The Happy Elf
Encyclopedia
The Happy Elf is a 3D-animated family holiday special, which first aired December 2, 2005 on the NBC
television network in the USA. Based on Grammy-winner Harry Connick, Jr.
’s original song, The Happy Elf
.
Production on the special is by Film Roman
, an IDT Entertainment company, the same animation company known for producing The Simpsons
.
), whose quest is to bring Christmas
joy to an entire town of naughty children in a gloomy little town called Bluesville.
Bluesville is a dark miserable town completely surrounded by cliffs on all sides, completely blocking the sun so that it only shines on Bluesville for a short time, when it's directly over the town. Because the town is so dark and gloomy, people never smile, and are put off by seeing Eubie smiling all the time, as his optimistic happiness makes him stick out in the gloomy town. Because people are so miserable in Bluesville, nobody knows how to tell a joke properly. Most of the people work at a place known as "The What Factory", where all the world's question mark
s are manufactured (this has resulted in confusion when people ask each other where they work). Also, at the Bluesville school, recess only lasts for one minute (the bell that signals recess' end rings the moment all the children are outside).
Eubie talks to the mayor about what is wrong with Bluesville, he explains everything in a song. Eubie asks the mayor if there's anything about Bluesvill that makes him feel proud, to which the mayor replies that Bluesvill is the world's largest manufacturer of non-flammable coal, which children enjoy throwing at people. The mayor then makes a deal with Eubie. The mayor promises Eubie that if he can find another use for non-flammable coal, he'll put a Christmas tree
up in the town square
.
Eubie's first plan on getting the kids to help him make Bluesville a happier place is having them gather on a busy street and start a pie fight, but that only makes all the people angry. To search for more help, Molly (Mae Whitman
), one naughty 10-year-old, takes Eubie to downtown
Bluesville, the most miserable part of Bluesville, for a meeting of a group called S.L.O.B. (Smile League Of Bluesville), which only has one member of its group. While there, Molly and Eubie meets up with Curtis (Candi Milo
), who is there because he brought along his foreign friend, Yope, who doesn't speak English, but is happy to be there. Molly soon decides that Eubie's plans are hopeless, and tells him to just take all his big ideas home. At the mention of that, Eubie gets another idea, and is about to implement it when the lights in the room go off and Eubie is taken back to the North Pole.
In his bid to get Bluesville off the Naughty List, Eubie violated several rules in one day. As punishment, Santa had Eubie turn in his hat, which, at the North Pole, meant his Christmas happiness and powers were taken away. When Gilda (Carol Kane
), Eubie's friend, learns of this, she motivates him to go back to Bluesville to finish his job, and gives him her hat to restore his powers and happiness. He then returns to Bluesville and explains to the kids his plan, and why they should do it in the form of a song, they get to work. That night, they give the mayor of Bluesville a bottle of anti-snore medicine in his sleep, while Eubie spends the night waxing all the cliffs surrounding Bluesville. While he is doing this, Derek, another friend of his, notices Gilda doesn't have her hat on, he soon figures out what is going on and, trying to follow the North Pole rules, he notifies one of the higher-ups.
When Eubie has finished waxing the cliffsides of Bluesville, he says to himself that he has one thing left to do, but before he can do that, the same elves who took him back to the North Pole the first time come back to retrieve him again. This time, both are put on punishment and are sentenced to clean up the toy factory, with both their hats taken away. Derek, now alone at the Christmas office party, is sad and mad with himself for betraying his friends, and confesses to what he did to Eubie and Gilda. They forgive him, but it only makes him feel worse about himself, considering what he did to them. While wondering what he can do to make it up to them, they have him do the one thing Eubie intended to do to finish making Bluesville a happier place.
When the sun shines over Bluesville again, people once again expect it to only last it usual four seconds, but after it disappears over the cliffsides again, leaving the people disappointed at not having the sun shine on them longer, the sun reflects of the freshly waxed walls, filling the whole town of Bluesville experience more sun than it's ever had before, making them feel happier than they had ever been in their lives. At the What Factory, the machine had been tampered with, so rather than grey question marks, the machine now produced different-coloured exclamation points of all shapes and sizes, which pleasantly surprises the factory workers. At the school, when recess starts, the bell has an elve's shoe placed over the ringer, blocking it from ringing the bell, which makes the kids ecstatic that they can continue playing. Molly comes out of the school, where Derek meets her. He tells her to find the mayor and give him a jar of wax, and a piece of non-flammable cole that was squeezed into a diamond (implying that Eubie stuck the non-flammable coal squeezed into diamonds to the waxed cliffsides), and to tell her that Eubie was sorry he couldn't be there. Molly happily goes to leave the schoolyard to find the mayor, but stays for a while to allow Curtis to tell a story that's actually funny. Molly finds the mayor and shows him the items in question, showing the mayor that there was indeed another use for non-flammable coal, the mayor remembers back to when he was a child and the town had a Chrtmas tree with a star on top that shined just like the coal. The mayor makes good on his word, putting up a Christmas Tree in the town square.
