We can't stop thinking about Elf's Charlotte Dennon

In our house, as in many others, it’s become a Christmas tradition to watch Elf at some point during the holiday season. It’s hard to believe we’ve been doing this for 20 years now. Since its release on November 7, 2003, the film has grown in popularity and earned its place among standards like A Christmas Story, It’s A Wonderful Life, and Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, from which it takes a lot of inspiration.

Whether or not Christmas movies are your thing, there are many reasons to love Elf. For one thing, it’s highly quotable. Put-downs like “cotton-headed ninny-muggins” and “you sit on a throne of lies” are handy to keep in your pocket all year round. There’s also the joy of watching Will Ferrell, all 6-f00t-3 of him, prance around in yellow tights and a costume straight out of a Rankin/Bass production with boundless energy and without a shred of inhibition. Then there’s the spectacular supporting cast, including Bob Newhart as Papa Elf, Ed Asner as Santa, James Caan as Buddy’s biological father, Zooey Deschanel as his love interest, and Peter Dinklage as successful children’s book author Miles Finch.

I enjoy all of those things, of course, but every time I watch Elf I find myself drawn to a minor third-act character who barely has any impact on the story. There’s something about news reporter Charlotte Dennon (played by Claire Lautier) that makes me lean in whenever she’s on screen. And I know I’m not alone.

“She has grown a little bit of a following,” Lautier told me in a recent phone interview. I reached out to her in advance of the film’s anniversary to see if she’d be willing to talk about her experience working on Elf and why the film has become such an inescapable part of the holiday season. Lautier lives in France now, where she works as a spiritual consultant and life coach. Although she’s left her acting career behind, the character of Charlotte remains with her, even two decades after the film’s release. “There’s an appreciation for Charlotte. And who knew? It’s just fun. It’s funny the way life turns out sometimes.”

Who is Charlotte Dennon?

Charlotte appears near the end of the film, reporting in front of the entrance to Central Park on Christmas Eve about a wave of Santa sightings in and around the park. What we in the audience know that she doesn’t yet is that Santa and his sleigh have been grounded in the park due to a lack of Christmas spirit. In her few scenes, we learn that Dennon is originally from Buffalo, where she worked as a reporter for a smaller news station until making the move to New York City, and that this is her first major on-the-scene report for NY1, a real news station that covers New York City.

Most of this backstory is revealed through dialogue delivered by the station’s male news anchor. “Sorry to interrupt your first big news story Charlotte,” he says, breaking into her interview with a little girl who spotted Santa’s sleigh to show an image of Buddy in Central Park inspired by the famous Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot footage. Not only does the anchor not seem sorry at all, but he continues to belittle her on the air. “I don’t know if this is the hard-hitting news you’re used to covering in Buffalo, Charlotte, but here at New York 1, news is top priority,” he says.

There’s a lot to unpack in those few short lines. The anchor’s condescending tone, the way he has no problem cutting away from what he acknowledges is her big break to add some inconsequential color to the story, calling her out as a novice live on air—it’s at once a parody of news station culture and a pretty good example of what a lot of women have to deal with in the world of TV journalism (concepts Ferrell would expand upon significantly the following year in Anchorman). Charlotte nails the story, but is undermined one final time by the anchor who follows up her report with a disclaimer that we may never know what happened that Christmas Eve in Central Park.

“I think that’s just an example of really good writing,” Lautier says. “In just a few sentences, you learn a lot about the character and you can connect with her. And so I give [the screenwriters] total kudos for their skillful writing. I think that that’s one of the reasons that the movie has stood the test of time and become such a classic.”

“Your eyes tell the story”

There’s another thing we learn about Charlotte, without her consent. While Buddy is busy trying to fix Santa’s sleigh in the park, his New York family comes together to encourage everyone to spread Christmas cheer by singing. Their efforts get a boost from Charlotte and the NY1 camera crew, who film Buddy’s half-brother Michael (Daniel Tay) reading aloud from Santa’s list to prove that Santa is real. Even Charlotte’s wish is in there: “Charlotte Dennon wants a Tiffany engagement ring and for her boyfriend to stop dragging his feet and commit already.”

