Former US First Lady Michelle Obama has revealed that her all-time favorite movie is the 2003 Christmas comedy 'Elf', according to People. She made the disclosure during the latest episode of her podcast, IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson, which featured actor Will Ferrell, who starred as Buddy in the holiday classic.
Obama's Admiration for 'Elf'
Sharing her excitement on Instagram ahead of the episode, Obama wrote, "When I tell people Elf is my favorite movie of all time, I'm not joking! So for this week's @imopodcasts, I was especially excited to sit down with Buddy the Elf himself, the one and only Will Ferrell." During the conversation, Obama reiterated her admiration for the film, calling it "my favourite movie on the planet of all time, the only movie that I watch again and again and again."
Later in the podcast, she again praised the film, saying, "It is my favourite movie of all time. I mean, it really is. I don't re-watch movies, but it is hilarious every other second. And it is so sweet. And it definitely does all the things. It presses all the buttons." She added that the film has become her go-to comfort watch, stating, "So whenever I want to feel better, no, literally, and then I make other people watch it with me so that I can say, 'Wait, here it comes.'"
Film Background and Ferrell's Reflections
Released in 2003, 'Elf' follows Buddy, a human who is accidentally raised by elves at the North Pole before traveling to New York City to find his biological father, Walter Hobbs, portrayed by the late actor James Caan. Reflecting on the film's origins, Ferrell revealed that taking on the role of Buddy was one of the reasons he decided to leave Saturday Night Live in 2002 after seven years on the show, according to People.
"I left. I'd been there seven years, and you know, you always, you know you have to leave at some point," Ferrell said. "And it just felt like I'd had enough momentum, but it's not like I had a stack of scripts waiting for me." The actor recalled that Elf was still being developed at the time and required significant rewriting. "But we were developing this one movie about a human who was raised by elves at the North Pole, and it was an amazing concept, but it needed a lot of work. And so we kind of rewrote the whole thing," he said.
Enduring Popularity
Looking back on the film's enduring popularity, Ferrell admitted he never expected it to become a holiday classic. "But it's such an interesting thing to have become what it's become... I had no idea that we had like lightning in a bottle, but we did," he added, according to People. The film has since become a staple of Christmas viewing for many, with Obama's endorsement further cementing its cultural impact.