That Christmas, Santa decides to make Eubie, Gilda, and Derek his sleigh crew that year for bringing joy to Bluesville, which has soon changed its name to Joyville.
.jpg)
Some DVDs come with a free soundtrack
in Kansas City, Missouri
on November 13, 2007 to generally good reviews. It is receiving a fully produced workshop at the Adventure Theatre, at the Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center at Montgomery College
, Rockville, Maryland
, from November 12, 2010 through November 28, with a cast that features Michael Rupert
.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television network in the USA. Based on Grammy-winner Harry Connick, Jr.
Harry Connick, Jr.
Joseph Harry Fowler Connick, Jr. is an American singer, big-band leader/conductor, pianist, actor, and composer. He has sold over 25 million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with...
’s original song, The Happy Elf
The Happy Elf (song)
"The Happy Elf" is a holiday song with music and lyrics by Harry Connick Jr.It was first released on Connick's album Harry for the Holidays, which became the best selling Christmas album of 2003. When asked about the songs on the album, Connick described "The Happy Elf" as a "kids’ song", about...
.
Production on the special is by Film Roman
Film Roman
Film Roman is an animation studio founded by Phil Roman, best known for producing the animation for The Simpsons, King of the Hill for 20th Century Fox, as well as the Garfield and Peanuts animated TV specials....
, an IDT Entertainment company, the same animation company known for producing The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
.
Plot
The story centers on the lovable Eubie the Elf (Rob PaulsenRob Paulsen
Robert Fredrick "Rob" Paulsen III , sometimes credited as Rob Paulson, is an American voice actor, best known as the voice behind Raphael from the 1987 cartoon of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Yakko Warner and Dr...
), whose quest is to bring Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
joy to an entire town of naughty children in a gloomy little town called Bluesville.
Bluesville is a dark miserable town completely surrounded by cliffs on all sides, completely blocking the sun so that it only shines on Bluesville for a short time, when it's directly over the town. Because the town is so dark and gloomy, people never smile, and are put off by seeing Eubie smiling all the time, as his optimistic happiness makes him stick out in the gloomy town. Because people are so miserable in Bluesville, nobody knows how to tell a joke properly. Most of the people work at a place known as "The What Factory", where all the world's question mark
Question mark
The question mark , is a punctuation mark that replaces the full stop at the end of an interrogative sentence in English and many other languages. The question mark is not used for indirect questions...
s are manufactured (this has resulted in confusion when people ask each other where they work). Also, at the Bluesville school, recess only lasts for one minute (the bell that signals recess' end rings the moment all the children are outside).
Eubie talks to the mayor about what is wrong with Bluesville, he explains everything in a song. Eubie asks the mayor if there's anything about Bluesvill that makes him feel proud, to which the mayor replies that Bluesvill is the world's largest manufacturer of non-flammable coal, which children enjoy throwing at people. The mayor then makes a deal with Eubie. The mayor promises Eubie that if he can find another use for non-flammable coal, he'll put a Christmas tree
Christmas tree
The Christmas tree is a decorated evergreen coniferous tree, real or artificial, and a tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas started in Livonia and Germany in the 16th century...
up in the town square
Town square
A town square is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. Other names for town square are civic center, city square, urban square, market square, public square, and town green.Most town squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets,...
.
Eubie's first plan on getting the kids to help him make Bluesville a happier place is having them gather on a busy street and start a pie fight, but that only makes all the people angry. To search for more help, Molly (Mae Whitman
Mae Whitman
Mae Margaret Whitman is an American television, movie and voice actress. She is known for her role as Ann Veal in the TV series Arrested Development, her role as Amber on the TV series Parenthood, her role as Roxy Richter in Scott Pilgrim vs...
), one naughty 10-year-old, takes Eubie to downtown
Downtown
Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's core or central business district ....
