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Todd: Here we go. My name’s Todd. This is Cathy. Welcome back to another episode of Zen Parenting Radio. Is this Zen Parenting Radio or is this pop culturing?
Cathy: We’ll put it on both.
Todd: Oh, well, speaking of which.
Todd: You want to know the last time we did a pop culturing episode?
Todd: A year ago. September of 23. So it’s over a year ago. 15 months ago. Oh, jeez. Do you have any idea what, what movie we did last? Uh, Kevin Costner. Build a dream. There you go. I don’t know. I don’t know why we decided to do that in September. It sounds like more like of a Father’s Day type, uh, pop podcast to do, but, um.
Todd: Probably because we had just watched it. Yeah. I don’t know. So this is, [00:01:00] uh, Zen Parenting Episode 795 and Pop Culturing Episode, I have no idea because they also don’t have numbers next to them. I like your antlers.
Cathy: Thanks. You can’t really see. You just look like you’re wearing Furry cap like you’re George Washington.
Cathy: So maybe, yeah, maybe put it to the side. Yeah, there you go. That’s I’m going to take a picture. Hold on. Wait, I can see your cap.
Todd: All you podcast listeners, hold on while we take a picture. So all of our podcasts are on YouTube and I think we have at least 25 followers, maybe more, who knows? Um, So, but today we’re doing a little movie that I like to call Elf.
Todd: And amongst all the different, uh, Christmas movies, sweetie, why do you think we decided to do this one? I
Cathy: think it’s just the most seen. I mean, like, there’s many different reasons why I wanted to do it, but I think that First of all, I noticed that it’s on every channel. It’s on Hulu. It’s on Peacock. It’s on Netflix.
Cathy: [00:02:00] It’s on blah, blah, blah, blah. It’s everywhere. Disney, Disney Plus. Maybe I’m exaggerating, but I know it’s on at least three or four channels. So it’s obviously been sold to a lot of places. Right. So that means that more people are seeing it and And I think it’s a Gen X movie. What
Todd: do you mean? I
Cathy: think that Gen X people made this movie because of what we grew up with.
Todd: Okay, so this is a result of
Cathy: I think, I think everyone loves this. Children love it. Right. I’m not saying it’s only a Gen X movie. I think it has a lot of Gen X infused into it. And I think that, um, just by the nature of who made it. Who did the movie, you know, like Will Ferrell, uh, Jon Favreau directed it.
Cathy: Um, there was a lot of intention to put, you know, a lot of our childhood into
Todd: it. For sure. Um, so as far as how we’re just going to talk about the movie, as we always [00:03:00] do, we’re going to have trivia at the end. Um, and then I’m going to play some quotes probably. Um, maybe we can do it along the, do it along the way.
Todd: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, and as I envision this, as I envision this podcast, I think you actually brought it up, is it’s kind of a fun little podcast to listen to if you’re on your way to grandma and grandpa’s house for
Cathy: Driving from place to place or getting ready, um, for people coming over, um, you know, cooking, uh, you moms, moms, uh, moms, moms are the, are tend to be not always, but the Christmas people.
Todd: Yes. And you are definitely one of those Christmas people, sweetie.
Cathy: Yes. There’s a lot of, um, there’s a lot of things that happen at Christmas that, um, People are like, yeah, that’s Christmas. And it’s actually somebody did it. Somebody put it together. I was actually, I sent, uh, my friend, um, an issue, an article about how, you know, there’s [00:04:00] this always this, uh, this mantra of let’s just do less, you know, like do less, don’t do so much, but it can be very unhelpful to hear that because what does that mean?
Cathy: Don’t put up lights. Because, you know, it’s too much work and time, don’t do the elf, because it’s too much work and time. Like, then some, then there’s, all the traditions are gone. Do you know what I mean? So sometimes the do less, you know, mantra is, it’s just another thing we feel ashamed of then. We’re not doing less.
Cathy: But it’s like, but if someone doesn’t do that, it doesn’t get done. You know? So. I think that tends to come up all the time. So in other words, the
Todd: harder you try Throughout the years, you know, you’ve been a mom for 21, almost 22 years. There’s a precedent that’s been set. Of course. That has been set. And you know, who knows what we did in year one, but we’ve been building on those traditions and [00:05:00] things and expectations are set.
Todd: And yes, our household, you do all the gift giving. Buying all the wrapping with the exception of what I get for you. But aside from that, it’s all on you. And that has, it comes with a cost.
Cathy: Well, and you know, and it’s about the gifts and everything, but it’s also, you know, for those who are cooking and going to the grocery store and hopefully it’s more divided up than it used to be.
Cathy: I don’t want this to be a, we don’t have to get into. You know, that there’s some kind of problem here necessarily, but I think there are, there tends to be, because I talk to women, this is a very busy time and there’s a lot of things that people are like, oh yeah, here’s a meal. And it’s like, but do you, have you thought of all the thought, you know, that’s put into that and the grocery shopping and the cooking, or here’s a gift or the lights are up.
Cathy: Outside. A lot of people pay for that now. Yeah. You know how lights are put perfectly on homes and stuff. We tend to go to school. That’s not, that’s not our house. Yeah. .
Todd: We got a lot of imperfections in our, we do exterior illumination,
Cathy: which I kinda [00:06:00] like.
Todd: Yeah. But
Cathy: that’s just me being old school.
Todd: Um, I’m gonna play just a little bit of the trailer just to kinda warm the audience up to el You okay with that?
Todd: Great. Great. Your
costume is pretty. Oh, it’s not a costume. I’m an elf. Well, technically I’m human, but I was raised by elves. New Line Cinema presents the story of one elf who’s coming home for Christmas. Can’t wait to see my dad. We’re gonna go ice skating and eat sugar plums.
Sorry! You and Christmas Graham! Security. But he’s your
Todd: son. Alright, that’s enough. That’s a two and a half minute trailer. I don’t think I want to play the all two and a half minutes. How
Cathy: many times do you think you’ve seen Elf?
Todd: Um, start to finish half a dozen, but in little bursts because it happens to be [00:07:00] on 30.
