NBC is animating Elf for the holidays and bringing The Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons on to lead the voice cast.

Parsons, star of CBS' hit sitcom and a four-time Emmy winner, will star as Buddy in the one-hour animated special Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas, NBC announced Friday. It is scheduled to air Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 8 p.m.

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Mark Hamill, Ed Asner, Fred Armisen, Jay Leno, Matt Lauer, Gilbert Gottfried, Kate Micucci, Rachael MacFarlane, Max Charles and Steve Higgins round out the voice cast.

The holiday special is based on the popular 2003 Will Ferrell movie Elf, which grossed $220 million at the worldwide box office and spawned the Broadway show Elf: The Musical, which ran from 2011-13.

Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas is a retelling of Buddy's delightfully absurd yet heartwarming story and blends the look and feel of the stop-motion animated Christmas specials of the past with the sharp sensibility of the modern-day film. In the story, Santa narrates the story of Buddy's travels to New York City to meet the father he never knew he had. Along the way his unrelenting cheer transforms the lives of everyone he meets and opens his father's eyes to the magic of Christmas.

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Nine songs will be featured in the special, including "Happy All the Time," "A Christmas Song" and "Nobody Cares About Santa Claus."

Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas is produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Mark Caballero and Seamus Walsh direct from a teleplay by Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin and Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic.

NBC will also be gearing up for the holiday live production of Peter Pan starring Allison Williams and Christopher Walken airing Thursday, Dec. 4.

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