Kids absolutely loved this naughtier version of Buddy the Elf
Elf the Musical(Image: Elf the Musical)
It’s been more than 20 years since Will Ferrell created a new classic Christmas character in Buddy the Elf with the 2003 Christmas movie Elf – which is about twice as old as most of the audience watching the musical version at the M&S bank Arena this weekend.
I’ve always liked Elf for its managing to have its cake and eat it. It’s the story of a human raised by Santa’s elves travelling to New York to meet his long lost dad who is on Santa’s ‘naughty list’.
Elf manages to at once be a knowing adult comedy as the naïve Buddy bumps up against the residents of perhaps the most cynical city on the planet, while also being an uplifting festive movie about remembering the true value of Christmas as Buddy’s relentless enthusiasm melts the hardest of hearts.
Does the musical version manage this Christmas miracle as well?
Jordan Conway as Buddy the Elf(Image: Elf the Musical)
I would say no, not really.
Elf the Musical skews pretty young and we’re very firmly in panto territory here. There’s nothing wrong with that of course – Christmas is all about the kiddiwinks after all – but for parents taking their offspring to this Christmas extravaganza at the M&S Bank Arena I think the most joy they will see is that reflected in the faces of their children who will be losing their minds with happiness.
An idea of the chaotic show we were about to see came before curtain up as literally hundreds of white plastic ‘snowballs’ were handed out to the children in the audience with strict instructions ‘not to throw them’ when given a cue later during the show. Excitement was pretty high as the junior audience members awaited their chance to get involved in an epic snowball fight.
The plot follows the same basic outline as the movie with some characters and scenes removed and others added. It’s not long before Buddy (Jordan Conway) learns the the truth of his parentage, with the help of a large video screen which supplies a lot of the special effects and scene changes, and is on his way to find Scrooge-like dad Walter Hobbs.
This version of Buddy is a bit more wayward than the screen original and was in danger of finding himself on the naughty list after a few ad-libs that were pretty blue, but fortunately would have sailed over the heads of his adoring fans.
One stand-out sequence has Buddy doing about five minutes of silent comedy as, Mr Bean-like, he good-naturedly tortures an office worker he has been paired with at his dad’s company. I thought it was a bit mean but it seemed perfectly calibrated to please children as at the climax he spits almost a whole banana into the stooge’s open hand to much enthusiasm from the audience.
The open space of the arena is used well as Buddy embarks on a journey via iceberg through the crowd, goes on a date in Central Park as cast members ‘ice skate’ around him and toward the climax as Santa flies his sleigh in a lap of honour over the crowd.
The singing and dancing was decent, with a couple of standouts being the actress playing love interest Jovie (she was the understudy and I didn’t catch her name) and the Macy’s store manager constantly worried about being spied upon ‘by corporate’.
I didn’t find the songs that memorable but they got us through the story well enough, and the second half really upped the pace and drama as Walter is challenged to stand up to his boss for the sake of his family and the audience has to play their part in powering Santa’s sleigh with the power of their Christmas spirit.
In the end, just like Will Ferrell’s Elf, it would take a very hard heart not to be moved by the story – especially when they are hundreds of children so clearly having the time of their lives.