Folks online are at a total loss. The original person who posted it says it was photographed in '92 in Ontario.


And the following is a list of shows they believe NOT to be it.

-Teen Wolf cartoon
-The Littles
-Blackstar
-The Magician's Hat
-Dreamstone
-Smurfs
-Rock and Rule
-Ferngully
-the Jetsons movie
-Keebler elves
-Black Cauldron
-Flight of Dragons
-the Princess and the Goblin
-Care Bears Nutcracker Suite
-Magic Voyage
-Freddie the Frog
-Hans and the Silver Skates
-Nilus the Sandman
-Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer
-Herself the Elf
-Elm-chanted Forest
-Magic Riddle
-Gremlins
-Lady Lovely Locks
-An American Tail
-Felix the Cat
-Princess Starla
-Star Fairies
-Thumbelina
-the Town Santa Forgot
-the Wish That Changed Christmas
-Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

I live in southern Ontario, but I would have been around 24 years old in 1992, and it doesn't look like the kind of cartoon I'd be watching at that age (hell, I haven't even heard of around half of the shows on the above list, and there are only two or three that I've actually seen, so I'm guessing this is waaaay after my time).

It's presumably something that played on either TVO or YTV, so if you can get old TV schedules from that time, it might be identifiable by perusing those lists.

I did just what I suggested and came up with a potential answer: "Rupert", an animated show involving a bear and elves. Might be it.

I don't think so based on the character images:

Most of the animation is a bit softer-looking than what Dan posted, but the inclusion of elves and the time period fit. I saw a similar, younger version of the questioned character. I don't know if "Rupert" is the right answer, and I'm not slogging through all the episodes on Youtube just to find out.

They found it!

Thank god

I know, the suspense was killing y'all. Just another story of the internet coming together to find 'lost' media after a search that started six years ago based on a 30-year-old photo.

I've been following the lost media subreddit. Cool to find it

I had given up hope and figured it was from a commercial.

Now we can all finally sleep at night!

You laugh, but I was both on tenterhooks and waiting with bated breath, not to mention that there's nothing left of my fingernails.

Article about it: https://gizmodo.com/youtube-tv-elf-p...mas-1849498897

I have honestly never heard this expression before, but considering you wrote it I'm not really surprised. It's not the first time I had to look up a word or expression based on a post of yours.