When you ask people about their favourite Christmas film, Elf springs to mind for viewers of all ages, as the magical comedy epitomises the spirit of the festive holiday.
Snuggling down on the sofa to watch TV after a hearty dinner is one of the highlights of Christmas Day – and what better way to relax than by watching Will Ferrell wreaking havoc as 6 ft 2 ins tall human elf Buddy?
© Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo
Released in 2003, the film has become a staple of the festive season as Buddy seeks his biological father in modern-day New York City. Placed in an orphanage after the death of his single mum, the toddler crawls into Santa Claus’s sack on Christmas Eve and is transported to the North Pole by sleigh.
Adopted by Papa Elf, he’s given the name Buddy after the brand name of his nappy! The human baby is brought up as an elf, but his size soon raises a few questions, as he towers above his peers as he grows up.
Eventually, his adoptive dad tells him his real father, Walter Hobbs, works in New York, but has no idea he has a son, so one Christmas, Buddy sets off to find him. Dressed head to toe as an elf including jaunty hat, green tunic, yellow tights and pointy-toed shoes, he doesn’t attract too much attention in the bustling city, as people assume he’s in fancy dress!
Buddy’s innocence of the human way of life soon causes chaos in New York as he struggles with everything from relationships and etiquette to simple things like toy shops, Santa’s grottos and even automatic doors!
Buddy’s entrance to Gimbels department store
A lot of the action in Elf is set in Gimbels department store, a real-life retail store founded in 1842 by Adam Gimbel and a rival to the famous Macy’s in its heyday, until its closure in 1987.
Buddy’s arrival in New York is chaotic from the start, as he doesn’t understand traffic signals and is knocked down by a taxi as he crosses the road towards Gimbels. The brightly-lit shopfront attracts his attention following a disastrous first meeting with his birth father, Walter, a children’s book publisher, who mistakes him for a Santa-Gram and has him thrown out of the building.
Rushing through the busy streets filled with festive shoppers, Buddy is able to sweep into Gimbels effortlessly, as the automatic doors swing open and he walks through. This sets the stage for more chaos as he explores the store, eating a perfume called Passion Fruit, accidentally doing the splits on the escalator and standing on a toilet seat to peer over into the adjacent cubicle, amazed at how luxurious they are.
The entrance scene highlights the ease of access and seamless flow of people into the store, especially during busy festive shopping periods, via the automatic doors – although hopefully, regular Christmas shoppers won’t behave in the same way as Buddy does!
Shop owners can see how automatic doors could bring similar benefits to their businesses during the Christmas rush, making life easier for both customers and staff.
Buddy’s encounter with the revolving door
Later, Buddy gets into more scrapes as he mistakes the Santa in Gimbels’ grotto for the real Father Christmas. On realising he’s a fake, Buddy decides to expose this fraud, leading to a brawl that lands him in jail.
After his release, he continues his exploration of the city, visiting the Plaza Hotel, where he’s unfamiliar with the concept of a revolving door. His confusion and eventual entanglement in the door creates a chaotic and humorous moment, highlighting his innocence and outsider status, as he has never seen the design before.
In reality, a hotel door should assure convenient access to the building for guests and employees alike, with automatic doors being appreciated by visitors with luggage and people with limited mobility in particular. During the hectic Christmas season, people must be able to enter and leave the building with ease to avoid bottlenecks at busy periods.
Buddy’s visit to the coffee shop
During his lively visit to New York, Buddy meets a young woman called Jovie, who is an employee of Gimbels’ toy department. There’s something about Jovie that draws Buddy to her and eventually, he plucks up the courage to invite her on a date.
As he arrives at the small coffee shop, a sign in the window declares it serves the “world’s best cup of coffee”, which prompts his incredibly awkward entrance. Rushing in with his usual unfettered enthusiasm, Buddy struggles to navigate the old, heavy, manual door.
This ruins his grand arrival, as he intends bouncing in and proclaiming, “You did it! Congratulations! The world’s best cup of coffee!” but he’s too busy focusing on the door, rather than his interactions with the unimpressed and deadpan staff.
This highlights the benefits of automatic sliding doors, which seamlessly open so that people whose hands are full and those with limited mobility can enter and leave without a problem.
We won’t publish any spoilers, as if you’ve not seen the Elf Christmas film, this would give the game away, although suffice to say it has a happy ending.
Don’t let customers struggle with your doors this Christmas: a reputable automatic door company will ensure everyone can access your premises without any drama!