TV airing, commercials for General Electric featured Santa's elves from the show.

Although Yukon Cornelius says he needs "gunpowder" and he has a revolver tucked in his belt, the politically correct toys released in 1999 in America have a knife instead of a revolver.

Hermey is the only elf without pointed ears. He's also the only male elf with hair on top of his head.

Why is Dolly for Sue, who is apparently a perfectly ordinary doll, living on the Island of Misfit Toys? This gripping debate raged on for decades, until official word from Rankin-Bass recently decided the issue: Dolly for Sue is a "misfit" because she has psychological problems - she feels unloved.

Billie Mae Richards (Rudolph) also provided the voice for Smoothie Bear in a series of animated commercials for Kraft Peanut Butter.

Although the animations were filmed in Japan, the entire soundtrack for Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer was recorded in a studio near Yonge Street in Toronto, Ontario; most of the singing and speaking cast were Canadian.

The song "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was a seasonal standard long before it was used in the film.

Yukon Cornelius' stalwart sled dogs include a Cocker Spaniel, a Poodle, a Saint Bernard, a Collie, and a Dachshund.

At the conclusion of "Holly Jolly Christmas", Hermey the elf can be seen dancing and flirting with an equally attentive girl elf, suggesting a budding romance (sequel??). Also seen in "Holly Jolly Christmas", as Rudolph tests his nose pre-flight by firing it up to full power, the elf standing closest to him is wearing protective sunglasses.






Although the Rudolph the puppet - which still exists - appears to be about three feet tall when viewed on screen, it's only an illusion. In reality, "Rudolph" is palm-sized, about the same size a small kitten. 

The face of Sam the Snowman was intentionally designed to resemble singer-actor Burl Ives, who provided the voice for the character.

According to brother Ken Muller, Romeo Muller actually intended the elf to be named "Herbie", after a childhood friend. Rudolph's sweetheart was named "Clarice" in honor of the bride-to-be of another close friend.

Billie Mae Richards (Rudolph) and Paul Soles (Hermey) lived in the same Ontario retirement community during the years before Richards' death.

When Yukon Cornelius throws his pick axe into the ground and takes it out and licks it, he's checking neither for gold nor silver. The original concept for the special stated that Yukon was in fact searching for the elusive peppermint mine, which he found eventually (spin-off??).

When the film was first released, the technology of using an articulated metal armature inside the figures was considered so amazing that TV guide devoted four pages to the story. They failed to mention that the "new" technology had been pioneered years before, most prominently inside the gorilla King Kong.

In the original TV version of the show, Rudolph, Hermey the elf, and Yukon Cornelius visit the Island of Misfit Toys and promise to help them, but the Misfits are never mentioned again. After it was shown, the producers were inundated with letters from children complaining that nothing had been done to help the Misfit Toys. In response, Rankin-Bass produced a new short scene at the end of the show in which Santa and his reindeer, led by Rudolph, land on the Island and pick up all the toys to find homes for them, which has ever since been the standard version of the show run during the holidays.

Christmas Special: Holiday Inn

Holiday Inn (1942)

Synopsis
Bing Crosby (as Jim Hardy) plays a song and dance man who leaves showbiz to run an inn that is open only on holidays. Fred Astaire (as Ted Hanover) plays his former partner and rival in love. Follow the two talented pals as they find themselves competing for the affections of the same lovely lady (Marjorie Reynolds as Linda Mason).

My Thoughts
This film always reminds me of my G'ma, because she was a big fan and the first (and I think only) time I've ever seen this movie before was with her. It's another oldie but goodie that I believe this time of year just calls for. Two of the greats work together to make one of the most enjoyable films of all time.




It always takes me a second to get used to black and films, but once I get used to it, I don't even notice it anymore. I think it adds to the movies authenticity a little, too, when the movie has been around as long as this one has. Makes it seem even more like a "classic".

Who would you pick if Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby were fighting over you?!? (Mostly directed toward the female readers...but guys can pick, too, if they want...)
Personally, I'd vote for Bing Crosby!






Watching Jim be 'lazy' makes me never want to be lazy again...that is not what I picture when I think of a lazy retirement...But I guess it is what I think of when I hear "farm", so why did he think a farm would be lazy??

I love the idea of a Holiday Inn. I don't know if they would make enough money to keep it going, but I think the novelty of it would be worth a visit.

Sometimes I wish I could dance like the people in these movies, but only if I don't have to wear the heels...And just thinking about the amount of time they must spend dancing makes me tired. I think I'll stick with the macarena and the chicken dance...








