Starring: Will Ferrell, Zooey Deschanel, Peter Dinklage, Mary Steenburgen
The cotton-headed ninny muggins of the world are in for a seismic shock—Buddy Hobbs (Will Ferrell) is officially back! Elf 2: Buddy’s Christmas Chaos returns Will Ferrell to the iconic green-and-yellow tights for a hilarious, sugar-fueled adventure that proves you’re never too old, or too tall, to believe in Santa Claus.
The film finds Buddy decades later, now a loving father living in New York City with his wife, Jovie (Zooey Deschanel), and their two children, who inherited Buddy’s boundless optimism (and his massive sweet tooth). Buddy runs a successful, aggressively festive little shop called “Buddy’s Bountiful Breakfast Bar,” specializing in spaghetti with maple syrup.
However, Buddy faces his biggest challenge yet when Santa Claus—played by a warmly familiar actor—announces he is finally ready to retire after centuries of service. Santa declares that Buddy is the only person pure of heart enough to take over the North Pole operation. The call to duty is immediate: Buddy needs to pack up his life and move back to the workshop.
Swapping the bright lights of the Big Apple for the eternal twinkle of the toy workshop isn’t easy. Buddy, Jovie (who brings her signature wit and grounding charm), and their kids arrive to find the North Pole in disarray. Modern, cynical technology threatens to replace traditional Christmas magic, leading to widespread inefficiency. The Elves, led by a surprisingly serious foreman (Peter Dinklage), are miserable, having replaced toy-making with mandatory, AI-driven productivity software and mandatory silence.
Buddy and Jovie must navigate rebellious, vaping teen elves, a global shortage of genuine Christmas spirit, and a cynical corporate world threatening to outsource the entire operation to a soulless distribution center. They are aided by Buddy’s ever-supportive stepmother, Emily Hobbs (Mary Steenburgen), who tries to mediate the family’s transition.
Bursting with maple syrup, loud, off-key singing, spectacular slapstick, and deeply felt nostalgia, Elf 2: Buddy’s Christmas Chaos is the ultimate holiday reunion. In a cynical world that has forgotten how to dream and is too busy looking at its phone, Buddy is here to remind us all that the best way to spread Christmas cheer is indeed by singing loud for all to hear.