Cathy: Yeah, at least, right? It’s probably the one I’m watched the most this year. It was kind of a background movie for me if I was just cleaning or putting stuff away. Cause I, I had already watched it. Like, I, I, Christmas movies are hard because sometimes as a family, we’re like, let’s do this together. And I don’t want to watch something that we inevitably end up watching as a family.
Cathy: So I’m always leery about which ones to watch on my own. Um, but I, Elf, I’m not worried about that’s just kind of like on all the time.
Todd: That’s right. Um, so what’s your, so, How much do you, how many stars do you give this movie? How do you, how much do you enjoy it? I
Cathy: give it a, I give it three stars out of four.
Cathy: Are we doing four or five?
Todd: Uh, let’s do four. I like four.
Cathy: Okay. So I give it three stars. I think it’s a solid B plus movie. Um, I think sometimes I’m, I feel like it’s an A minus just depending on my mood. Um, but I really like this movie and I, I’m glad it’s a, it’s a classic. And like I said, I think that [00:08:00] it fits a lot of the, um.
Cathy: the things that I love in movies. I like journey, self awareness journeys. I like relationship movies. I like warm movies. I, like I said, I like the, the Gen X component. Um, you know, all the Rudolph the red nosed reindeer references and, you know, The, all the stop motion, you know, animation from our childhood that’s in it.
Cathy: Um, you know, there’s a lot that I think people our age appreciate. That’s right.
Todd: Um, yeah, I. I think I, it’s saturated for me. Like I’ve seen it so many times. Yeah. I don’t, some movies, the more I watch it, the more I like it and it never kind of declines. But this one, um, I mean, Will Ferrell is, you know, a genius in this movie, which is funny because Jimmy Conn thought that he was being over the top throughout the production of it.
Todd: He didn’t think he was funny. And we’ll maybe talk about different guys that were [00:09:00] supposed to be cast in Will Ferrell’s role. I only know of one guy. Do
Cathy: you know? of one guy. Yeah. It was a Chris Farley movie. Oh, really? I heard it was Jim
Todd: Carrey.
Cathy: Well, so let me start from the beginning is that when the guy who wrote it, and first of all, the guy who wrote it, I don’t know his name, but I just saw him interviewed.
Cathy: He wrote it because he was watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and he wanted a movie that he could, he actually wanted a father son movie initially, but then as it went on, he had a child and it became, you know, I want to share this with my kid. But he wrote it. And then it was bought. And when it was bought, they attached Chris Farley to it.
Cathy: And he let the, that option run out. Because he didn’t want it to be that. He, he’s like, that’s going to be a totally different movie. And then it ended up that Will Ferrell, in the next iteration of the option being bought, was then attached to the movie. And that’s what happened. The studio was not excited when they were trying to sell it because he had only done Night at the Roxbury [00:10:00] and it wasn’t
Todd: a
Cathy: good movie.
Cathy: He
Todd: was not the Chris Farley, or I’m sorry, the Will Ferrell that we have come to know and love. Is this pre old
Cathy: school? Well, that’s, it’s so funny that you say that because what ended up happening is old school was filming. Okay, and Will Ferrell was obviously with Vince Vaughn because they’re both in the movie and they were talking about this movie and how they were trying to get it bought and everything and or maybe by that time it had been bought by a studio and Vince Vaughn was the one who recommended Jon Favreau to direct so You know, there’s all sorts of pieces.
Cathy: And then I’m gonna jump ahead a little bit just so I can finish this narrative. Is that right? When Elf was finishing and it was being like, screened by the studio, um, old school came out and they were like, oh my God, we have this kid’s film with Frank, the tank in it. That’s hilarious. And they were worried about it.
Cathy: Oh, really? Because they were like, yeah, because. He’s like nude and streaking and drinking too much and they’re like, and now he’s in this kid’s movie. Somehow he made that transition. He, he sure [00:11:00] did. So, um, let’s
Todd: quickly talk about cast. Okay. So we get, we talked about Will. Um, so you just give me a thumbs up or thumbs down on some of these, uh, people that were at a TopCast.
Todd: Jimmy Kahn. Thumbs up.
Cathy: Thumbs up. And can I give you something about him besides the fact that he did not think Will Ferrell was funny?
Sure.
Cathy: Um, you know the scene when, um, Buddy comes in after he’s like, I’m in love, I’m in love, you know? And he, Peter Dinklage gets mad at him or whatever. And then his dad, you know, Jimmy Kahn’s like, you need to get out of here and get out of my life.
Cathy: Yes. Do you know that theme where he yells at them? Well, I guess they weren’t getting it. Like, he, you know, they wanted more. And so, Favreau went and whispered something in his ear. And nobody knew what it was. But later he said, Don’t forget you’re Sonny Corleone.
Todd: Oh, interesting. So he
Cathy: like played it like He was a different character.
Todd: That’s hilarious. Almost, yeah. Okay, uh, so that’s Jimmy Khan, uh, Bob Newhart. Pretty good.
Cathy: I think that was great [00:12:00] casting. Perfect. Uh, Zooey Deschanel. And that was interesting. They were trying to get Katie Holmes to play that role. Interesting. And she, uh, didn’t want to do it. She was kind of a big star at the time.
Cathy: And she also couldn’t, I don’t, maybe she can sing, but they really wanted a singer.
Yeah.
Cathy: And so when Zooey Deschanel had just been in Almost Famous, and, um, They, and she could sing, so they’re like, this is the right person. Ed Asner. Can we go back to Zoe for a second? What do you think about the blonde hair?
Todd: I, uh, I, she seems weird. I’m just so used to seeing her with dark hair, probably because of Jess and New Girl. Yeah. Um, and, uh, the girl in Almost Famous. Yeah. Uh, it doesn’t work for me.
Cathy: Well, and she, and it’s like, she’s still lovely, but wow is she a brunette to me. Like the blonde hair is lovely. And I like when people.
Cathy: Do things that make them happy, but she’s so beautiful as a brunette. Yeah. Yeah. I just, you know, but anyway, Ed Asner.
Todd: Ed Asner. Perfect. And, uh, I heard that he played Santa [00:13:00] in a handful of different things. I don’t know what, but like old Christmas shows and Christmas movies. So that’s not foreign to him.