Bluesville, the most miserable part of Bluesville, for a meeting of a group called S.L.O.B. (Smile League Of Bluesville), which only has one member of its group. While there, Molly and Eubie meets up with Curtis (Candi Milo
Candi Milo
Candi Milo is an American voice actress and singer. She voiced many different animated characters such as the voice of Jacobo on Disney's The Replacements, Coco, Madame Foster and Cheese on Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Irma Lair on Disney's W.I.T.C.H., lead character Maya Santos on Maya &...
), who is there because he brought along his foreign friend, Yope, who doesn't speak English, but is happy to be there. Molly soon decides that Eubie's plans are hopeless, and tells him to just take all his big ideas home. At the mention of that, Eubie gets another idea, and is about to implement it when the lights in the room go off and Eubie is taken back to the North Pole.
In his bid to get Bluesville off the Naughty List, Eubie violated several rules in one day. As punishment, Santa had Eubie turn in his hat, which, at the North Pole, meant his Christmas happiness and powers were taken away. When Gilda (Carol Kane
Carol Kane
Carolyn Laurie "Carol" Kane is an American actress. Kane has worked on the stage, on the screen and in television. She appeared on the television series Taxi in the early 1980s, as the wife of the character played by Andy Kaufman. She received two Emmy Awards for her work...
), Eubie's friend, learns of this, she motivates him to go back to Bluesville to finish his job, and gives him her hat to restore his powers and happiness. He then returns to Bluesville and explains to the kids his plan, and why they should do it in the form of a song, they get to work. That night, they give the mayor of Bluesville a bottle of anti-snore medicine in his sleep, while Eubie spends the night waxing all the cliffs surrounding Bluesville. While he is doing this, Derek, another friend of his, notices Gilda doesn't have her hat on, he soon figures out what is going on and, trying to follow the North Pole rules, he notifies one of the higher-ups.
When Eubie has finished waxing the cliffsides of Bluesville, he says to himself that he has one thing left to do, but before he can do that, the same elves who took him back to the North Pole the first time come back to retrieve him again. This time, both are put on punishment and are sentenced to clean up the toy factory, with both their hats taken away. Derek, now alone at the Christmas office party, is sad and mad with himself for betraying his friends, and confesses to what he did to Eubie and Gilda. They forgive him, but it only makes him feel worse about himself, considering what he did to them. While wondering what he can do to make it up to them, they have him do the one thing Eubie intended to do to finish making Bluesville a happier place.
When the sun shines over Bluesville again, people once again expect it to only last it usual four seconds, but after it disappears over the cliffsides again, leaving the people disappointed at not having the sun shine on them longer, the sun reflects of the freshly waxed walls, filling the whole town of Bluesville experience more sun than it's ever had before, making them feel happier than they had ever been in their lives. At the What Factory, the machine had been tampered with, so rather than grey question marks, the machine now produced different-coloured exclamation points of all shapes and sizes, which pleasantly surprises the factory workers. At the school, when recess starts, the bell has an elve's shoe placed over the ringer, blocking it from ringing the bell, which makes the kids ecstatic that they can continue playing. Molly comes out of the school, where Derek meets her. He tells her to find the mayor and give him a jar of wax, and a piece of non-flammable cole that was squeezed into a diamond (implying that Eubie stuck the non-flammable coal squeezed into diamonds to the waxed cliffsides), and to tell her that Eubie was sorry he couldn't be there. Molly happily goes to leave the schoolyard to find the mayor, but stays for a while to allow Curtis to tell a story that's actually funny. Molly finds the mayor and shows him the items in question, showing the mayor that there was indeed another use for non-flammable coal, the mayor remembers back to when he was a child and the town had a Chrtmas tree with a star on top that shined just like the coal. The mayor makes good on his word, putting up a Christmas Tree in the town square.
That Christmas, Santa decides to make Eubie, Gilda, and Derek his sleigh crew that year for bringing joy to Bluesville, which has soon changed its name to Joyville.
Cast of characters
- Eubie (Rob PaulsenRob PaulsenRobert Fredrick "Rob" Paulsen III , sometimes credited as Rob Paulson, is an American voice actor, best known as the voice behind Raphael from the 1987 cartoon of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Yakko Warner and Dr...
) — Eubie is a hyper-positive, over-enthusiastic elf, whose rosy outlook on life is put to the test, when he tries to bring Christmas joy to the town of Bluesville. - Lil' Farley (Harry Connick, Jr.Harry Connick, Jr.Joseph Harry Fowler Connick, Jr. is an American singer, big-band leader/conductor, pianist, actor, and composer. He has sold over 25 million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with...
