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Elf. It’s either one of your most loved Christmas movies, or you haven’t seen it. Otherwise your opinion doesn’t matter to me!
Everybody has a soft spot for Buddy the Elf. If you don’t, it’s easy to assume you’re an angry elf from the North Pole. Our favorite cotton-headed nitty muggins is the goofy hero we love to laugh at. He doesn’t know what a peep show is, thinks chewed gum is free candy, and takes things for what they claim to be.
Buddy’s childlike wonder coming from the monstrosity of a man that is Will Ferrell is just about the silliest and most endearing move made by directors. However, while it’s easy to laugh at and with Buddy’s naivety, that's exactly what makes him the hero of this Christmas favorite.
Buddy’s newfound little brother says to our story’s “villain,” Buddy’s dad, “Buddy sees the best in everyone.” It’s through Buddy’s heroic efforts in seeing people for everything good they are, that they rise to the occasion and become the person he sees.
Throughout the movie, people treat Buddy like he's dumb and ignorant. He's quite aware of it, too.
Papa Elf lies to Buddy about his being adopted and human, Jovie is kind of a jerk, and of course Buddy's birth father, Walter Hobbes is the worst (hello, he's on the Naughty List).
Instead of questioning Papa Elf's motives, snapping back at Jovie and attempting to teach his birth father a lesson, Buddy just loves. We see him loving fully and effortlessly throughout the movie, from being kind to children and strangers, to assuming everyone has good intentions, to ignoring his little brother's harsh words and treatment, to declaring the rando in the mail room his "very best friend in the whole entire world." He also hugged a racoon, right?
To Buddy, everything is amazing. Everything is wonderful and the best and exciting. He reminds us not only of the magic of the Holidays, but the magic in everyday and the magic in each other.
We can’t expect everyone to follow through, but choosing to see the potential best in others usually causes people to rise to the occasion. If you don’t give someone the benefit of the doubt, they’ll likely catch on and see no point in proving you wrong.
There’s a saying that goes, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” I much prefer a second version I saw, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on you again for taking advantage of my compassionate and forgiving nature!”
Buddy’s love is so full that even when people hurt him, he knows he can fill his time with loving all of the other people in his heart. I imagine if everyone had the capacity to love and see the best in others the way Buddy does, the world would look a lot different.
People would smile more -- and it might even be their favorite. People would be better, because they’d know others’ had their back. They'd believe their best was possible. We’d probably be a whole lot less suspicious with a lot less trust issues. Buddy creates magic when he is loving, and magic is about the impossible becoming possible.
This is what makes Buddy’s lesson so magical. Maybe if we all chose to act a little bit naive to other's shortcomings, and a little more expectant of their best selves, they would show is that instead. Walter Hobbes was the worst until Buddy saw his best. The best of someone could come from the worst of them. All we have to do is choose to see the good. All we have to do is believe in them.
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