23 Years Later, Buddy The Elf’s Best Line Is Still The Greatest Christmas Quote Ever

When “Elf” came out in 2003, it established itself as an immediate Christmas classic, and on the movie’s 23rd anniversary, we want to celebrate a simple, effective line from this Will Ferrell comedy which is not only fun for the whole family, but which has stood the test of time.

Before we get to the line in question, though, let’s go over the basics where “Elf” is concerned. Directed by Jon Favreau (the Marvel and Star Wars one, not the political guy) and written by David Berenbaum, who wrote the movie after an earlier project called “Christmas in New Jersey” failed to take flight, “Elf” stars Ferrell as Buddy the titular elf, a human who’s raised at the North Pole by his adoptive elf dad, Papa Elf (Bob Newhart, who also narrates the film). When Buddy sets out to find his birth father on the magical, mystical island of Manhattan, he meets Walter Hobbs (James Caan), a cynical and uptight publisher of children’s books who isn’t super interested in dealing with any large adult son, let alone one dressed like a Christmas elf who pours sugar on his spaghetti. Thankfully, Walter’s wife and son, Emily and Michael (Mary Steenburgen and Daniel Tay), love Buddy, so he’s accepted into the Hobbs household and ends up saving Christmas.

There are a lot of great “Elf” quotes — and we’ll feature a bunch of them shortly — but the one I really want to center is one that expresses Buddy’s worldview perfectly. So what is it?

While talking to his coworker and eventual girlfriend Jovie (Zooey Deschanel), Buddy, trying to get her to sing in public, tells her, “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” Not only is this just a nice, neat little rhyme, it’s also the entire essence of the movie.

Sure, Buddy can be annoying, loud, and weird; a grown man in an elf costume is a concept that’s great on screen and would be objectively terrifying in real life. (It adds to the cinematic hilarity and imagined real-life horror that Will Ferrell is well over six feet tall.) Still, Buddy’s big heart and intense joy ends up making everyone believe in the magic of the holiday season — even Walter, who eventually accepts Buddy as his son and decides that he wants to spend more time with Emily and Michael in the process.

“Elf” is truly a movie about allowing yourself to indulge in joy and cheer, and this Buddy quote is basically the film’s thesis. That’s not the only quotable line from “Elf,” though; there are so many others.

• “I just like to smile, smiling is my favorite.”
• “You sit on a throne of lies!”
• “Buddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color?”
• “Santa! Oh my God! Santa’s here? I know him!”
• “You stink! You smell like beef and cheese, you don’t smell like Santa!”
• ” … then I traveled through the seven levels of the Candy Cane Forest, past the sea of swirly, twirly gumdrops, and then, I walked through the Lincoln Tunnel!”
• “By the way, don’t eat the yellow snow.”
• “I thought maybe we could make gingerbread houses, and eat cookie dough, and go ice skating, and maybe even hold hands.”
• “Bye, Buddy! Hope you find your dad!” 
• “I’m sorry I ruined your lives and crammed 11 cookies into the VCR.”
• “We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup.”
• “Not now, Arctic Puffin!”
• “So … good news! I saw a dog today!”
• “He’s an angry elf.”
• “Son of a nutcracker!”
• “I think you’re really beautiful and I feel really warm when I’m around you and my tongue swells up.”
• “You did it! Congratulations! ‘World’s Best Cup of Coffee.’ Great job, everybody. It’s great to meet you.”
• “This place reminds me of Santa’s Workshop! Except it smells like mushrooms and everyone looks like they want to hurt me.”
• “I’m a cotton-headed ninny-muggins.”