) — "Lil' Farley" is the all-seeing narratorNarratorA narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
. This down home storyteller/one man band tells the story about Eubie, the happy elf. - Gilda (Carol KaneCarol KaneCarolyn Laurie "Carol" Kane is an American actress. Kane has worked on the stage, on the screen and in television. She appeared on the television series Taxi in the early 1980s, as the wife of the character played by Andy Kaufman. She received two Emmy Awards for her work...
) — A sweet elf and one of Eubie's best friends. She is as sensitive and nervous as Eubie is happy and hyper. - Santa ClausSanta ClausSanta Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
(Mickey RooneyMickey RooneyMickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
) — The big man himself, he is the all-seeing, ever popular chief ("Big Red", to Eubie) of Christmas Day.
- Derek (Kevin Michael RichardsonKevin Michael RichardsonKevin Michael Richardson is an American actor and voice actor who currently stars as Cleveland Brown, Jr. in The Cleveland Show...
) — Eubie's other best friend completes the elf trio. Where Eubie is hyper and Gilda is nervous, Derek is cynical and streetwise. - Molly (Mae WhitmanMae WhitmanMae Margaret Whitman is an American television, movie and voice actress. She is known for her role as Ann Veal in the TV series Arrested Development, her role as Amber on the TV series Parenthood, her role as Roxy Richter in Scott Pilgrim vs...
) — This is a naughty ten year-old citizen of Bluesville. - Tucker (Kevin Michael Richardson) — The no-nonsense head of the toy department feeling pushed to the limit by Eubie's enthusiasm.
- Norbert (Lewis BlackLewis BlackLewis Niles Black is an American stand-up comedian, author, playwright, social critic and actor. He is known for his comedy style, which often includes simulating a mental breakdown, or an increasingly angry rant, ridiculing history, politics, religion, trends and cultural phenomena...
) — The head of the naughty and nice department, an extremely tightly wound elf. - Curtis (Candi MiloCandi MiloCandi Milo is an American voice actress and singer. She voiced many different animated characters such as the voice of Jacobo on Disney's The Replacements, Coco, Madame Foster and Cheese on Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Irma Lair on Disney's W.I.T.C.H., lead character Maya Santos on Maya &...
) — A brooding "gothGoth subcultureThe goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...
" preteen who is a member of the Bluesville secret society of happy people. - Brother and Sister ** (Rory ThostRory ThostRory Thost is an American actor who played the recurring role of Bradley Benjamin Farmer in The Disney Channel's television series Phil of the Future....
and Liliana MumyLiliana MumyLiliana Berry Davis Mumy is an American teen actress and voice actress. Her most notable roles are as Jessica Baker in the Cheaper by the Dozen movies with Steve Martin, Lucy Miller in The Santa Clause sequels with Tim Allen, Mertle Edmonds on the Disney Channel original series Lilo & Stitch: The...
) — These two bickering siblings are attempting to decorate a Christmas tree in the town square when Lil" Farley steps in to tell them the story of "The Happy Elf". - Mayor (Kevin Michael Richardson) — This imposing man is the leader of the town Bluesville, and reflects the true meaning of "the blues."
- Toady (Kevin Michael Richardson) — The mayor's "yes-man", Toady is part secret serviceSecret serviceA secret service describes a government agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For instance, a country may establish a secret service which has some...
, part corporate flunky. Nothing and no one gets past Toady. Until now.
Production
- Harry Connick Jr. has written the music scoreFilm scoreA film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
, which includes the title tune "The Happy Elf", along with two new songs, "Smile on Christmas Day" and "Bluesville". He sings the title tune, he also gives the look to and is the voice of the story's narratorNarratorA narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
Lil' Farley. - The name Lil' Farley was inspired from a similarly titled song on Connick's album Star TurtleStar TurtleStar Turtle is a funk album by Harry Connick, Jr., released in 1996. Received a Gold Album Certification July 8, 2004. A funk album which actually has more genres than funk alone...
. - Connick was also one of the executive producerExecutive producerAn executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
s, and bringing Eubie to life was a little tricky, "He looked a bit psychotic at first, so they made him cuter," Connick says. "It was a collaborative process, where the animators would communicate with me from what they learned in the script. We formed a triangle between me, the animators and the writer." - Packaging on some DVDs includes multi colored blinking lights and a short soundclip of the song "The Happy Elf".
