"Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas" combines the humor and spirit of both the beloved 2003 holiday film, which drew glowing reviews and earned $173 million at the domestic box office, and the hit Broadway production. The special is an all-new retelling of Buddy's delightfully absurd yet heartwarming story and blends the look and feel of the stop-motion animated Christmas specials of the past with the sharp sensibility of the modern-day classic holiday film." (Synopsis taken from NBC.com)
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The best way to view this special is not as a sequel or a remake, but as an alternate interpretation of the original story...in an alternate universe where Buddy the Elf is a lanky redhead voiced by Sheldon the Bazinga Man. "Buddy's Musical Christmas" is a fun sized version of the movie (more or less), taking bits and pieces of the original and modifying them to fit comfortably in a 43 minute timespan, with musical numbers aplenty, as the title implies. Speaking of which, the music itself ranges from corny to halfway memorable. It doesn't really add anything to the special, as it feels more like padding just to get from one key scene to the next. Now don't get me wrong, there was definitely a respectable amount of effort put into the music - and if the special must be a musical, it may as well sound nice, right? But that's exactly the problem: it didn't have to be a musical, and I feel it could have been a lot stronger without it.
What it lacks in its soundtrack it compensates for in animation. "Buddy's Musical Christmas" is animated entirely in stop motion, which was actually played around with a bit in the original Elf. This special, however, takes full advantage of the medium, and it really pays off. Cute, stylized character models combined with classical animation principles like stretch and squash make for some wonderful eye candy. All of the textures and colors pop out so much that I feel like reaching through the screen and touching them. Along with the great animation, the special also get a great voice cast. Mark Hamil takes over James Caan's role as Walter Hobbs, while Kate Micucci (the voice of Sadie from Steven Universe) voices Jovie and Gilbert Gottfried voices Walter's grouchy, antagonistic boss; Ed Asner is the only actor to reprise his role as Santa Claus. If nothing else I've mentioned does it for you, the voice acting is a treat to listen to. Even the Bazango Zongo Guy does a swell job as the titular eccentric elf.
Now, I could go on again about how the music is essentially pointless to the special, but if I'm going to be brutally honest...the entire existence of "Buddy's Musical Christmas" is pointless. The original Elf is great on its own, so why tamper with it any further? Well, in a way, I feel the special fully acknowledges that, so instead of forcefully continuing a story that already has an finite end, it retells it with some new elements thrown into the mix. Is some of it completely unnecessary? Ohhh yeah. But the other qualities are very well done and they make the time watching the special worthwhile. Besides, if countless television shows can run the "SO AND SO CHARACTER MUST PLAY THE ROLE SANTA AND SAAAAAVE CHRISTMAAAAAS" story dry, then I see no reason why we can't watch Buddy bring joy to New York City once again.
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I give Buddy's Musical Christmas a solid B...for Buddy! Sorry, I'll see myself out.
The best way to view this special is not as a sequel or a remake, but as an alternate interpretation of the original story...in an alternate universe where Buddy the Elf is a lanky redhead voiced by Sheldon the Bazinga Man. "Buddy's Musical Christmas" is a fun sized version of the movie (more or less), taking bits and pieces of the original and modifying them to fit comfortably in a 43 minute timespan, with musical numbers aplenty, as the title implies. Speaking of which, the music itself ranges from corny to halfway memorable. It doesn't really add anything to the special, as it feels more like padding just to get from one key scene to the next. Now don't get me wrong, there was definitely a respectable amount of effort put into the music - and if the special must be a musical, it may as well sound nice, right? But that's exactly the problem: it didn't have to be a musical, and I feel it could have been a lot stronger without it.
What it lacks in its soundtrack it compensates for in animation. "Buddy's Musical Christmas" is animated entirely in stop motion, which was actually played around with a bit in the original Elf. This special, however, takes full advantage of the medium, and it really pays off. Cute, stylized character models combined with classical animation principles like stretch and squash make for some wonderful eye candy. All of the textures and colors pop out so much that I feel like reaching through the screen and touching them. Along with the great animation, the special also get a great voice cast. Mark Hamil takes over James Caan's role as Walter Hobbs, while Kate Micucci (the voice of Sadie from Steven Universe) voices Jovie and Gilbert Gottfried voices Walter's grouchy, antagonistic boss; Ed Asner is the only actor to reprise his role as Santa Claus. If nothing else I've mentioned does it for you, the voice acting is a treat to listen to. Even the Bazango Zongo Guy does a swell job as the titular eccentric elf.
Now, I could go on again about how the music is essentially pointless to the special, but if I'm going to be brutally honest...the entire existence of "Buddy's Musical Christmas" is pointless. The original Elf is great on its own, so why tamper with it any further? Well, in a way, I feel the special fully acknowledges that, so instead of forcefully continuing a story that already has an finite end, it retells it with some new elements thrown into the mix. Is some of it completely unnecessary? Ohhh yeah. But the other qualities are very well done and they make the time watching the special worthwhile. Besides, if countless television shows can run the "SO AND SO CHARACTER MUST PLAY THE ROLE SANTA AND SAAAAAVE CHRISTMAAAAAS" story dry, then I see no reason why we can't watch Buddy bring joy to New York City once again.
I give Buddy's Musical Christmas a solid B...for Buddy! Sorry, I'll see myself out.