Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas

*Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas*
Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas
	Promotional poster
Based on	Elf; by David Berenbaum; Elf: The Musical; by Bob Martin; Thomas Meehan
Written by	Thomas Meehan; Bob Martin; Aaron Horvath; Michael Jelenic
Directed by	Mark Caballero; Seamus Walsh
Starring	Jim Parsons; Mark Hamill; Kate Micucci; Ed Asner; Max Charles; Rachael MacFarlane;
Narrated by	Ed Asner
Theme music composer	Christopher Guardino; Matthew Sklar
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Sam Register; Toby Emmerich; Mark Kaufman
Producers	Chris Finnegan; Aaron Horvath; Michael Jelenic
Cinematography	Ralph Kaechele
Editor	Mike Wright
Running time	43 minutes
Production companies	New Line Cinema; Warner Bros. Animation; Animation Services:; Screen Novelties
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	December 16, 2014

Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas is a 2014 American stop-motion animated Christmas musical television special produced by Warner Bros. Animation, directed by Mark Caballero and Seamus Walsh and written by Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Bob Martin and Thomas Meehan. It is based on the 2003 film Elf and the Broadway theatre musical Elf: The Musical. While Ed Asner reprises his role of Santa Claus from the film, the rest of the cast consists of Jim Parsons, Mark Hamill, Kate Micucci, Max Charles, and Rachael MacFarlane. The special premiered on December 16, 2014, on NBC.^[1]

Plot

Santa Claus narrates the story of Buddy's travels to New York City to meet his father Walter Hobbs. Along the way, his unrelenting cheer transforms the lives of everyone he meets and opens his father's eyes to the magic of the holiday.

Cast

Jim Parsons as Buddy Hobbs. Parsons replaces Will Ferrell, who played Buddy in the film.
Mark Hamill as Walter Hobbs. Hamill replaces James Caan, who played Walter in the film.
Kate Micucci as Jovie. Micucci replaces Zooey Deschanel, who played Jovie in the film.
Ed Asner as Santa Claus. Asner reprises his role from the film.
Max Charles as Michael Hobbs. Charles replaces Daniel Tay, who played Michael in the film.
Rachael MacFarlane as Emily Hobbs and Fake Santa Claus #3. Mary Steenburgen played Emily in the film.
Fred Armisen as Matthews
Gilbert Gottfried as Mr. Greenway. Gottfried replaces Michael Lerner, who played Mr. Greenway in the film.
Jay Leno as Fake Santa Claus #1
Steve Higgins as Chadwick
Matt Lauer as Mr. Sea Serpent
Kevin Michael Richardson as Fake Santa Claus #2 and Jerry Hobbs
Kevin Shinick as Fake Santa Claus #4

Additional voices by Rachel Bloom, Larry Dorf, Rachel Ramras, and Kevin Shinick.

Reception

The special was viewed by 4.82 million viewers.^[2] Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas received positive reviews from critics. The review-aggregation website Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a score of 74 out of 100 based on 8 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[3] Ray Rahman of Entertainment Weekly gave the special a B+, saying "Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas probably won't become a classic, but it's a fun break from the usual standards."^[4] Brian Lowry of Variety gave the special a positive review, saying "Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas suits the genre well, and suggests there is an alternative to simply running the sprockets off old holiday perennials. And in albeit in a minor way, that's good reason to be happy — if not all the time, at least for an hour or so."^[5] Erik Adams of The A.V. Club gave the special a B, saying "Narratively and emotionally rushed, at least Buddy's Musical Christmas smartly emphasizes its animated nature, through visual inventiveness and top-flight voice talent."^[6]

Musical numbers

All tracks are written by Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin

No.	Title	Performer(s)	Length
1.	"Happy All the Time"	Fred Armisen, Ed Asner, Rachel Bloom, Larry Dorf, Jim Parsons, Rachel Ramras and Kevin Shinick	2:27
2.	"World's Greatest Dad"	Parsons	1:03
3.	"I'll Believe In You"	Rachael MacFarlane & Max Charles	2:08
4.	"Sparklejollytwinklejingley"	MacFarlane, Charles and Parsons	1:47
5.	"A Christmas Song"	Kate Micucci and Parsons	1:59
6.	"Nobody Cares About Santa"	Shinick, MacFarlane, Kevin Michael Richardson, Jay Leno and Parsons	1:48
7.	"There Is a Santa Claus"	MacFarlane & Charles	1:17
8.	"A Christmas Song (Reprise)"	Bloom, Charles, Dorf, Mark Hamill, MacFarlane, Micucci, Ramras and Shinick	3:31
9.	"The Story of Buddy The Elf"	Cast	2:32
Total length:			18:32

Home media

Warner Home Video released Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas on DVD and Blu-ray on November 3, 2015.^[7]

Accolades

The film was nominated for seven Annie Awards and won one for Character Design in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production.^[8]

References

^ Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 97. ISBN 9781476672939.
^ Kondolojy, Amanda (December 17, 2014). "Tuesday Final Ratings: 'NCIS' & 'The Voice' Adjusted Up, No Adjustment for 'Person of Interest' or 'MasterChef Junior'". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
^ "Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas". Metacritic. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
^ "Tonight's Best - TV - Entertainment Weekly". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 14 October 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
^ "'Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas' TV Review on NBC". Variety. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
^ "Review: An animated retelling of Elf justifies its existence with visual daring". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
^ "Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas: Jim Parsons, Mark Hamill, Kate Micucci, Edward Asner, Mark Caballero, Seamus Walsh: Movies & TV". Amazon. Retrieved 2016-01-17.
^ "Annie Awards Nominees". Annieawards.org. Retrieved 2016-01-17.

External links

[1] Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 97. ISBN 9781476672939.

[2] Kondolojy, Amanda (December 17, 2014). "Tuesday Final Ratings: 'NCIS' & 'The Voice' Adjusted Up, No Adjustment for 'Person of Interest' or 'MasterChef Junior'". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved December 17, 2014.

[3] "Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas". Metacritic. Retrieved 17 December 2014.

[4] "Tonight's Best - TV - Entertainment Weekly". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 14 October 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2014.

[5] "'Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas' TV Review on NBC". Variety. Retrieved 17 December 2014.

[6] "Review: An animated retelling of Elf justifies its existence with visual daring". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 17 December 2014.

[7] "Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas: Jim Parsons, Mark Hamill, Kate Micucci, Edward Asner, Mark Caballero, Seamus Walsh: Movies & TV". Amazon. Retrieved 2016-01-17.

[8] "Annie Awards Nominees". Annieawards.org. Retrieved 2016-01-17.

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v t e Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures
Book adaptations	Lestat (2006) Doctor Zhivago (2006) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2012) Misery (2012) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2013) The Bridges of Madison County (2013)
Warner live-action film adaptations	Elf (2010) A Christmas Story: The Musical (2012) Beetlejuice (2018)
Other adaptations	Baby It's You! (2009) Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas 2014 TV film A Christmas Story Live! 2017 TV film
Also see	Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2016)