With Jim Carrey announcing that he would consider returning for aHow The Grinch Stole Christmassequel, many people are saying thatit would be great to see Will Ferrell return in his iconic Christmas role inElf. Since its release in 2003, Jon Favreau’sElfhas become one of thebest Christmas movies of all timethanks to its major critical and commercial success, originally earning $220 million worldwide at the box office.Elfis possibly one of Will Ferrell’s funniest moviesas his character, Buddy, must navigate the world of humans after growing up in the North Pole.
Jim Carrey’sHow The Grinch Stole Christmasis also one of the funniestChristmas movies, with the actor portraying a live-action version of the eccentric Dr. Seuss character.How The Grinch Stole Christmaswas also a box office success in the 2000s, earning $346.5 million, joiningElfin Christmas movie infamy. Considering bothElfandThe Grinchhave gained a reputation as beloved Christmas classics, it is strange that they never made another movie. However,Jim Carrey and Will Ferrell have spoken about their potential returns, citing the reasons that the two biggest Christmas movies never got a sequel.
Jim Carrey In The Grinch & Will Ferrell In Elf Are The Two Biggest Christmas Movie Sequels We Never Got
Carrey And Ferrell Have Different Reasons For Not Returning For Their Christmas Sequels
DespiteJim Carrey’s best characterearning him a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, the actor had issues withHow The Grinch Stole Christmas. The Grinch’s costume caused problems for Jim Carrey due to its invasive nature and exhausting process; Carrey was encased in green yak fur and wore enlarged contact lenses to achieve the Grinch’s look, which Carrey said felt like “being buried alive every day.” The process was so grueling that a CIA torture expert had to help Carrey cope, so it is no surprise thatThe Grinch 2never happened.
On the other hand,Elfwas much easier to film, featuring a mostly human cast dressed in easily applicable outfits, with Will Ferrell navigating the less fantastical location of New York. Therefore, it is a questionwhyElf 2never happenedafter the first film was met with a lot of success. The truth is thatWill Ferrell was not interested in anElfsequel due to receiving bad scripts which delivered an unsatisfactory story, although, it may have also been down to the fact that, according to James Caan, Ferrell and director Favreau “didn’t get along very well.”
Jim Carrey Recently Said He Would Play The Grinch Again, Which Might Push Will Ferrell To Reconsider Elf 2
Carrey Is Older Than Ferrell, But Still Wants To Return As The Grinch
Recently,Jim Carrey revealed the condition for his return in aHow The Grinch Stole Christmassequel, stating that CGI and motion capture would have to be used instead of the original prosthetics. In an interview withComicBook.com, he commented, “I had to do that with a ton of makeup, and I could hardly breathe, and it was an extremely excruciating process,” but “with motion capture and things like that, I could be free to do some other things.”Carrey’s conditions for returning are understandable considering his history withThe Grinch, and it’s great to see Carrey might be onboard.
The Original Actor Choice To Play Buddy The Elf Would Have Been Wildly Different
Elf has become one of the most popular holiday movies of all time, but it was originally written with another very different comedy actor in mind.
It is possible that Jim Carrey’s return as The Grinch could inspire Will Ferrell to reconsider his position onElf 2.Ferrell has had reservations about returning toElfdue to his age, claiming that it wouldn’t fit the movie, yet Carrey is 5 years olderand is still considering a return to his iconic Christmas movie. Conversely, whileJim Carrey’sThe Grinchsequelwould be less physically demanding with the use of CGI, Will Ferrell does offer an interesting point, as Buddy is a highly excitable character, yet there are ways thatElf 2could still work despite that.
Despite Will Ferrell’s Past Comments, Elf 2 Could Work
Elf 2 Could Feature A Toned Down Buddy, Or Even Another Focus Entirely
It makes sense for Ferrell to express concerns regarding returning toElfnow he is older, and he talked about this 10 years ago in an interview with Andy Cohen onBravo TV: “I just think it would look slightly pathetic if I tried to squeeze back in the elf tights: Buddy the middle-aged elf.” However,Elf 2has unlimited potential and could present a maturer (and hilarious) version of Buddy, especially if he has been venturing between the North Pole and New York for some time. Furthermore,Elf’sending could also offer an alternatecharacter focus for the sequel instead of Buddy.
With Ferrell concerned about how a middle-aged Buddy the Elf would work as a main character, the Christmas movie could follow the tradition of other sequels, such as the successfulBeetlejuice Beetlejuice, and instead offer a new generation of protagonist
AfterWill Ferrell’s Buddy strikes up a romance with Zooey Deschanel’s Jovie inElf, the ending introduces a new character: Buddy’s daughter, Susie. With Ferrell concerned about how a middle-aged Buddy the Elf would work as a main character, the Christmas movie could follow the tradition of other sequels, such as the successfulBeetlejuice Beetlejuice, and instead offer a new generation of protagonist, transferring Ferrell to a supporting role.There are a multitude of waysElf 2could work, so it’s a shame that Ferrell has seemingly written it off, althoughThe Grinch 2could inspire the actor to reconsider.
Elf
Cast
Elf follows Buddy, a human raised as an elf at the North Pole. As an adult, he journeys to Manhattan to find his biological father, a work-driven businessman. The film explores Buddy’s comedic attempts to navigate human society and his quest to bring holiday spirit to his family.
