| “ | WHYYYYYY WEREN'T YOU AT ELF PRACTICE!? | ” |
— The Boss Elf's most famous line | ||
The Boss Elf (also known as the Elf Foreman) is a character from the Rankin/Bass television special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. He is the foreman of Santa Claus' team of elves who wears a goatee styled to resemble popular songleader Mitch Miller. He is outraged at Hermey's persistent disruption of the assembly line with his dentistry studies, refuses to give Hermey a break from working on toys because of his behavior, and threatens to have him fired. The Boss Elf also conducts the elves in their song for Santa, "We Are Santa's Elves," a tune that Santa finds annoying. Towards the end of the special, he finally grants Hermey's wish and allows him to open a dentist's office, which proves fortunate as he then complains of a toothache and needs the aid of Hermey to treat it.
Interestingly enough, when the Boss Elf reappears in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys, he says in a questionable tone as to whether or not Hermey is a dentist, almost as if the two of them had never had their conversation at the end of the original film.