Elf
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138 free Elf trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
50 free Elf trivia questions with answers. Released in 2003, the movie Elf starring Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf has become one of the most beloved Christmas movies of all time. From "Son of a nutcracker!" to maple syrup on spaghetti, test how well you know every corner of this holiday classic — from the North Pole workshop to the streets of New York City.
30 of 138 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The elves name the orphaned baby after what?
A brand of diaper
The baby crawls into Santa's sack wearing Little Buddy Diapers, so the elves name him Buddy after the brand of diaper; Papa Elf raises him at the North Pole.
Q 02What does Buddy pour on his spaghetti at his first dinner with the Hobbs family?
Maple syrup
Maple syrup goes over Buddy's spaghetti at his first Hobbs family dinner; when there is none on the table, he cheerfully produces a bottle of his own.
Q 03Which actor plays Walter Hobbs, Buddy's biological father, in Elf?
James Caan
James Caan plays Walter Hobbs, the workaholic publisher who first has security throw Buddy out of his office and ends up quitting his job to go looking for him.
Q 04Which department store does Buddy work at when he arrives in New York City?
Gimbels
Gimbels had closed in 1987; the filmmakers licensed the name after a real New York store objected to a scene that unmasks its Santa as a fake.
Q 05What famous Buddy the Elf quote follows 'You sit on a throne of...'?
Lies
Buddy tells the department store Santa, 'You sit on a throne of lies!' after declaring him a fake, then yanks off his beard and starts a brawl.
Q 06On his date with Jovie, what does Buddy mean when he warns that 'the yellow ones don't stop'?
Taxis
Taxis: a cab skids to a halt as the pair cross a New York street, and Buddy passes on the lesson as a rule of city life, 'Watch out. The yellow ones don't stop.'
Q 07According to Buddy, what are the four main food groups for elves?
Candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup
Candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup is Buddy's list at his first dinner with the Hobbs family, after Emily says, 'You sure like sugar, huh?' and he checks, 'Is there sugar in syrup?'
Q 08What does Buddy say is his favorite activity?
Smiling
Smiling is his answer when the store manager asks why he is grinning: 'I just like to smile; smiling's my favorite.' The manager snaps back, 'Make work your favorite.'
Q 09Who plays Papa Elf, the narrator of the movie Elf?
Bob Newhart
Bob Newhart plays Papa Elf, the toymaker who adopts Buddy and narrates the film; at 94 he said the part 'outranks, by far' any other role he had played.
Q 10Which exclamation does Buddy use in place of swearing?
Son of a nutcracker!
'Son of a nutcracker!' is Buddy's yelp when a gang of bullies ambushes him and his half-brother on the way home from school; instead of running, he decides the two of them can take them on.
Q 11What is the name of Buddy's younger half-brother in Elf?
Michael
Michael Hobbs, played by Daniel Tay, is Walter and Emily's son; he starts out pretending not to know Buddy and ends up telling a live TV camera that Santa is real.
Q 12Who plays Walter Hobbs' wife Emily (Buddy's stepmother) in Elf?
Mary Steenburgen
Mary Steenburgen plays Emily, who insists Buddy stay when Walter wants him gone; five years later she played Will Ferrell's mother in Step Brothers.
Q 13What does Buddy do overnight before Santa's visit to the store?
Redecorates the whole floor
Buddy redecorates the whole floor overnight, and the result is so polished that the manager assumes corporate has sent in a professional who is after his job.
Q 21How does Buddy answer Walter's office phone?
Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?
'Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?' is how he picks up the phone on Walter's desk; told 'Please, don't touch anything', he is soon packed off to the mailroom.
Q 22Elf opened second at the UK box office in November 2003, behind which British film?
Love Actually
Love Actually, in its second weekend, took £4.66 million to Elf's £4.54 million; in the US, Elf had also opened at number two before climbing to the top a week later.
Q 23What technique was used to make Buddy appear much larger than the other elves at the North Pole?
Q 14Which sign prompts Buddy to congratulate a diner's staff?
World's best cup of coffee
World's best cup of coffee is a boast Buddy takes at its word, bursting in to shout 'You did it! Congratulations!'; on their date he takes Jovie there, and she calls it a crappy cup of coffee.
Q 15What song does Jovie sing in the shower that Buddy joins in on?
Baby, It's Cold Outside
Jovie sings 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' in the store locker-room shower and Buddy, not realizing she is undressed, joins in from outside the stall.
Q 16What actor plays Santa Claus in Elf?
Ed Asner
Ed Asner plays Santa, who crash-lands when his sleigh loses its engine and needs Buddy to find it and fit it back on; Asner voiced the role again in the 2014 animated special.
Q 17After the Candy Cane Forest and the Sea of Swirly-Twirly Gumdrops, how does Buddy enter New York?
Through the Lincoln Tunnel
Through the Lincoln Tunnel is how Buddy says he reached Manhattan; the tunnel stayed open while Will Ferrell walked it in costume, and drivers gawking at him had a few minor accidents.
Q 18Why does Santa say his pursuers in Elf hold a grudge against him?
He put them on the naughty list
He put them on the naughty list, Santa tells Buddy mid-chase. Before Buddy left the North Pole, Santa had told him that his own father was on that list too.
Q 19Which actor plays the irritable children's author who beats up Buddy?
Peter Dinklage
Peter Dinklage plays the star ghostwriter flown in to rescue Walter's pitch, a man who demands a car waiting at the airport with its interior at exactly 71 degrees.
Q 20Which song does Jovie lead a crowd in singing at the climax of Elf?
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town starts with Jovie singing on live television; as the crowd around her joins in, the stranded sleigh finally rises and flies without its engine.
Forced perspective filming
Forced perspective filming used two sets, one smaller and nearer the camera, so Will Ferrell looms over the elves; the director says he had to fight hard to keep the effects out of computers.
Q 24What does Buddy drink in one go before the film's loudest sound effect?
A two-litre bottle of cola
The star said the sugary props left him feeling genuinely ill during filming.
Q 25What is the name of Walter's publishing company in Elf?
Greenway Press
Greenway Press is named for Walter's boss, Mr. Greenway, whose parting shot when Walter finally walks out on him is 'You're finished at Greenway!'
Q 26What does a co-worker share with Buddy in the mailroom?
Liquor from a flask
Liquor from a flask goes into the co-worker's coffee and then into Buddy, who asks to try some, gets drunk and soon has the whole mailroom up and dancing.
Q 27In its original cinema run, Elf took roughly how much at the worldwide box office?
$220 million
$220 million came in during the original 2003–04 run, more than six times what the film cost to make, after an opening weekend in second place.
Q 28Which 1990s hip-hop hit plays during the mailroom dance party in Elf?
Whoomp! (There It Is)
Whoomp! (There It Is), Tag Team's 1993 hit, is blaring in the mailroom when word reaches Walter upstairs that there is 'a situation downstairs'.
Q 29When Elf's script was first written in 1993, which comedy star was attached to play Buddy?
Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey was attached when David Berenbaum's script first went around in 1993; by the time it reached the screen a decade later, he had already played the Grinch.
Q 30What is the name of the jet turbine engine Papa Elf built for Santa's sleigh?
Kringle 3000
Papa Elf built the Kringle 3000, a 500-reindeer-power jet turbine, because Christmas spirit alone no longer kept the sleigh aloft.