Atlanta’s Elf on the Shelf Story Soars Into 1st for 5th Consecutive Year

The Elf on the Shelf, born in Marrietta as the brainchild of CCA&B, has taken the world by storm, giving families everywhere the chance to share A Christmas Tradition, the story of Santa’s scout elves, and creatively contort a household elf doll around homes or offices. (Example: The Elf on the Shelf’s recent takeover of the Atlanta Tech Village).

As a result of its global success, the Georgia-based company is booming with spin-off stories and animations. This includes the show, An Elf’s Story, featuring everyone’s favorite rosy-cheeked plush toy. Created by the Atlanta-based animation studio, TRICK 3D, the show was first released five years ago and for the 5th consecutive year landed in the #1 spot on iTunes’ top television seasons list. This local wonder has beat out big names in animation, like Disney and classics we all know and love, including Frosty and Charlie Brown Christmas.

In celebration of their continued success, we sat down with TRICK 3D Owner, Chad Eikhoff, to hear how these two local companies collided.

“When we first started writing and outlining the show, we wanted to make sure it would stand the test of time,” said Eikhoff. “We didn’t want the show to become outdated so we focused on classic themes and structures that could be enjoyed year after year.”

“Chanda, Christa, and I went to the same high school together and we started our businesses around the same time. When CCA&B first started seeing some success, they reached out to me for some animation help. They wanted the elf to fly onto the shelf which we created for them on the website. We continued to do some commercial work and as we both grew we were primed to do this special and it all came together.”

ELF  1026353-trick-3d-heralds-holiday-season-elf-s-story “We had dreams of where An Elf’s Story and the Elf on the Shelf brand could go, but it was definitely pie in the sky. We thought, wouldn’t it be awesome if there was a balloon in the Macy’s Day Parade, but we had no idea it would actually happen.” Not only is the elf flying high in the Macy’s Day Parade these days, the animated show has been picked up by CBS and airs during the holiday season. Year after year Elf on the Shelf and An Elf’s Story continue to be best-selling hits, putting Atlanta on the map once again for entrepreneurial greatness.

“It was cool to see the show become such a success before all the entertainment stuff came along. You have TV shows like The Walking Dead and feature films like The Hunger Games and Captain America being filmed here, but we still don’t have a strong animation presence. It’s primarily done in California or internationally, so the fact that An Elf’s Story is such a success is a huge win for us. Ultimately, I hope Atlanta can have a pipeline in place for the entire production process so we can generate more jobs and revenue for the state in the future.”

If you haven’t seen An Elf’s Story it’s available on iTunes or you can check local listings to watch it on CBS. Keep up-to-date on TRICK 3D’s future animations by following them on Facebook and Twitter.

Interested in Elf on the Shelf? Check out all their holiday hits here.