I could listen to Bing Crosby sing "White Christmas" all day long. Though it did kind of bother me that he's playing a piano during the first "White Christmas" scene and there's no piano to be heard. It's still a beautiful sound, but I'd rather hear the piano...





Jim and Ted start out the movie fighting over one girl (Lila Dixon, played by Virginia Dale), and then they start fighting over another girl (Linda)! Somebody needs to make up their mind...Watching Fred Astaire dance drunkenly is fairly entertaining, though. He's still better than most of the guys I know! It was a comedy routine that he didn't know he was in, which just makes it all the funnier.







I'm very impressed that he could make an entire night's routine out of some of these holidays...Lincoln's Birthday?
I wonder if engagements really came and went that easily in the 40s. Jim's engaged to Lila, then Lila's engaged to Ted, then Jim's engaged to Linda...geesh. What did I say about making up your mind??

Black face has always weirded me out. That's one thing I'm glad I missed in entertainment. And did they really call cars 'horseless carriages'? I mean, I guess it makes sense, I just never heard that one before. Interesting...

I wish Bing Crosby would write a song just for me! I wish people still sang like that...I'm pretty sure not even Fred Astaire would be able to steal me :-) And why would you just break someone's prop like that?!? And just assume that you can stick your act in with someone else's place? Ted's a little stuck on himself, I think...not a great friend in this one. I don't know if we're supposed to like Ted or not, but I most certainly do not. He doesn't see anything wrong with trying to steal his friend's fiancee...and while Jim's sitting right there, too! Oy...




Once again...boys are silly. Sure Ted's trying to steal the girl, and sure he might actually be able to do it with a career in Hollywood staring her in the face...but that doesn't mean you should try to trick everyone so that she stays! Could you just tell the girl everything and trust her for once! Goodness gracious...it never works out the way it's supposed to anyway...except in the movies, they always figure it out in the end.




The Hollywood montage may start to make you a little dizzy before we get to Thanksgiving, but at least the dresses are really pretty. And the Thanksgiving cartoon is entertaining...poor little confused turkey. Just stay on the wrong date and maybe you'll make it next year's Thanksgiving! :-)

All the way back around to Christmas Eve again. A Christmas movie with two whole Christmases in it! It's mostly a romance story, but it has easily become a Christmas classic. One of the few that you could watch year round, though. A movie for any holiday.






Random Facts
Marjorie Reynolds' singing was dubbed by Martha Mears. Martha also did the singing for such stars as Hedy Lamarr, Rita Hayworth, Lucille Ball, Audrey Totter and Veronica Lake. You didn't really think these fine actresses were doing their own singing, did you??

The animated Thanksgiving sequence is a topical reference to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's failed attempt to change the date of the holiday.

The script originally called for a Labor Day dance number, "This Is a Great Country."

For the "drunk" dance, Fred Astaire had two drinks of bourbon before the first take and one before each succeeding take. The seventh (last) take was used in the film...and then Fred was helped off-stage.

The firecracker dance sequence required 3 days of rehearsal and took two days to film. Fred Astaire's shoes for the dance were auctioned off for $116,000 worth of war bonds.






The proceeds from the New York City premiere went to the Navy Relief Society.

Some controversy surrounded the history of the song "White Christmas" when it was reported in a 1960 news item that Irving Berlin wrote the song in 1938, which would have made it ineligible for an Academy Award nomination. But a biography and modern sources agree it was written for this film, and the sheet music has a 1942 copyright date.

The first public performance of the song "White Christmas" was by Bing Crosby on his NBC radio show "The Kraft Music Hall" on Christmas Day 1941, during the middle of filming Holiday Inn, which was released seven months later. The song went on to become one of the biggest selling songs in the history of music. This was the first of three films to feature Crosby singing "White Christmas".

When Irving Berlin won an Oscar for his song "White Christmas" from this movie, he became the first artist to present himself with an Academy Award.

Until 1997, "White Christmas" was the best selling music single ever. It was passed at that time by "Goodbye, England's Rose", the Elton John rework of "Candle in the Wind" done for Princess Diana's funeral.

The set of the Holiday Inn was reused by Paramount twelve years later for the musical White Christmas, also starring Bing Crosby and again with songs composed by Irving Berlin.





Bing Crosby's original "Rhythm Boys" partner Harry Barris plays the orchestra leader in the nightclub scenes. Also making cameo appearances are Irving Berlin as a New York City flower store manager and Bob Crosby and His Orchestra. Bob, of course, was the younger brother of Bing.





