The Stittsville family’s homage last year to the 2003 holiday hit included the seven levels of the Candy Cane Forest, the Sea of Swirly Twirly Gumdrops, as well as cardboard cut-outs of Buddy the Elf, a life-size replica of Santa’s sleigh and signposts of some of the film’s most recognizable quotes.

Turcotte, whose family built the display as a charity fundraiser, recalls seeing Ferrell’s Elf in theatres when it was originally released. “It’s incredible to see 20 years go by so quickly,” he said. “It’s a Christmas classic for a lot of people so I’ve found it’s really cool that they’re re-releasing it.”

The modern classic, which hits select big screens today, first aired on Nov. 7, 2003, and remains a holiday must-watch 20 years later.

“I think even when Elf was brand new, and obviously not creating its own nostalgia, it was already tapping into an earlier generation’s nostalgia,” says film critic and self-avowed fan of the film, Chris Knight.

Knight hasn’t seen the film in a few years but recalls scenes such as Buddy discovering the “world’s best cup of coffee” and being terrified by the pop of a jack-in-the-box at Santa’s workshop. “Will Ferrell commits so well to the role of Buddy. He just sort of has no filter, no shame. He really is this man-child character,” he said.  

Knight noted that the longevity of the film could be largely due to the script. “There’s nothing really dated about the comedy, it’s not leaning on social media or anything that might go out of style,” he said.  

Although only two decades old, this movie has reached classic status among the greats: It’s A Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, to name a few – because it draws on elements from all three of these films. 

Perhaps the appeal of the film is because of its close connection to the 1964 Rankin Bass television hit Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, said television columnist and critic Bill Brioux. “If you take a close look at the clothes that they’re wearing, [or] the backgrounds during some of the scenes, you’ll notice that the art direction really mimicked the way that Rudolph was designed,” he said.

Brioux added that Buddy’s costume was very much like Hermey the Elf’s, “right down to the hat on his head.” It was so similar to the television special that the creators almost got in legal trouble, according to Netflix’s Movies That Made Us. 

Elf also draws on other Christmas classics to contribute to its emotional appeal. It is likely that these factors play a role in the routine viewing of Elf in many households each year – as there is nostalgia embedded in the movie’s roots.  For instance, Buddy leans over a bridge in New York while feeling low near the end of the movie, which mimics George Bailey doing this in 1947’s It’s a Wonderful Life. Additionally, the actor Peter Billingsley, who plays Santa’s Head Elf in the 2003 film, starred as Ralphie in A Christmas Story in 1983.

Repeat viewings of holiday movies have a long history, according to a Film Studies Assistant Professor at Carleton University. “Probably the first example of that is It’s A Wonderful Life,” Katherine Morrow said, referencing the black-and-white classic.

However, a 2022 Statista report demonstrated that there were fewer people watching films in theatres last year than a decade earlier. Although COVID-19’s Omicron variant was rampant at this time, the amount of Cineplex movie-goers was cut by almost half – indicating that attendance was likely on the decline already.

Morrow added that the re-release of Elf demonstrates a shift to event cinema, which is a way to “more broadly get people back in theatre.” She added that this method is frequently used in the release of concert films as it provides people who were not able to attend an event in person, with the opportunity to experience it in a grandiose way.

Although playing holiday classics is commonplace leading up to the holidays, Morrow said that the re-release of Elf could be a result of the Hollywood writers’ strike that took place this year. She added that putting an already-made film back in theatres was a good idea from the studios as creating new ones “wouldn’t have been possible in the past year,” she said.

After the positive response to his Elf-themed Christmas display, Turcotte says he is almost certain that the re-release will be successful.

The father of two added that one of the reasons he and his wife fell in love was because of their shared admiration for Christmas. Each year, they create a long list of holiday movies to watch. “Elf is usually at the top of the list,” he said.

After watching the film upwards of 20 times last year in preparation for his family’s fundraiser, Turcotte noted that it never gets old for him. He said he hopes he can see the film the way it was intended to be watched: with his family in theatres.

At this time, no cinema showings have been scheduled for Elf in Ottawa.