As Buddy the Elf once said, "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear."
And that's exactly what Zooey Deschanel and Will Ferrell did in the beloved 2003 film Elf. As fans of the holiday film may remember, the duo shared an iconic scene together that involved singing in a restroom. Now, with the holidays approaching, Deschanel is looking back at the scene in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
In the scene, Deschanel's character Jovie, who works at the department store Gimbels, is seen taking a shower in the restroom after her apartment's water is shut off. She begins singing "Baby, It's Cold Outside," a holiday tune that's sparked controversy in recent years. After hearing her beautiful voice, Ferrell's character Buddy the Elf, who normally works in Santa's workshop but also secured a job at Gimbels after traveling from the North Pole to New York City to meet his biological father, enters the bathroom to join her in an unexpected sing-along, resulting in Deschanel's character tossing him out.
"It's funny because obviously everyone knows it's not appropriate to walk in the girls' bathroom when someone's showering, but he's so believable as this guileless elf," the 40-year-old actress said during her interview with EW, which was published Nov. 18. "It's weird he's in there, but you totally buy that his intentions are pure and innocent."
As it turns out, the scene wasn't in the original script. According to Deschanel, it was tailored to her talents.
"I remember [director] Jon Favreau telling me that they were catering it to whoever played the part," she explained to the outlet. "One actress they were looking at was good at skateboarding. But I had a cabaret act at the time, and I was performing a lot. They knew that I was a singer, so they put that in to be my special thing that he could discover I was good at."
She also admitted she was pretty impressed by Ferrell's ability to carry a tune. "He said he wasn't a singer, so I wasn't expecting much," she shared. "But his dad [Roy Lee Ferrell Jr.] is a great musician. I should've known he'd be secretly good!"
In addition, the New Girl alum said they pre-recorded her vocals, noting there was nowhere to hide a microphone and that they wouldn't have had a "clean vocal" with the sounds of the shower mixed in.
To learn more fun facts about the movie, including who was originally considered to play Buddy, read on below.