The premise of “Elf” is whimsical: A human infant idly crawled into Santa Claus’ toy bag and was unwittingly whisked back to the North Pole. The child, named Buddy (after the brand of diaper he wears), is taken in by the elves, and adopted by his Papa, played by Newhart. Buddy is raised among the near-immortal pixies that serve Santa (Ed Asner), eating cookies and learning the philosophy of Christmas. He eventually grows into Will Ferrell. Buddy is so cheerfully clueless, he doesn’t seem to notice that he stands six-foot-one while the tallest elf tops out at about three feet.
Newhart, as Papa Elf, is a bit of a stern father figure, at least as elves go, and wears the same yellow tights and green felt jackets that all elves wear. Newhart, in the silly elf outfit, is funny without saying a word.
The actor loved the script to “Elf” as soon as he saw it, and knew it was destined to become an oft-viewed Christmas classic. To CNN, he said:
“Without question, the part of Papa Elf outranks, by far, any role I may have ever played. […] My agent sent me the script and I fell in love with it.” […] [It was] going to be another ‘Miracle on 34th Street,’ where people watch it every year.”
Newhart also said that he loved working with Ferrell, and the two would constantly — even without trying — crack each other up. Newhart’s shtick was deadpan delivery, and Ferrell’s shtick is cluelessness; his “funny” characters don’t realize how buffoonish they are. They both, essentially, had to play it straight, and that led to funnier comedy. Plus, their deadpan interactions were enhanced by the forced perspective required to make Newhart look three feet tall.
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