Cathy: Lou Grant.
Todd: Luke Grant. Uh, Mary Steenburgen.
Cathy: Yeah, I thought she was perfect. Is she ever not good in a movie? No, I love Mary Steenburgen.
Todd: What’s your favorite movie of Mary Steenburgen?
Cathy: Uh, Parenthood and Gilbert Grape.
Todd: Yeah, I think that’s pretty good. And then Peter Dinklage.
Cathy: Best. And that was way, that was like eight years before Game of Thrones.
Todd: Yeah.
Cathy: So he had done some things, obviously Peter Dinklage had been around, but he wasn’t the Peter Dinklage we know today.
Todd: Yeah. And then let’s just go with one more. Amy Sandera. She’s cute.
Cathy: She’s my favorite. She’s actually. Her moments with Will Ferrell are some of my favorite moments in the movie. And they’re very small and slight, but they’re, um, I think she’s hilarious.
Todd: Um, I’m just going to randomly play certain clips from this.
I’m in a store and I’m singing.
Todd: That’s right. And then this is actually probably my favorite quote of the movie. You ready, sweetie? I’m ready.
I just like to smile. [00:14:00] Smiling’s my favorite.
Todd: I love that.
Cathy: Um, can I tell you a quick Amy Sedaris thing that, um, just to connect some dots for us.
Cathy: Todd and I have been watching this show called Somebody Somewhere, which I highly recommend and it’s on HBO and I wrote about it in one of my sub stacks a couple weeks ago. But anyway, there is a, um, A scene in Somebody, Somewhere where, um, one of the characters is making this pillow that, um, it’s kind of a crass pillow, it has the C word on it and it’s just kind of a thing that she did because she was pissed at one of her friends and she posted on Instagram and then Amy Sedaris reposts it.
Cathy: Oh, and remember then it just starts to go crazy.
Todd: Yeah, the minute she reposted it. Yeah. And within the show. Within
Cathy: the show. Yeah. But I just love that they chose Amy Sedaris as the person who would repost it. Um, okay. So where do you want to go? Um, let’s, I guess. Best scenes,
Todd: favorite scenes, um, messages within the movie itself.
Cathy: Maybe just the way this, the movie is [00:15:00] constructed. Like we don’t have to go through every scene, but it’s really supposed to be The, the big picture overview is that it is a, uh, self awareness journey, right? Who am I? Where do I belong? Um, you know, the whole gist is that he ends up, uh, Buddy, who that’s not really his name, the reason that they called him Buddy is because he was wearing diapers that said Buddy.
Cathy: Buddy. Do we ever find out what his name is? No, because he was in the orphanage, and you know, I don’t know what his name was, but he is a human baby who shows up on the North Pole, and he, when he’s little, he’s very accepting of that he’s bigger, and you know, Papa Elf is raising him, and it’s no big deal, but like every coming of age story, he starts to recognize that he’s completely different.
Cathy: He doesn’t, you know, fit into anything, and he’s not good at making the activities Etch a Sketches. And, um, or he’s not fast enough. He’s just not the same. And, and how, you know, how many stories do we have in the world about that, right? That is the Rudolph [00:16:00] story. That is the Hermey, you know, who wants to be a dentist story.
Cathy: And, um, it’s just a riff off that.
Todd: Well, and when you said, I think we talked last night and you said that it was a self awareness story, I think I said. For Buddy or for everybody? And I think you said for everybody.
Cathy: It’s a self awareness story for Buddy, first of all, because he’s our protagonist. But it’s a, it’s a journey for Dad, for James Kahn, because he’s a workaholic and he’s not paying attention to his family.
Cathy: It’s a journey for Michael, his son, who didn’t know he had a brother and starts to connect with somebody in his family and realize he cares. It’s, you know, more about family. It’s for Zoey Deschanel, it’s, uh, her name is Jovi. It’s she’s kind of not happy in life and doesn’t feel like she’s doing well, um, or just, just kind of grumpy.
Cathy: And then she meets Buddy and she feels,
Todd: Isn’t there a story, a subplot where she doesn’t like to sing in public or am I just making that up?[00:17:00]
Cathy: Why I think you have the most beautiful voice in the world, you know, um, it’s someone who sees you and that’s the thing is, one of the things I really loved about the movie is that I appreciated the fact that Jovi, there wasn’t like this huge plot about how she, hates him and it takes forever for them to get together.
Cathy: Like she initially is like, what’s this guy’s deal? But she sees his kindness and is very inspired by him. And the best part of their date, um, is, I mean, there’s a lot of cute moments, but when they start skipping down the street and then they end up in front of the big tree and he’s so in awe of the world and she has lost that.
Cathy: Yeah. And so then she’s a little jaded. She’s jaded. And then she realizes how in awe he is. And then she takes him to the tree at 30 Rock, which [00:18:00] is like so much bigger than the tree they were looking at in the store window. And so she starts to kind of feel that awe again, too. So it’s a, it’s a It’s a self awareness journey for everybody.
Todd: Yeah, um, I was gonna say something about the tree. What was I gonna say about Zoe and Buddy? I don’t remember what it was, so it’ll come back to me in a little bit, and then I’ll interrupt you. So, um Do you like all the stop motion characters? Uh, it’s just a total, like, reminds me of being a little kid, watching the Rudolph and all of the other, you know, Shows that we would watch what other what are the big
Cathy: there’s Frosty’s a cartoon.
Cathy: So that’s different So the stop Santa Claus is coming to town coming to town Rudolph Uh, The New Year one, Baby New Year.
Todd: I never saw that one.
Cathy: Um. We
Todd: used to have that DVD packet. It had like five of them in there. Frosty. Rudolph. Uh huh. Santa Claus is coming to town. Uh huh. We, and we did a pop culturing on Rudolph.
Cathy: Yeah. Who’s, what’s Freeze,
Todd: er,
Cathy: the Miser [00:19:00] guy? Freeze Miser? Um,
Todd: yeah, yeah, yeah. I know what you’re talking about. The beard.
Cathy: Yeah, he’s supposed to be scary.
