Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas

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Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas
Promotional poster
Based onElf
by David Berenbaum
Elf: The Musical
by Bob Martin
Thomas Meehan
Written byThomas Meehan
Bob Martin
Aaron Horvath
Michael Jelenic
Directed byMark Caballero
Seamus Walsh
Starring
Narrated byEd Asner
Theme music composerChristopher Guardino
Matthew Sklar
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producersSam Register
Toby Emmerich
Mark Kaufman
ProducersChris Finnegan
Aaron Horvath
Michael Jelenic
CinematographyRalph Kaechele
EditorMike Wright
Running time43 minutes
Production companiesNew Line Cinema
Warner Bros. Animation
Animation Services:
Screen Novelties
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseDecember 16, 2014 (2014-12-16)

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[edit]

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[edit]

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

Reception[edit]

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[edit]

All tracks are written by Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin

No.TitlePerformer(s)Length
1."Happy All the Time"Fred Armisen, Ed Asner, Rachel Bloom, Larry Dorf, Jim Parsons, Rachel Ramras and Kevin Shinick2:27
2."World's Greatest Dad"Parsons1:03
3."I'll Believe In You"Rachael MacFarlane & Max Charles2:08
4."Sparklejollytwinklejingley"MacFarlane, Charles and Parsons1:47
5."A Christmas Song"Kate Micucci and Parsons1:59
6."Nobody Cares About Santa"Shinick, MacFarlane, Kevin Michael Richardson, Jay Leno and Parsons1:48
7."There Is a Santa Claus"MacFarlane & Charles1:17
8."A Christmas Song (Reprise)"Bloom, Charles, Dorf, Mark Hamill, MacFarlane, Micucci, Ramras and Shinick3:31
9."The Story of Buddy The Elf"Cast2:32
Total length:18:32

Home media[edit]

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

Accolades[edit]

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

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  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.

External links[edit]