Will Ferrell and Zooey Deschanel re-create 'Elf' duet during script reading

Will Ferrell and Zooey Deschanel just gave fans of their popular film "Elf" an early Christmas present.

Ferrell, 53, and Deschanel, 40, reunited over the weekend for a live script reading of the movie that came out 17 years ago and became an instant holiday classic.

The actors got together with a special guest cast to virtually re-create scenes from the film, which follows Buddy (played by Ferrell), a human who grows up believing he is an elf, as he travels to New York City to meet his parents. Along the way, Buddy meets Jovie (played by Deschanel), who works as an elf at a local department store's Santa Land, and instantly falls for her.

The one-hour, 40-minute long event offered fans of the film a dose of nostalgia and also served as a fundraiser for the Georgia senate races. Deschanel teased the script reading on Twitter over the weekend and encouraged her fans to tune in.

"If I were any more excited to be in the #ElfForGeorgia reunion I might explode into a burst of snowflakes. Join me, Will Ferrell, and many other amazing people from the original cast along with some special guests for our live reading!" she wrote.

During the live script read, Ferrell and Deschanel were joined by their former co-stars Mary Steenburgen, Edward Asner, Bob Newhart and Amy Sedaris. A few new faces also took part, including Busy Philipps, Ken Jeong, Wanda Sykes, John Lithgow and comedian Ashley Nicole Black, who hosted the event.

Ferrell and Deschanel re-created one of the most unforgettable scenes from the film, which follows Jovie as she sings "Baby, It's Cold Outside" in her store's staff shower as Buddy sings along. The two belted out the tune during the live event before Deschanel ended the scene by saying "Get out, don't look at me, get out!" as her character discovers that Buddy has been listening to her sing the whole time.

The song has been a holiday classic for several decades, but in recent years it's also come along with a touch of controversy. In 2019, John Legend and Kelly Clarkson updated the tune to be more appropriate for the age of #MeToo. The singers did so after critics said the original lyrics seemed to suggest date rape as a man tries to persuade a woman to stay with him for the night by giving her alcohol.

After the table read was over, Deschanel thanked her fans for helping them raise exceed their goal of $400,000.

"Loved reuniting with the cast and all our very special guests 🥰" she wrote.