Todd: Yeah. Yeah, and he kind of was.
Cathy: Yeah, and he kind of was. But yeah, we, the girls used to watch all these, like Todd said, we had them on DVD so they could watch them.
Cathy: Back in the
Todd: DVD days.
Cathy: Exactly, and I like that, and I, I think the funniest one is the snowman who is in Rudolph, the snowman is the narrator, and I think that’s Burl Ives who is doing the voice, and in this one it’s not Burl Ives, but it’s fun. I think his name’s Leon. Yeah. In this one. That’s right. And he has some funny lines.
Todd: Yeah. Um, so you, so we started with, um, Buddy and he gets to New York City, meets Zoe. Um,
Cathy: before you go to that, do you know that they filmed this movie like guerrilla style, like they did not. There were people, they were just doing it in the
Todd: streets. So that part where he taps on the [00:20:00] guy with the red sweatshirt, red sweatpants, that was just a guy.
Todd: Yeah. I wonder if they needed to get like his permission to do that.
Cathy: And like when he’s in the tunnel and up against the wall and all these cars are flying by, that was just completely, they were just filming.
Todd: So this is when Buddy meets his dad for the first time. Okay. Yeah.
Alright, uh, let’s get it over with. I walked all day and night to find you. You look like you came from the North Pole. That’s exactly where I came from. Santa must have called you. Oh yeah, sure, he, uh, Just got off the cell phone with me. So, go on. Go on with what? Are you going to sing a song or something, or can I just go back to work?
A song? Uh, yeah. Anything for you, Dad. Uh, [00:21:00] I’m I’m I’m here with my dad, and we never met, and he wants me to sing him a song, and um, I was adopted, but you didn’t know I was born, so I’m here now! I found you, Daddy! And guess what? I love you. I love you. I love you.
Todd: There we go. That’s Buddy making up a song in the moment.
Todd: And it looks like he’s actually making up a song. It kind of feels
Cathy: like it. I know. Um, you know, two other characters that we didn’t mention, or actually we did mention, we talked about Bob Newhart, but there was somebody else that was supposed to be, that they initially asked to be in that role.
Todd: Uh, do you remember who it was?
Todd: did not.
Cathy: Um, they asked Gary Shandling first. Oh, really? Who would’ve? It’s the same vibe, right? It’s like this, like, you know, not too excited, not too over the top. Um, and Because they wanted everybody muted. Right.
Todd: To To let Will [00:22:00] Ferrell Contrast Will Ferrell. Right. And, you know, Peter Dinklage is this kind of dry, serious guy Jimmy Kahn is, Bob Newhart is.
Todd: So it works.
Cathy: And the other person that they had, and this is, I think, kind of a funny little trivia thing. I hope I’m not stepping on your trivia, but, um, in the store, you know, the guy who’s like the manager of the floor, who is, you know, wants, is like, thinks Will Ferrell works, thinks Buddy works on the floor.
Cathy: He has a name tag on that says Wanda
Todd: through
Cathy: the whole movie. Did you get that as trivia?
Todd: Uh, I did. And I, do you want to know why it says Wanda?
Cathy: Because they thought Wanda Sykes was sort of in that role. That’s right. Exactly right. And so I just love that they kept it. I think that’s just humor in itself.
Todd: Um, I want to play that.
Cathy: And I love him. I think he’s really funny. I
Todd: think he’s good too. He, he plays, uh, plays, plays off well.
People, tomorrow morning, 10 a. m. Santa’s coming to town. Oh my God. [00:23:00] Santa’s here? I know him. I know him. What?
Todd: He knows him. I know him. Yeah. I, I think I’ve just played two of my, there’s one other favorite part is when he enters the phone and he says, Buddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color? What’s your
Cathy: favorite color?
Todd: I might play that one too. So.
Cathy: When the whole, I think the mail room is still really good.
Todd: Yeah. Yeah, because it’s in this dark, gray, basement looking thing and he drinks booze for the first time.
Cathy: He sure does. He thinks it’s syrup. That’s right. And then the whole thing about the guy that he’s talking to who they decide they’re best friends and that guy says that he’s 26 years old.
Cathy: Yeah,
Todd: that’s right. And
Cathy: when really he’s probably like in his
Todd: 40s. 40s or something like that.
Cathy: That’s the thing, again, you know, you see this movie the first time or you watch it with your kid. And you just get it for the basic of the story. A kid who’s leaving home to find himself and find his dad and find relationships and that’s it.
Cathy: And then the, watching it time and again, [00:24:00] there’s all these little things that you pick up on that are really funny. Um, that are really, you know, like, our favorite parts are when Buddy’s leaving. And he does the thing that Rudolph does, which is he jumps on like an ice patch and, you know, goes away into the water just like Rudolph did.
Cathy: And all those little critters are saying goodbye to him. And there’s this little critter on the far right who keeps saying, Bye! Bye! Bye. And it’s just Sky and I love him. And then he starts crying. And then the other one makes him feel better. And then Mr. Narwhal comes out of the water.
Todd: Why is he called Mr.
Todd: Narwhal? Is there, is there some significance to that? Because he’s
Cathy: a narwhal.
Todd: Is that a, an animal? Yeah. So there’s something called a narwhal?
Cathy: Yeah.
Todd: And is that a whale?
Cathy: It’s a narwhal. What’s a narwhal? I don’t know. It’s a narwhal. I’m gonna look it up. I feel like I used to think it was fake, like a unicorn, but it’s not.
Cathy: Yeah, that’s what I thought. Um, and then a little trivia about the narwhal, because he says, Bye, buddy. Hope you find your dad. [00:25:00] And that’s Jon Favreau’s voice. I’ll be
Todd: darned. A narwhal. It is a species of toothed whale native to the Arctic. Yeah. It’s only a member of whatever. Do they exist today? There’s an estimated 170, 000 living narwhals.
Todd: I had no idea. I must have missed that day in. Fifth grade where we learn about different whales.
Cathy: He comes to say goodbye to buddy.
Todd: What’s the narwhal’s horn for? Any idea?
Cathy: Uh, poking people.