Kemmons Wilson, who founded the "Holiday Inn" motel chain in 1952, named them after this movie.

Mary Martin stated in her autobiography that she had to turn down the role of Linda Mason in this film (which eventually led to the termination of her contract at Paramount) because she was pregnant.

A turning point in the life of Alan Sues, a regular on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, was an unauthorized visit to Paramount Studios as a teenager when he jumped a fence and watched a scene being filmed for the movie Holiday Inn.

Holiday Inn was filmed at the original Holiday Inn in Monte Rio, California, and in Sonoma County, California. The Monte Rio Holiday Inn is still in business today, operating under the name Village Inn & Restaurant.

The Lincoln's Birthday celebration features the musical sequence "Abraham", in which Bing Crosby and Marjorie Reynolds appear in blackface. It is often deleted from television showings because some have deemed it archaic and racially offensive.

World War II was raging at the time. Thus, Bing Crosby takes to the stage and performs "Song of Freedom", a patriotic flag-waver saluting President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Four Freedoms and the American Armed Forces.

Christmas Special: Elf

Elf (2003)

Synopsis
Once upon a Christmas Eve, an orphan baby crawled into Santa's bag of gifts and was taken to the North Pole. Raised by Papa Elf (Bob Newhart), Buddy (Will Ferrell) comes to realize he doesn't fit in with the other elves. Determined to find a place where he belongs, Buddy searches for his real dad - in New York City!
In the Big Apple, Buddy finds out why his dad (James Caan) is on the naughty list! But most importantly, he sees that the world is seriously lacking in Christmas spirit, which causes Santa all kinds of problems. So with the help of a beautiful department store elf (Zooey Deschanel), Buddy tries to teach his dad and the world the true meaning of Christmas spirit and to prove to everyone that Santa (Ed Asner) really exists!

My Thoughts
I know a lot of people have probably been waiting for this one. (And by a lot, I mean two or three, because not that many people are reading my blog...). I was a little nervous about watching it again, though, because I'm not a huge Will Ferrell fan. I know...gasp. But some people love him and some people hate him. I don't know many middle-ground people when it comes to Ferrell. I guess I kind of am one of those middle-ground people, though, because I do enjoy some of his movies. I guess I'm just not a fan of that clumsy humor that he's oh so good at. Elf is a completely different story, though, I think. His clumsy hilarity is off-set by the very serious James Caan and the wonderfulness of Zooey Deschanel (another of those actors that some people can't stand). I, personally, love both the Deschanel sisters and almost everything they've acted in, including Elf. So I guess we can get on with it...

I love the beginning story, especially when they kind of poke fun at the Keebler elves. It's a very classic beginning to a very non-classic story. :-)

Will Ferrell is a big guy for humans! I can't imagine how huge he would be in the land of the Christmas elves...And he's so clumsy, why would anyone trust hi with such an important Christmas task?? He pulls off the adopted Christmas elf role surprisingly well. I don't think he has to dig too deeply to find his inner child for these roles. ;-)







I wouldn't go so far as to call him a cotton-headed ninny-muggins, though...




I guess even the trees in the North Pole are elf-sized...I love the arctic puppets and Leon the snowman. And the way that they describe magical New York City is pretty entertaining. Free candy and "Peep Shows" will never be the same...I personally thought it'd be funny if they thought they were shows put on by candy Peeps, but I guess peeking at presents before Christmas would be a good one, too.

Some of the crazy stuff that he does, I've done :-) Running around in a revolving door, I guess, is the only one, but it is super fun. And sometimes I wonder if they have to ever prove that it's the "world's best" when places claim to be.

Elves apparently do not pick up on sarcasm. So for future reference, if you meet an elf, try to hold in the sarcasm, because they will just get confused.

When he tries to get on the escalator, it always reminds me of my mom. She's almost done that before...she's gotten a lot better, though. :-)







And now every time someone says Santa, I always wait for someone to say, "Santa! I know him!", because someone always does...thanks to Will Ferrell.










I think Zooey looks a little weird with the blonde hair, but I still love her character. I know a lot of people disagree and don't like her new show New Girl, but I love it. Probably just because I'm such a fan of hers...but I find it hilarious, except for Schmidt. He's kind of a turd...And who knew Zooey could sing?!? Who can take a shower without singing or humming, though? Also, who wouldn't notice someone else singing??





