Some links may be affiliate links. I may earn money if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of these links on this site.
Rob Knowlan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Answer the Telephone Like Buddy the Elf Day 2024
Keeping the holiday season whimsical, today is Answer the Telephone Like Buddy the Elf Day. So, dust off your childlike innocence and ask really goofy questions when someone rings you up today. ☎️
Find The Elf In YoursELF
He’s not a child but he’s childlike, he’s not a grown up, he’s not a kid, maybe he sounds like an elf on helium, we’ll play with it. ~Tom Kenny
Christmastime is supposed to be fun.
Baking cookies, having parties, exchanging gifts, singing carols, fun, fun, fun.
So, why not add to the yuletide cheer and answer the phone like Buddy the Elf?
Part of the character’s charm is that he’s a human who was raised among elves at the North Pole.
He’s naive, honest, cheerful and unfiltered.
When he discovers the truth and seeks out his birth father, it takes him to a jaded publishing executive.
This sets up a hilarious Odd Couple dynamic. Today’s theme comes from a quick scene where Buddy impulsively answers his dad’s phone.
Buddy the Elf 🎄 What’s Your Favorite Color?
Elf – Buddy The Elf, What’s Your Favorite Color?
Utterly random, but fitting with the childlike exuberance of the character. So, consider this an invitation to get that uninhibited Christmas spirit and answer your phone with silly, spontaneous questions.
You don’t have to wait until this time of year to be comically random, but it’s certainly more fitting.
Life goes a bit smoother with a dose of whimsy. We can’t be all in all the time. It gets tedious, then it gets dangerous.
I’ve spoken often enough about the dangers of burnout.
Coming to the end of the year has always been one of my favorite times, not only because of the change of the weather and the proliferation of baked goods, but also because everything slows down.
It’s supposed to, that is.
The holiday season is a time to relax after a hard year of churning and burning. We get together with family, share some festive meals, watch some parades, exchange gifts and generally chill out.
That’s how it should be.
This year isn’t like that and I’m having a hard time appreciating it.
Next year needs to be better. One way or another, it’s going to have to be.
Happy Answer The Phone Like Buddy The Elf Day!
It’s A Story
I think what is nice about ‘Elf,’ and why it doesn’t play as one long sketch, is that the character actually grows up during the course of the film. It’s not just a character that you can keep checking in on and keep doing sketches about. It’s a story. I’m pretty proud of how we told it. ~Jon Favreau
Let’s face it. It’s not that hard to write a serviceable story.
Start at the Beginning
Somebody wants/needs something. There are some obstacles to them getting it. After pursuing it, they get it or they don’t. End of story.
There are ways to develop that into something truly compelling, but the building blocks are encapsulated in what the Mad Hatter and March Hare said above.
A lot of what Hollywood gets wrong anymore is that they lean in to something that was in vogue when I was a kid.
A central feature of some of the Rankin & Bass stop motion holiday specials like Here Comes Peter Cottontail and Santa Claus Is Coming To Town was this idea of trying to create the definitive origin story or explanation of why things were as they were.
They figured that we were children, so its okay to be on the nose. Come right out and tell the viewer that this is how it is and here’s why.
That worked for some people. It’s easy to grow out of finding that approach viable. Maybe just write a story and let us figure out the moral for ourselves?
Whatever the motivation for wanting to create the definitive explanation for a character’s behavior, it’s a bit basic and we can move past it.
Some stories overdose on nuance and get lost in the weeds. That’s another failing that plagues modern entertainment.
Just start at the beginning and when you come to the end, stop. The main character(s) get what they want or they don’t.
That’s really all it takes.
That’s it for this holiday Hump 🐪 Day. I hope you take some time to don your elf hat and ask silly questions of people who ring you up. The world needs more merriment.