- Mickey RooneyMickey RooneyMickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
voiced Santa in two classic Christmas shows: Santa Claus is Coming to TownSanta Claus Is Coming to Town"Santa Claus is Coming to Town" is a Christmas song. It was written by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie, and was first sung on Eddie Cantor's radio show in November 1934....
, and The Year Without a Santa ClausThe Year Without a Santa ClausThe Year Without a Santa Claus is a 1974 Rankin/Bass stop motion animated television special. It usually airs during the Christmas season on United States television. The story is based on Phyllis McGinley's 1956 book of the same name, illustrated by Kurt Werth.-Summary:The show is set in the...
. - It was a free DVD in the Sunday TelegraphSunday TelegraphThe Sunday Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961. It is the sister paper of The Daily Telegraph, but is run separately with a different editorial staff, although there is some cross-usage of stories...
in 2008
Soundtrack
- "The Happy ElfThe Happy Elf (song)"The Happy Elf" is a holiday song with music and lyrics by Harry Connick Jr.It was first released on Connick's album Harry for the Holidays, which became the best selling Christmas album of 2003. When asked about the songs on the album, Connick described "The Happy Elf" as a "kids’ song", about...
" - 03:43 - vocal track, sung by Harry Connick, Jr.Harry Connick, Jr.Joseph Harry Fowler Connick, Jr. is an American singer, big-band leader/conductor, pianist, actor, and composer. He has sold over 25 million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with... - "Smile on Christmas Day" - 01:00 - vocal track, sung by Rob PaulsenRob PaulsenRobert Fredrick "Rob" Paulsen III , sometimes credited as Rob Paulson, is an American voice actor, best known as the voice behind Raphael from the 1987 cartoon of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Yakko Warner and Dr...
- "Bluesville" - 01:34 - vocal track, sung by Kevin Michael RichardsonKevin Michael RichardsonKevin Michael Richardson is an American actor and voice actor who currently stars as Cleveland Brown, Jr. in The Cleveland Show...
- "Lil' Farley's 'Happy Elf'" - 00:22
- "Old Santa Claus" - 02:25
- "Eubie and Friends Pole Adventure" - 00:43
- "Gingerbread House Test" - 00:46
- "Eubie's Toy Car Test" - 00:36
- "Coffee Shop Theme" - 00:56
- "Department of Naughty and Nice" - 01:18
- "Norbert's Orders" - 00:33
- "Eubie's Naughty & Nice Tally" - 02:15
- "Eubie Lands in Bluesville" - 00:59
- "Bluesville Street Theme" - 01:31
- "Molly and Friends Coal Toss" - 02:09
- "Down Town Theme" - 01:05
- "S.L.O.B. Meeting" - 01:27
- "'Try'" - 01:33
- "Molly and Gang's Christmas Mission" - 02:40
- "Santa's Elves Wrap Party" - 00:38
- "Santa Getting Ready for Xmas" - 00:26
- "Mayor Gives the Town a Tree" - 01:03
- "'Bluesville' Reprise" - 01:21
- "Lil' Farley's 'Happy Elf' Reprise" - 01:05
- "'Happy Elf' Wrap" - 00:19
Stage adaptation
The holiday special has been adapted into a full-length stage musical. Andrew Fishman has reworked the book, with music and lyrics by Connick who has added five new songs for the musical, for example "That Magic Hat". The show premiered at Coterie Theatre at Crown CenterCrown Center
Crown Center is a commercial complex and neighborhood located near Downtown Kansas City, Missouri located between Gillham Road and Grand Boulevard to the east and west, and between Pershing Boulevard and Union Hill to the north and south. The shopping center is anchored by Halls, a department store...
in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
on November 13, 2007 to generally good reviews. It is receiving a fully produced workshop at the Adventure Theatre, at the Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center at Montgomery College
Montgomery College
Montgomery College is a public, open access community college located in Montgomery County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C. in the United States. The college has three campuses, the largest of which is in Rockville; the other campuses are in Takoma Park/Silver Spring and Germantown...
, Rockville, Maryland
Rockville, Maryland
Rockville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a major incorporated city in the central part of Montgomery County and forms part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. The 2010 U.S...
, from November 12, 2010 through November 28, with a cast that features Michael Rupert
Michael Rupert
Michael John Rupert is an American actor, singer, director and composer.Rupert made his Broadway debut in 1968 in Kander and Ebb's The Happy Time where he received his first Tony nomination...
.