Todd: It’s, it’s, uh, this tooth isn’t used for chewing. Narwhals actually have no teeth in their mouth and swallow fish whole.
Todd: The tusk instead seemed to be used as a tool for sensing changes in the environment, like differences in water temperature, salt level, and the presence of nearby prey. All right. Well, now, now I, now I can sleep. Well, tonight, because I know what a narwhal is.
Cathy: Yes, so I, I think that instead of like, um, because the basic of the movie, you know, he ends up in New York, he’s trying to have a relationship with his dad, and there’s all these great scenes, but I think we should talk [00:26:00] about what our favorite scenes are.
Cathy: Sure. because it will, can, you know, it’ll keep us going in the direction of how it ends. Sure. Why don’t you start? Well, I’m going to start with a scene that I can’t stand, that I don’t watch, which is when he is, when he first gets to New York and he’s trying to figure out how to cross the street and he keeps getting hit by cabs, which is funny.
Cathy: And then, you know, he goes in the circle of, you know, the door, the revolving door, and he throws up and everything. And then Santa gave him specific instructions to not. eat the gum that he finds, but there is a good minute and a half where he’s chewing used gum and I can’t watch it.
Todd: Yeah.
Cathy: It grosses me out.
Todd: Yeah. And I can totally watch that. That doesn’t bother me at all. So gross. It’s not that gross. I literally never watch it. I always look away. Odds are the, um, The gum is probably pretty hard and unchewable unless people disposed of it that day.
Cathy: Yes, probably true, but it’s still gross because he picks [00:27:00] up a lot of pieces.
Cathy: And then I think it’s funny for anybody who, you know, has been to New York or Vegas or even Chicago sometimes when people are handing out those flyers and he keeps like walking by the men who are handing out flyers and he keeps taking them to the point where they, you know, Stop giving him the flyers.
Cathy: Right. Yeah, that is good.
Todd: Um, I think one of my favorite scenes, which I’m about to play, is when he’s with Santa.
You’re a big boy. What’s your name? And uh, what can I get you for Christmas? Don’t tell him what you want.
Disgust me. How can you live with yourself? Just cool it, Zippy. You sit on a throne of lies. Look, I’m not kidding. You’re a fake. I’m a fake? Yes. How’d you like to be dead? Huh? No, he’s kidding. You stink. I think you’re gonna have a good Christmas, alright? I like beef and cheese. You don’t smell like Santa.
Okay. He’s an imposter.
Todd: And then [00:28:00] all Bedlam ensues.
Cathy: And that’s Artie Lang?
Todd: Yeah, formerly of Howard Stern.
Cathy: Yeah. I feel like he did a few movies here and there. I don’t know if his fame came from Howard Stern.
Todd: Yeah, I don’t know either. Or
Cathy: if he had some fame and then he was on Howard Stern. But I just remember he was having a moment whenever this movie came out.
Cathy: Um, yeah. And I, you know, I, my other favorite scene, it’s kind of a, it, blends into, um, well it’s a long one, is when he is across the street from Michael’s school and wants to like hang out with Michael, which is his brother. And initially Michael comes out of the school and is like, oh my god, I’m so embarrassed.
Cathy: And then Buddy follows him and he’s asking him all these questions, which I think are funny. And one of the questions is, why is your coat so big? Which I think everyone wants to know. Why is Michael’s coat so big? Um, and then he, Then all of a sudden they get like pelted with a bunch of snowballs and then Buddy [00:29:00] is basically like It’s kind of a cool moment because Michael’s like these guys are bad news We got to get out of here and Buddy’s like we can take them We can do this and see that’s a moment of you know confidence for his brother kind of like oh, I’m not alone I don’t have to do this by myself because basically his dad’s not around.
Cathy: He’s obviously trying to impress his friends And he has a moment where he’s got someone who has his back.
Todd: It’s weird to think of because I think they’re in Central Park.
Cathy: Yeah.
Todd: And it’s just weird to think about kids walking home from school right past Central Park. Absolutely. But I’m sure there’s tens of thousands of kids that do that on a daily basis.
Cathy: I mean, in Chicago all the time.
Todd: Yeah.
Cathy: You know what I mean? You just,
Todd: you,
Cathy: you walk home.
Todd: Yeah. You
Cathy: walk through the city.
Todd: One of my favorites is this one.
You’re my sick. Yeah, that’s not what we’re here for. We’re here to do a test. Come on. What kind of test? Just a test to find out if you’re my son or not. Why am I sitting on paper?
Because it’s sanitary for the other patients. Now sit still so I can do the finger prick. Finger prick? Oh! It’s cold. Yeah. Just please sit still, please. Okay, can I listen to your [00:30:00] necklace? No, you can’t. Can you just sit still? Why is there a skeleton? I don’t know. What, Walker, could you please? Could you please have him sit still so I can do this?
No, he hasn’t got a name. I’m sorry, Ben. I’m just waiting. Please sit still. Yes. Sooner you sit still, the sooner we can get this mess over with. Then can we eat sugar plums? You betcha. We’ll eat sugar plums. Gingerbread house. I said, we’ll even paint eggs. We’ll paint eggs. That’s easier.
Todd: So good. I love it.
Cathy: Well, and then that leads into one of my favorite characters who she’s not there. She’s not in the movie enough, but she’s the little girl sitting next to him. Yeah. is he’s eating the cotton balls.
Yeah.
Cathy: But she’s very accepting of him and believes him. Yeah. And they have a nice little conversation.
Cathy: It’s right
here. Finger has a heartbeat. Buddy.
I’m Carolyn.[00:31:00]
What do you want for Christmas? Sissy talks a lot. Put in a good word with the big man. Thanks. My costume is pretty. Oh, it’s not a costume. I’m an elf. Technically I’m a human, but I was raised that way.
Todd: What’s her name? Kaelin. Hello, Kaelin.
Cathy: And then they bring her back at the end when Buddy is singing. Oh, they do? I never noticed
Todd: that.
Cathy: Yeah, when he’s um, You know, when they’re on TV, and she’s sitting in her bed, and she’s singing, and, you know, they bring her back. She’s a little cutie.
