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Will Ferrell’s ‘Elf’ returning to theaters for 20th anniversary

(WXIN) – “Elf” is coming back to the big screen—and you’d be a cotton-headed ninny muggins to miss it.

Starting Nov. 17, the Will Ferrell Christmas classic will return to participating theaters in celebration of its 20th anniversary.


Yeah, that’s right—we’ve been quoting Will Ferrell’s Buddy the Elf for two decades (“Buddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color?”). The movie debuted in U.S. theaters on Nov. 7, 2003.

The modern holiday classic tells the story of Buddy the Elf, who’s whisked away to the North Pole as a baby, grows up as a (rather large) elf and passes “through the seven levels of the candy cane forest” and “the sea of swirly-twirly gum drops” to reach New York City in the search for his biological father, played by James Caan.

The movie, directed by Jon Favreau, also features Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, Bob Newhart, Ed Asner and Peter Dinklage.

Will Ferrell during premiere of “Elf” at Loews Astor Plaza in New York, New York, United States. (Photo by Sylvain Gaboury/FilmMagic)

To mark the 20th anniversary, the Empire State Building lit up green and yellow on Tuesday to match Buddy’s signature colors. The iconic skyscraper served as the office building for Buddy’s dad in the movie.

The Fifth Avenue Lobby Windows will transport visitors to Buddy’s world through Jan. 1. Visitors can pose with a life-size Buddy the Elf on the 86th floor Observatory starting Friday (Nov. 10). The Empire State Building will also hold “Elf” screenings on Dec. 3, Dec. 10 and Dec. 17 on the 80th floor.

As for local screenings, you’ll want to check your local theater listings in the coming weeks. A glance at Fandango.com showed a handful of showtimes later this month.

The best way to spread Christmas cheer is streaming “Elf” for all to hear, right?

If you’d rather enjoy the movie at home, it’ll stream on Hulu starting on Nov. 23 (Hulu + Live TV subscribers can currently watch it on demand). Elf is available on Max right now.

You can also get the digital version from online vendors like Prime Video, Vudu, Google Play and iTunes.

TV viewers will find it on TNT and TBS this month, while AMC will run it in December.

“Elf” fans can find a sleigh-full of merchandise at the WB Shop, including T-shirts, sweaters, hoodies, a “Spirit Clausometer” and much more.