The line is played for a laugh, but it’s part of the pattern of disrespect Charlotte is forced to endure throughout her brief appearances. I think that might be what lies at the heart of my fascination with her. Despite her limited screen time, Charlotte gets more characterization than any of the other female characters in the film (to be fair, there aren’t a lot of them). She’s just doing her job and trying to remain professional while everyone else around her keeps taking cheap shots. She’s stuck working outside in the cold on Christmas Eve, on what the station believes to be a remote puff piece. That’s not the kind of assignment you get if you have any clout in the newsroom at all. Anyone who’s faced resistance working their way up the professional ladder can relate, but Charlotte’s struggle should feel especially familiar to women.

To really drive that point home, there’s a scene in which a bystander, played by Matt Walsh (listed in the credits as “self”), takes the opportunity to hit on her when she asks him for an eyewitness account, paying her compliments like, “You’re a great news lady,” and “Your eyes tell the story,” and “You’ve got a great mouth.” Ugh.

According to Lautier, that scene was completely improvised by Walsh, who is not, in fact, a creep in real life. “There was a good degree of improvisation, actually,” she says. “In that scene and other little scenes. Like the cop I interviewed, that was a real New York City police officer. So we just kind of played around. There were different takes and the director might give you a suggestion or something. I mean, when you see me laughing in those scenes, I really was laughing. We tried to follow the script that was there, and it was a really good script. It was well structured and everything. But, yeah, we had some fun, too.”

One of Lautier’s fondest memories of filming was a conversation she had with Ferrell on the set. They didn’t share any scenes together, but he made a point to introduce himself and thank her for being in the movie. “He was so humble and so sweet. He said, ‘Oh, hi. I’m Will,’ as if I didn’t know who he was. And I said, ‘Hi, it’s great to meet you, I’m Claire.’ And he said, ‘Oh, man, thanks so much for doing this.’ I was just so impressed with his humility and his good humor. He wasn’t even as mega-famous then as he later became. That moment really touched my heart.”

Beyond “the sea of swirly-twirly gumdrops”

For Lautier, her work on Elf was just a short-term acting job, a small role in a Christmas movie that could have been forgotten by January. She never expected to still be talking about it 20 years later.

“It was just another gig,” she recalls. “I mean, I was there for three days, or three nights, rather. They were night shoots and it was New York. It was cold. It was winter, you know? I remember my little trailer on 57th Street. We were filming right there in the park, at that entrance to the park there, Central Park South. I remember the first night of shooting, there was a crowd, because on a movie set, you’re never alone. Just lots of people. But we had no idea how big it would be.”

And yet, each Christmas season she still hears from family, friends, and fans who want to talk about the film and her role in it. “I get messages every year around Christmas time when I’m showing up in people’s living rooms,” she says, as if she can’t quite believe it herself. “Somebody last year sent me an article that was like a feminist treatise based on Charlotte Dennon. And then someone else sent me a thing from one of those gossipy Hollywood news shows. I can’t remember which one. Like, ‘Where are they now?’ Before and after, you know? They made it sound like they had interviewed me and everything. I was like, ‘Wow, that’s amazing.’”

Last year, she was contacted by the father of a high school student who had been cast as Charlotte in a production of Elf The Musical. He asked if she would mind recording a message of encouragement for her. Lautier graciously agreed. “I was that kid in high school doing musicals, you know? I totally connect with that. So I made a little video and I wished her a happy opening and said break a leg to her cast and everything. And, you know, it’s little things like that that mean so much to me, that you can bring some joy into someone’s day and make a connection.”

Although Lautier has now moved on with her life, built a successful business far away from the entertainment industry, and doesn’t look like she did 20 years ago, she still occasionally gets recognized on the street. You have to wonder if she ever gets tired of being associated with Elf after all this time.

“No, I don’t ever feel that way,” she insists. “It was a joy to do it. It’s a joy to be part of something that has become important, I guess, to people. And it’s a joy to be part of a film that’s become a classic. So no, I never get tired of it. It’s been quite touching to me to realize how much people love that film. But also to hear from people like yourself, that they connect with that character. It’s just funny and it’s delightful.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that NY1 broadcasts out of Staten Island. In fact, it’s based in Manhattan. We apologize for the error.