Todd: I remember what I wanted to say and since forgotten it. Um, the whole scene with Will, Farrell, and Zoe, uh, Buddy, and Jovi, it reminded me of, uh, Tom Hanks and Elizabeth.
Todd: McGovern or Elizabeth Perkins? No, Perkins. Yeah. Um, yeah, it’s just, it’s very similar. Buddy is an adult, but acts like a kid. And Tom Hanks is an adult, is a kid that acts like an adult. [00:32:00] Or vice versa. Or vice versa. It just seemed like it was, uh, very similar energies. And
Cathy: they’re both with women. I mean, Elizabeth Perkins is more of like a business focused kind of, that’s where her vibe is from.
Cathy: But, um, But Jovi is more of like, what’s the point of life kind of vibe. But they awaken something in them of like the joy of life. Like, that’s why I like that scene of when they start skipping. Cause I feel like that’s when Jovi joins in. I feel like everything before then, she’s just kind of watching him.
Cathy: And then when they start skipping, she’s like, what are we doing? And he’s like, we’re skipping. And speaking of that scene, I wasn’t done talking about the scene that I liked because after the snowball fight, that’s when. They go, uh, Michael and Buddy go to Gimbels, which is, and a little more trivia, they actually asked Macy’s originally if they could use their store, and Macy’s said no.
Cathy: Except with Macy’s. Well, there’s a whole story behind it. They had a reason. I think it had something to do with some of the content of the [00:33:00] movie, and they didn’t want to be known for that, but look at what Gimbels, there was no Gimbels in New York at the time. Um,
Todd: Is Gimbal a real store? It
Cathy: was.
Todd: And it closed down?
Todd: Yeah. Was it also in like Miracle on 34th Street? Okay.
Cathy: So Miracle on 34th Street, the whole gist is that Macy’s, uh, the Macy’s Parade, that’s where Santa Claus is hired and then they hire him to be the Santa Claus in the store and then he starts sending customers to other stores to get gifts that are either, you know, better cost or just because Macy’s doesn’t have it and that’s Gimbels.
Cathy: And then all of a sudden everybody in New York starts doing that. So it’s just a ton of goodwill. It’s just so funny. I was just watching Miracle on 34th Street and it’s just so the, you know, the guy who plays Santa Claus, he’s just talking about how consumerism is just starting to take over and how it’s like ruining Christmas spirit.
Cathy: And I’m like, Oh my God,
Todd: little did we know
Cathy: how bad it would get. And, you know, same thing with why. In ELF, um, [00:34:00] That’s why Santa’s sleigh won’t fly without some, you know, machinery on it, because there’s not enough Christmas spirit.
Todd: Hmm. Do you think that, uh, what year did this movie come out? 2003, so 21 years ago.
Todd: Do you think that there is more or less Christmas spirit now than there were back in 2003? Ah, if you’re being honest.
Cathy: Well, I think, oh, that’s hard. ’cause it, it changes, it evolves. Yeah. Like it, I, I think that there are people who do a lot of work and I’m one of those people to continue and perpetuate something that’s beautiful and something that’s meaningful because as.
Cathy: Santa Claus says in Miracle on 34th Street, you know, Christmas is not, you know, presents and Christmas is not this consumerism. Christmas is a feeling. Christmas is a way of living and looking at life. And I think that that’s why the season is [00:35:00] so awesome all the time because we stop. I was just talking to Todd about this before.
Cathy: We slow down, you know, we focus on, we don’t do the same things that we do all the time. You know, take walks. We slow down. We watch Christmas movies. We try to spend more time together. That’s the whole point of the season. And you know, to, to create that vibe, sometimes we need a new re, you know, we need a reason.
Cathy: And Christmas gives us that opportunity every year. You know, one of my favorite weeks, which a lot of people talk about it being like this dead week, is the week between Christmas and New Year’s when nobody works, really. Some people do, of course, if you’re in the customer service or, um, you know, service industry.
Cathy: But, you know, a lot of businesses shut down and people get really antsy. I love it because it’s permission to not do the same thing. My God, it gets so monotonous, right? [00:36:00] And, um, but anyway, I want to go back to finishing that, that scene. So Michael and, um, Buddy, Buddy go upstairs and they see Jovi. And Michael is like, you know, you like her, you want to ask her out and ask her to get some food.
Cathy: Um, and it’s just a great scene because Buddy’s honest with Jovi and he, basically says, I really like you and I think you’re beautiful and all these things. And it’s just funny to watch Michael because he looks like he’s going to laugh through the whole scene. Yeah. And I love Michael so much in that scene.
Cathy: I was, um, I looked him up cause I’m like, what else has this kid been in? Cause I just think he’s cool and he doesn’t act anymore. It actually, in Wikipedia says former actor and he’s in med school. He’s becoming a doctor.
Todd: Who would have thunk it?
Cathy: I know. And I bet every year people look him up and he’s probably like this time of year, I started to get all these hits on my social media.
Cathy: I don’t even know if he has social media, but, um,
Todd: he’s probably a doctor by now. Cause if he was like, let’s say, how old do you think it was? [00:37:00] Eight?
Cathy: Well, it looks like he’s gone to, he’s gone to school at a bunch of different, like, uh, IVs. Yeah. He was like a Cornell. He was like a bunch of different places.
Cathy: So I think he was finding where he wanted to be.
Todd: Um, so we’re 37 minutes in, I got a bunch of questions, a bunch of trivia, so we can just, but I do want to play this one last fun, funny scene that I love so much. Okay. I’ll come visit you in a little while, okay?
I didn’t know you had elves working here!
Boy, you’re, you’re hilarious, my friend. He doesn’t, um, get back to the story, please.
So, on the cover above the title Does Santa know that you left the workshop? You know, we’re all laughing our heads off. Did you have to borrow a reindeer to get down here? Buddy, go back to the basement. Jack Weed. I get more action in a week than you’ve had your entire life. He called him Jack Weed. I’ve got houses in L.
A., Paris, and Vail. Each home has a 70 inch plasma screen. So I [00:38:00] suggest you wipe that stupid smile off your face before I come over there and smack it off! Ya feelin strong, my friend? Call me Elf one more time!
He’s an angry elf.