From a person who has made their fair share of lego models, I can tell you that it is physically impossible to make that much of a model in one night! But I guess elves get special training for that sort of thing...





His wife's reaction to finding out that Walter has another son from another woman is fairly incredible. I mean most people react in the completely opposite way, being angry and thinking that they're lying...but she's just like, "Oh, that's great. Invite him to stay with us." It's awesome...but a little weird.




Things to try:
Syrup on spaghetti
A whole roll of Tollhouse cookie dough as fast as I can
Tag in the mall
Answer the phone, "Buddy, the elf, what's your favorite color?"
Start a dance party in the mail room of The Empire State Building



And the famous Christmas Eve deadline is given to Walter...The normal priority check for Christmas that happens in many a Christmas movie. It always get worse before it gets better...



Asking a girl out while acting like an elf from the north pole? Who'll accept that challenge? :-)










Peter Dinklage seems to pop up everywhere. A children's book writer, though, that's new. And a sensitive one at that...but I guess Buddy was a little clueless.




This movie really sucks even the Grinchiest of Grinches into the Christmas spirit. It doesn't really give you a choice. Buddy is so much like the average person losing faith in the magic. He's a little bit older when he starts to doubt, but it's basically the same thing. But if no one believes in the magic, than there's no Christmas! I'm not saying Santa and presents...but just the spirit of Christmas. Sounds corny, but isn't this the time for corny? :-) Buddy's extreme, childlike belief would probably be a little much without being off-set by the grown-up realism of his biological dad and those he has to convince.  But can he convince New York in time to save Santa?!?

Random Facts
When this screenplay first emerged in 1993, Jim Carrey was attached to star in the lead.

When she first meets Buddy, Jovie asks, "Did Crumpet put you up to this"? Crumpet is the name David Sedaris called himself while working as an elf. David Sedaris' sister, Amy Sedaris, appears in the film as James Caan's assistant, Deb. The usage of the name Crumpet may refer to Sedaris or may be a coincidence.

The football jersey frequently worn by Michael in the film is that of fan favorite #80 Wayne Chrebet of the New York Jets.

The scene where the fake Santa is chasing Buddy had to be done in one take because it was too hard to rebuild everything.

The elf Ming Ming, who appears briefly in the beginning of the film, is played by Peter Billingsley, who starred as Ralphie Parker in the classic holiday film A Christmas Story.





Buddy's 12-second belch was supplied by voice actor Maurice LaMarche, best-known for his cartoon character, "The Brain", from Pinky and the Brain, and who also did the operatic belching in Animaniacs as "The Great Wakarotti". LaMarche also worked with Will Ferrell on the animated series, The Oblongs.

When Buddy goes to Gimbels to ask Jovie out on a date the song we hear playing over the loudspeaker is "Christmas Island" sung by Leon Redbone. Redbone also provided the voice of Leon the snowman at the North Pole.

The brief TV news clip showing Buddy walking in Central Park (just before Buddy's dad and brother find him), and the still picture of Buddy in the news clip, closely mimic the famous 1967 film of an alleged Bigfoot ("Patty") taken by Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin.

The sound effect used by the jack-in-the-box is the same sound effect used by the laughing hyenas at the Magic Kingdom at Disney World in Orlando, FL.

Will Ferrell caused several minor traffic accidents when walking through the Lincoln Tunnel in his costume because people were so surprised to see him wearing an elf outfit.

The scene in which Buddy is on the bridge in the snow references a similar scene in Christmas favorite: It's a Wonderful Life.

The design for Santa's Workshop as well as the Elf uniforms come from the original Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) animated special. The Elf uniforms completely mirror the ones from the special. Most of the animals in the North Pole are also designed to look like the same form of stop motion animation used in Rudolph.

On the final day of shooting in New York, it was just the director, Will Ferrell, and a camera man driving around the city looking for locations to shoot. They would jump out and ask pedestrians if they would be willing to be extras for some quick cash while Ferrell paraded around acting like Buddy. Much of the montage when Buddy first arrives in New York was filmed then, such as when he is getting his shoes shined and jumping between traffic.

The cotton balls Buddy eats while in the Doctor's office were actually cotton candy simply dyed white.

Will Ferrell suffered from headaches throughout filming, as he had to actually eat all of the sugar infested foodstuffs in the Elf food pyramid on camera.


