Elf Movie Trivia Questions: 32 Questions and Answers About Buddy the Elf

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These Elf movie trivia questions come from the 2003 Will Ferrell comedy: Buddy's trip from the North Pole, his New York family, Gimbels, and the sleigh crash in Central Park. Answers are listed with each question so one person can host without a separate key.

Easy Elf trivia

1. Who plays Buddy? Will Ferrell.
2. How does baby Buddy end up at the North Pole? He crawls into Santa's sack at an orphanage.
3. Who raises Buddy? Papa Elf.
4. What are the four main elf food groups? Candy, candy canes, candy corn and syrup.
5. What does Buddy put on his spaghetti? Maple syrup, plus candy and chocolate toppings.
6. What is the first code of the elves? Treat every day like Christmas.
7. What job does Buddy have at the North Pole? Toy tester, after struggling to keep pace in the workshop.
8. Where does Santa's sleigh break down? Central Park.
9. Why does the sleigh stop flying? There is not enough Christmas spirit.
10. What animal attacks Buddy when he tries to hug it? A raccoon.

New York trivia

1. In which building does Buddy's father work? The Empire State Building.
2. What is the name of his father's publishing company? Greenway Press.
3. What is Buddy's father's name? Walter Hobbs.
4. What is the name of Buddy's half-brother? Michael.
5. At which department store does Buddy meet Jovie? Gimbels.
6. What song does Buddy sing with Jovie in the store's locker room? Baby, It's Cold Outside.
7. What does Buddy shout at the department-store Santa? That he sits on a throne of lies.
8. Which tunnel does Buddy walk through to reach the city? The Lincoln Tunnel.
9. Where does Walter send Buddy to work for a day? The mailroom.

Cast and behind-the-scenes trivia

1. Who directed Elf? Jon Favreau, who also appears as the doctor.
2. Who plays Papa Elf? Bob Newhart.
3. Who plays Jovie? Zooey Deschanel.
4. Who plays Walter Hobbs? James Caan.
5. Who plays Santa? Ed Asner.
6. Who plays Miles Finch, the author Buddy calls an angry elf? Peter Dinklage.
7. In what year was Elf released? 2003.
8. What stage version followed the movie? A Broadway musical, which opened in 2010.

Hosting an Elf movie night quiz

Run the quiz in two halves: the easy round before the movie and the New York and cast rounds after the credits. Guests who have not seen it in years will catch details on the rewatch and score better in round two, which keeps the room competitive.

Theme the snacks without much effort. Put out a bowl of candy corn, a jar of mini marshmallows and a bottle of maple syrup labeled as the four food groups. A paper snowflake on each team's answer sheet makes scoring feel like part of the decor.

Keep a short rule for disputed answers: the host reads the question once more, and the first team to cite the scene wins the point. That avoids a ten-minute argument about whether a line was in the theatrical cut.

What to play when the quiz ends

Codenames works well with the same teams you used for trivia. For younger guests who drift off during the cast round, Spot It! (about $6) is a fast matching game that fits on a coffee table and plays in a couple of minutes.

For a bigger holiday film quiz, add rounds from our Christmas movie trivia questions.

Hard round for superfans

1. How does Buddy answer the phone at his father's office? "Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?"
2. Which toy frightens Buddy at the North Pole? The jack-in-the-box.
3. What does Buddy try to eat at the doctor's office? Cotton balls.
4. What shape does Buddy make by pressing the elevator buttons? A Christmas tree.
5. Who sings to get the sleigh flying again? Jovie, leading the crowd in Central Park.

Use the hard round as a tie-breaker or as a bonus for the team trailing after round two. Superfans tend to know these details, so give casual viewers a fair chance by scoring each hard question as a half point.

Print the answer key on a separate sheet if you plan to play along. A host who also competes should hand the reading to someone else for the round they want to answer, so nobody hears the answers early.

Elf trivia FAQ

Is this quiz kid friendly?

Yes. The questions stick to the plot, the cast and the places in the movie.

How long does the full quiz take?

About twenty-five minutes for 32 questions with scoring, a little longer with tie-breaks.

Can I use these for a classroom?

Yes. Use the easy round for younger grades and skip the cast round.