Television legend Bob Newhart has nothing but enthusiasm for and fond memories of playing Papa Elf to Will Ferrell’s starry-eyed Buddy in “Elf.” The modern holiday classic, released in 2003, recently turned 20 years old. The 94-year-old Newhart shared in an email interview with CNN for the occasion, “Without question, the part of Papa Elf outranks, by far, any role I may have ever played.”

That proclamation is no small thing coming from the actor, who enjoyed the lead part in two iconic, long-running television sitcoms in the ’60s and ’80s, namely “The Bob Newhart Show” and “Newhart.” The actor said he knew that “Elf” was going to be part of the pantheon of beloved and timeless holiday classics from the first read of the script.

He said, later adding that he told his wife that the movie was going to be another ‘Miracle on 34th Street,’ “My agent sent me the script, and I fell in love with it.” The comparison is fitting. “Elf” is among the select few beloved Christmas movies set in New York City as Ferrell’s Buddy the Elf travels from the North Pole, where Newhart’s Papa Elf raised him, to the Big Apple to meet his real father, a grumpy business executive played by the late James Caan.

Newhart also shared how, although he and Ferrell had a great time while shooting and “would always break each other up,” the two actually “very seldom made eye contact” on set due to the filming techniques the filmmakers used to make the pair look different in size. The method, known as the Darby O’Gill technique or forced perspective, which has also been used in movies like “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, involves placing actors far apart to make one look bigger or smaller but angled in front of the camera to make them look closer together.

He recounted, “For example, in the scene where Will and I were riding the tricycle, Will sat in the front while I sat 10 feet behind him. They had an actor directly behind Will who was hidden, but his hands were on Will’s shoulders. This made it look like I was Elf-sized.”

For Newhart, as for many of us, “Elf” stands in a class by itself. He said, “In my opinion, there has not been anything like it in the interim. People wanted to believe in it. People need that charming, wonderful thing about the Christmas spirit and its way of powering the sleigh.”

On July 18, 2024, Newhart passed away after a series of short illnesses. He was 94.