Todd: And then once again, all bedlam ensues. Okay, you ready? So, first of all, I know you’re gonna I have, I have the trivia questions from easy to difficult, and you’re going to be able to get the easy ones without batting an eyelash. Okay. So I don’t want you to do that because, um, I want people to play along.
Todd: So give it a second before you answer, okay? This is the easy. Um, what do, what job does Buddy think he’s bad Santas Workshop? Pause. And answer. Making the et of sketches. Yeah, making toys. Okay. Very good. What is Walter Hobbes’s job? Pause? [00:39:00] Uh, publisher book. Publisher. Children’s book publisher. What is the name of Buddy’s stepbrother,
Cathy: Michael.
Todd: And we already said it was Joby. We talked about the department store. What holiday songs does Buddy and Jovi sing together in the, uh, in the shower? I think. When she’s in the shower. Pause. Yep. Uh, baby it’s cold outside. Very good. Um, what does Buddy drink too much of during the dinner scene? Pause. What is it?
Todd: Coke. Very good. Do you hear that? Yep. Did you hear that? Did you hear that? That’s a funny scene too. What does Buddy pour on his spaghetti? Pause. I
Cathy: can give you a bunch of things.
Todd: I know, but what is the liquid that he pours? Oh, maple syrup. Maple syrup. What are some of the other things he puts in there? Pop tarts.
Cathy: Mm hmm. Uh, marshmallows. Um, chocolate sauce. Pause. And, uh, that’s all I know.
Todd: Um, what type of Pop Tarts, by the way?
Cathy: I don’t know.
Todd: I think they’re chocolate Pop Tarts. Oh, that’s a chocolate. Um, [00:40:00] what animal attacks Buddy in the forest? A rac Can I go ahead? Okay. Raccoon. Very good. So those are all the easy questions.
Todd: Okay. Ready for the medium? I’m ready. What song does Buddy encourage people to sing to raise Christmas spirit?
Cathy: Um, uh, do you want me to say? Yeah, go ahead. Santa Claus is Coming to Town.
Todd: Very good. What does Buddy say when he answers Walter’s phone? Pause. Um, hi, hi, this is Buddy. What’s your favorite color?
Todd: Buddy the Elf. What’s your favorite color? Um, what’s the name of Santa’s lead reindeer? Um,
Cathy: it’s not Rudolph?
Todd: It’s not. I don’t think Rudolph was in this one.
Cathy: I think you’re right. Dancer? Comet. Comet.
Todd: I believe. I believe these are right. Okay. What’s Walter’s assistant’s name? That’s a hard
Cathy: one. Uh, Deb.
Todd: Very good.
Todd: What’s the name of the author Walter is trying to work with?
Cathy: Peter Dinklage’s role? Yes. [00:41:00] Um, gosh, I can’t remember.
Todd: Correct answer is Miles Finch. Miles Finch. What is written on the note Buddy leaves when he runs away? First of all, he does it on the Etch a Sketch, which is classic.
Cathy: I think he says that he doesn’t belong anywhere.
Todd: This doesn’t sound right, so I’m not saying this is right, but what I looked up says, I’m sorry I ruined your lives? No, that’s got to be wrong. I don’t know, maybe. It’s got to be wrong. Um, what is Jovi? I already talked about that one. What are the four main food groups according to Buddy?
Cathy: Um, let’s see. Maple syrup.
Cathy: Pop tarts? Um, sugar?
Todd: Nope.
Cathy: Sugar plums?
Todd: I’m gonna start it off for you. Okay, go ahead. Candy? Candy. Candy. Candy
Cathy: canes.
Todd: Candy. Candy corn? And syrup. Okay. Very good. Now we’re getting into the hard question. Oh boy. Okay. How many Etch a Sketches does Buddy make in one day? [00:42:00] 80 something. 85. 85. What is, what street is Hobbs family apartment on?
Todd: What street does Jimmy Kahn’s apartment on?
Cathy: Central. It’s on a major street. Um, I can’t remember.
Todd: Central Park West. Central Park. I was close. Very good. What does Buddy write on the Etch a Sketch for Santa? Once again, I don’t know if this is true. I don’t know. I think this is wrong. It says, I’m sorry for what I’ve done.
Todd: But then, who knows? I don’t know. Um, we already talked about that one. We just played that one. What is the full title of the book that Walters Company publishes at the end of the movie?
Cathy: Um, I think it’s like Buddy The Elf. Like I actually just noticed it when we watched it the other night. Um, it’s long.
Todd: Yes.
Cathy: Something to
Todd: New
Cathy: York.
Todd: It’s elf. A buddy’s journey. Oh,
Cathy: that’s it?
Todd: That’s it. Oh. So it says, what does Buddy draw on an Etch a Sketch for Michael?
Cathy: Um.
Todd: I don’t remember this. I don’t either. Tell me. [00:43:00] Mona Lisa?
Cathy: Yeah, I think that he does. Yeah, I think he does.
Todd: And these are more hard questions. Uh, I don’t know if that’s true.
Todd: What’s the name of the snowman? We already talked about that. What does Buddy use to make a rocking horse for Michael? Uh, he, he uses like the, uh, what the TV is. Very good, the TV stand. The TV stand, yeah. Um, what does Walter’s boss demand during the Christmas Eve meeting? Ideas. Like a pitch. A new pitch by the end of the day.
Mm hmm.
Todd: What is, what, what food, that doesn’t make sense, what does Buddy offer to the raccoon? A hug. Very good. Um, that’s it. That’s it. You did well, sweetie. I think you got them all except for a few. And now we’re on to trivia. We’ll Oh boy, what happened there? It’s over. It just played all by itself. Um, so now we’re going over to trivia, and you might have some of
Cathy: these.
Cathy: I thought that
Todd: was trivia. That was, that was, uh, that was a quiz. Oh, okay. Those are, um, these are behind the scenes facts. Oh, okay, [00:44:00] okay. Will Ferrell actually ate the candy, syrup covered spaghetti, and other sugary treats on camera. Sure. Reportedly causing him headaches and an upset stomach.
Cathy: Well, this leads to a question, sorry to interrupt trivia, but what is Buddy?