***Apparently, the scheduling thing has not been working...Sorry I missed a couple days, but hopefully I'll figure it out...Hope you'll all forgive my ludditeness!***

Christmas Special: Jingle All the Way

Jingle All the Way (1996)

Synopsis

Howard Langstone (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has promised his young son a Turbo Man action figure for Christmas, unaware it's the season's hottest-selling toy. And so begins a frenzied quest that pits Howard against a stressed-out mailman (Sinbad), a sleazy Santa impersonator (James Belushi) and every other harried parent in town.

My Thoughts
This is another one of those movies that I really liked when I was younger, but I'm not sure why. I remember it being hilarious and very family friendly. Plus, seeing Arnie play one of these roles is probably worth it, and teaming up with Sinbad and Belushi makes it a fairly entertaining 88 minutes.






The Turbo Man intro tends to remind me of the original Power Rangers shows, with the idiotic minions and the weirdo villains and Turbo Man having all the cool toys to save the day...The pink Big Foot side-kick is new, though...Oh, and the awesome catch phrases. "You can always count on me." Even Arnie has a catch phrase: "Don't forget, you're my number one customer." That's a good one...what every wife wants to hear when she calls her husband...



And you always see the crazy company Christmas parties in movies...Do those parties really happen? Is it a big company thing? I've never really heard of anyone I know going to a 'company party'. Maybe I just don't know the right kind of people...

Here we have the ever-present storyline of the ever-absent father missing big life events and then spending the rest of the movie trying to accomplish the impossible in order to make up for it and win his son's love back...and dealing with an extremely annoying neighbor the whole time...I don't know why parents feel the need to always say "I promise," when it's not 100% sure. Just makes life sooo much more difficult. But they always come through in the end, at least in the movie.

It's not every day you get to see Arnold Schwarzenegger play the loving father role, and his ninja skills have really improved...Maybe not, maybe that's why he switched to just punching people in the face and shooting them with big guns...He probably could've used a big gun or two trying to get a popular toy on Christmas Eve.







Arnie v. Belushi...That's a fight I'd like to see live.








The radio D.J. with the ponytail is Principal Kraft from Sabrina, the Teenage Witch! Haha...I just noticed and it brought back memories...he looks sooo weird with a ponytail, though!

Hours and hours of being laughed out of toy stores, a mall brawl, a bunch of purse-slinging moms, a black market police sting, fighting a postal postman, a radio contest, running from the cops, a war of conscience, an angry charging reindeer, a wife-stealing neighbor, a couple tears from the governator, the invasion of Turbo Man, and some teary-eyed reunions make for a great family film if you ask me (and it's my blog, so you did). The son is super cute, but his acting wasn't the greatest. Again...Christmas movie...so it's basically corntastic, but I think it's entertaining and watching Arnold play the bumbling family man is pretty different from most of his roles.

Also, there's a clip at the end of the credit, just so you know :-) It may not be super awesome, but if you're curious it's worth a peek.

Random Facts
The Christmas parade was filmed at Universal Studios, Los Angeles, in the middle of May.

The story is based on the 1980s shopping frenzy over the Cabbage Patch dolls.

Minneapolis does have a winter parade every year during the Christmas season. It's known as the Holidazzle parade, but it is held in the evening, not during the day as shown in the movie.

In March 2001, a U.S. District Court jury in Birmingham, Michigan, ruled that 20th Century Fox stole the script idea from Detroit High School biology teacher, Brian Webster. The studio was ordered to pay $19 million (reduced to $1.5 million). Webster submitted the script, then named "Could This Be Christmas?", to the studio in 1994 and never received payment or credit despite the film making $183 million. Fox appealed and the verdict was reversed, since Webster's script was submitted after the studio had already purchased a treatment (summary/outline) of what would become the film's script. The court acknowledged that it is not difficult to believe that two writers can independently create a plot using similar inspiration/experience.

Randy Kornfield wrote the film's original screenplay after witnessing his in-laws go to a Santa Monica toy store at dawn in order his son a Power Ranger. (Which might explain the similarities I mentioned between Turbo Man and the Power Rangers.)

While admitting to missing the clamor for the Cabbage Patch Kids and Power Rangers, producer Chris Columbus experienced a similar situation in 1995 when he attempted to obtain a Buzz Lightyear action figure from the film Toy Story, released that year.

Sinbad missed the audition due to his appearance with First Lady Hillary Clinton and musician Sheryl Crow on the USO tour of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but Columbus waited for him to return to allow him to audition and was given the part. He improvised the majority of his lines in the film, and Schwarzenegger also improvised many of his responses in his conversations with Sinbad's character.