It's hard to imagine anything negative while thinking of Will Ferrell's over-the-top hilarious buddy in 2003's “Elf,” but if you want to keep scrolling, you'll have to, so stay tuned.

The Daily Mail reports that behind the scenes of this hit holiday comedy, things were quite dramatic in many ways. In addition to casting problems, the twin boys originally cast as Buddy's babies had to be replaced, and apparently the first choice for the lead role was Jim Carrey.

James Caan, who played Buddy's straight-laced human father, Walter Hobbs, in the film, revealed in a 2020 radio interview that Ferrell and “Elf” director Jon Favreau “didn't get along” during the making of the film, and that their strained relationship played a major role in “Elf” not getting a sequel Favreau said that they “didn't get along” during the making of the film, and that their strained relationship played a major role in “Elf” not getting a sequel.

“We were going to do it, and I was like, 'Oh my God, we're finally making a franchise movie, we're making money, we're letting the kids do what they want to do. The director and Will didn't get along very well,” Kahn said in an interview on Cleveland's 92.3 The Fan show Bull & Fox. [Of course, there are multiple sides to every story, and Kahn pointed to a potential feud between Ferrell and Favreau as the reason Elf 2 never materialized, but Ferrell also had a different answer when asked about why the film never made a sequel.

In 2021, comedian Ferrell told The Hollywood Reporter that he turned down $29 million to make a second film in the “Elf” series.

“Honestly, I would have had to promote the film,” he said. At the time, he said, “I'm not sure I can say that. And I said, 'Can I actually say those words?' And I thought. I don't think I can, so I don't think I can do this film.”

Ferrell had previously dismissed the idea of a sequel happening when he told Andy Cohen during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live in 2013 that he would “never do” a sequel to “Elf.”

“If I tried to go back to wearing tights in ‘Elf,’ I would look a little pathetic,” he said at the time (per USA Today).

So feel free to drown your sorrows in sugar and carbs, with a big bowl of syrup and candy-covered pasta if you must.