​Will Ferrell Insists His Kids Watch ‘Elf’ Christmas To Calm Them Down

There are some films that are just a proper part of Christmas and are pretty much guaranteed to get you feeling nice and festive - you know, the absolute classics such as Home Alone, It's A Wonderful Life and Die Hard...

But arguably the most magical of 'em all is Elf, which was recently voted best family Christmas movie of all time.

Well, it turns out it's not just us who reckon watching Elf is a bit of an annual a tradition - even the star of the film follows suit.

That's right, Will Ferrell said he uses the beloved film to try and calm his kids down when they're all hyperactive unwrapping their presents.

But while we use the film to get our festive cheer on, Ferrell uses it for exactly the opposite.

Speaking to E! News, he said: "It's always chaotic. There's a lot of screaming and yelling and complaining as to when they get to open their presents... I think they each get way too many presents each.

"We have three boys. And [the presents] are opened in 12 minutes. [So] I force them to watch Elf 10 times, 10 straight times. It's a marathon, and then you get to open a present after."

Okay, so we're kind of hoping he's joking - even though an Elf marathon wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, let's face it. I'm just not sure anyone could get through that last scene 10 times, as it's so much of a tearjerker that it even sets Ferrell off when he watches the movie.

New Line Cinema

In an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, the 52-year-old actor said that, even 16 years since the film's release, he's been known to get choked up during the poignant scene, which sees a crowd of people singing 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town' in Central Park.

Will said: "When Buddy is in the back of the sleigh and everyone is singing in Central Park and there's enough Christmas spirit to get it lifted off, I'm like, 'Oh, I can't let everyone see me cry here at my own movie'."

It's a pivotal moment in the film - Saint Nick's sleigh crashes in the park due to a shortage of Christmas spirit, but the communal sing-along generates enough festive vibes for it to take off.

Then Mary Steenburgen's voice breaks and the film becomes a comedy again. Classic.

Topics: Christmas, Entertainment, TV and Film, Will Ferrell, Elf

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

@Jess_Hardiman