Cathy: Because Buddy obviously is human. Mm hmm. But has some qualities that are very elf like. And now we can say, well, that’s because he was raised in the north. Yeah, is it nature
Todd: or is it nurture?
Cathy: But he eats sugar all the time. And so no one can survive, a human being can’t survive that.
Todd: I think he did. And I think we’re led to believe that this is simply a nurture standpoint.
Todd: He grew up eating candy and that’s just his body adjusted.
Cathy: What about the way he throws the snowballs?
Todd: Uh, that’s a good question.
Cathy: Like it’s almost like he’s He does have magic
Todd: powers. He
Cathy: does. He’s got a little bit of, and just the fact that he can go from the North Pole, you know, in that kind of mystical way to New York.
Cathy: I mean, I know I’m micro Yeah, that’s quite a Picking in This would
Todd: be picking nits.
Cathy: This is picking nits because it’s like To
Todd: go from the North [00:45:00] Pole to New York, uh, you probably can’t even get there. Through the candy cane forest. Oh, but he does Float on blocks of ice. So maybe he can get there. He
Cathy: floats on blocks of ice until he gets to the candy cane forest.
Cathy: And then, then he, then he, like, it’s another trek from there.
Todd: It says, buddy’s costume was inspired by Rudolph. Buddy’s green and yellow outfit was modeled after the L’s costume in the 1964 stop motion classic. Is that what it was? Green and yellow? Yes.
Cathy: Well, obviously Rudolph didn’t have that, but the guy who had it was, you know, the guy who’s like Hermey, the guy who’s mad all the time, his outfit.
Cathy: And they actually. Thought there was a point in time when there was a meeting with the studio and Fevero was done with like half the movie and they thought that the guys, it’s like two guys who do all these stop motion shows from the 70s or 60s, they thought they were going to be sued because they were so closely, they were borrowing so much that they then made a blue costume for, um, You know, for Buddy, just in case they had to change [00:46:00] things, but they kept it green.
Todd: Um, Buddy was, Buddy. Buddy was originally more cynical. Early drafts of the script depicted Buddy as a grittier, sarcastic character, but this was softened to make it more family oriented.
Cathy: See, that would have been more the Chris Farley aspect, don’t you think? Or even the Jim Carrey.
Todd: And
Cathy: that’s why
Todd: it’s
Cathy: such a great
Todd: movie.
Todd: It’s very innocent.
Cathy: Yeah. It’s so innocent.
Todd: Uh, I don’t know if this is true. The Empire State Building security scene was real. The shots of Buddy in the Empire State Building were filmed without permits capturing authentic reactions. Yeah. That’s true. Really?
Cathy: Yeah. It was, that’s what I mean about guerrilla style.
Cathy: They did not, and one of the guys that throws Will Ferrell out, you know how there’s two guys, one of them’s his brother.
Todd: Yeah. Um, it says that the world’s best cup of coffee scene was improvised. Will Ferrell burst into a random diner in New York and shouted, You did it! Without informing the patrons or the staff beforehand.
Todd: Oh, that’s funny. Yeah, that is kind of funny. Um, I think that’s all I got. Yeah, that’s all I got for the trivia. Any parting thoughts on this wonderful Christmas [00:47:00] classic?
Cathy: Um, just that I re I think one of the other things that I heard, Um, and I’m not sure if I heard it. Where, but that the movie originally ended with Buddy just flying, um, off in the sleigh and that that was the end of the movie and that people were like, Oh, that’s just too abrupt.
Cathy: So then they added in the, the fact that he and Jovi had Susie and that they went back to the North Pole. Pole and everything. Like they added a little more to it, which I think is good. They kind of Shaw shanked it, you know, , they took us all the way through, um, in the best way. I love the end of Shaw Shank Redemption.
Cathy: Yeah.
Todd: They changed the ending a little bit. Yeah.
Cathy: They, they ga they gave us more. Yeah, because we needed more. It’s like we deserve more after going through that whole story, um, as the viewer, you feel like you do and, uh, I think that it’s so nice. Um, to have a movie to watch every year, and that that was the intention, and that, like I said, the guy who wrote it, his intention, it was about, he didn’t [00:48:00] really know his dad, such a theme, men and their dads.
Cathy: That’s right, father wounds. Father wounds, and that this is a father wound movie, and then, um, but it was also the reason Favreau wanted to do it. is because he wanted, he had just had a son and he want, and by the way, it’s his son at the end, at the, who’s the young buddy.
Todd: Yeah. The kid in the, uh, Oh, is it the baby, the infant or like the adolescent?
Cathy: No, it’s, it’s a one year old. Okay. So I think it’s the one who’s sitting on, I think it’s the, the young buddy. It’s not the one
Todd: that goes into the Santa’s These
Cathy: are good questions. All I know, all I read was that it’s his son as young buddy. Let’s
Todd: give Cabro on the phone and ask.
Cathy: Let’s call him. Um, but he, he had, I guess when he was pitching, um, to be the director cause Vince Vaughn recommended him.
Cathy: He had, you know, A few ideas and one of them was to bring in the stop motion stuff to bring in stuff from our childhood that that would be a connector [00:49:00] and that you know that this is something he wanted children and their parents to be able to watch together kind of like how Toy Story is a great like adult and kid movie and this is too you know there’s not any inappropriate things even the most like a thing that you may think is inappropriate they do such a good job with it which is the the little like lingerie for someone special.
And
Cathy: then later you see that his dad is opening it and doesn’t understand why he’s getting it. But that’s funny. Like buddy thinks, Oh, you buy this for someone special. Yeah.
Todd: Um, okay. So we’re going to play the outro music, uh, but I’m going to overlay culturing. Let’s see how that sounds. That’s not going to sound good.
Todd: Let’s see how it sounds.
Cathy: Okay.
Todd: Start with this. Okay. And then here we go.
Todd: All right, so I guess that’s it. We’re just
Cathy: going
Todd: to
Cathy: put it on both the channels.
Todd: That’s right. Um, happy holidays to all of our wonderful [00:50:00] listeners. Uh, we’ll see you in 2025. Keep trucking.
