Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Christmas Chronicles 2!
The Christmas Chronicles 2 featured an Easter egg connected to the holiday movie Elf — one that got more amusing as the film went on. Kurt Russell returned in his role as Santa Claus for the sequel to 2018's The Christmas Chronicles. Chris Columbus, known for directing Christmas comedies Home Alone and Home Alone 2, was at the helm of The Christmas Chronicles sequel after serving as a producer on the first one. Both installments have shared elements for notable holiday movies, but the nod to Elf was extra clever.
A few years after Teddy and Kate Pierce helped Santa save Christmas, Kate found herself involved in a new mission when she was transported to the North Pole with Jack, the son of her mom's boyfriend. While Santa and Mrs. Claus welcomed the two visitors, the group quickly realized that an elf named Belsnickel had plans to ruin Christmas. Kate and Jack were given a tour of Santa's Village (before helping Santa save Christmas, of course), and along the way, they were met by loads of the cute little elves first introduced in the first movie.
Santa's Village, which Jack noted should have been called "Mrs. Claus' Village" since she oversaw the creation, was comprised of dozens of workshops. It also housed a few locations purely used for the elves' amusement, such as a movie theater called Polaris Cinema in the center of town. While walking around the village, the marquee sign outside revealed that the 2003 comedy Elf was being shown for free admission. The movie, directed by Jon Favreau, notably starred Will Ferrell as Buddy, a human that was raised by elves in the North Pole. By the time the marquee sign was shown again, the theater was showing a very different kind of Christmas movie.
The Christmas Chronicles 2's Elf Easter Egg Explained
To carry out his plan, Belsnickel exposed Santa's loyal elves to "elf bane," a substance that made them maniacal. The elves started to wreak havoc around the village while violently targeting anyone they came in contact with. During their rampage, the marquee outside of Polaris Cinema changed to Bad Santa, a Christmas movie that debuted the same year as Elf. Unlike the Ferrell-led family comedy, Bad Santa is an R-rated dark comedy starring Billy Bob Thornton as a department store Santa who doubled as a thief.
Toward the end of The Christmas Chronicles 2, Santa and Kate were thrust into a side mission after they were transported to 1990. After finding themselves at a Boston airport, the pair had to increase the level of Christmas Spirit in order to get back to the North Pole. The plot was most likely an acknowledgment of Elf's theme of the importance of Christmas cheer and the power of belief. Based on the connection in the storylines, the Elf theater Easter egg becomes even more significant. After Santa and his allies took back control of the North Pole, by also making amends with Belsnickel, the movie being shown at the theater changed back to Elf. Certainly, Columbus wanted to honor one of the most popular Christmas movies since his Home Alone movies debuted.