Would Sportacus canonically be an elf in the TV series?

[Flashback Dude]

I've been thinking about this recently.
There's no doubt that in Latibær he was an elf. But later, in the TV series itself, is he still considered an elf?
Is there any moment in any episode where he appears without his hat, so we can see his ears?

Of course, Robbie sometimes calls Sportacus an elf, but I'm not sure if that would be enough to say that he is one. Robbie has also called Sportacus a kangaroo...

Do you think there’s enough evidence in the series to say that he’s not human?

And yes, Sportacus’s name in Icelandic, even in the series, still refers to him as an elf. But I believe that reference is only in Icelandic, right?
Is there any other language in which he’s referred to as an elf?
Given that Latibær was already famous in Iceland, there wouldn't have been much point in changing his name for an audience that was already familiar with it.

Besides (I don't speak Icelandic, I'm just an enthusiast), this language often combines existing words to form a new one.
Maybe the elf part isn't literal?
Or maybe I'm just going crazy here.

Could it be that Sportacus always wears a hat to hide his ears?

When I first watched the series as a child, I never thought of him as an elf. Of course, I didn’t know anything about it at the time—I found out it was Icelandic years later.
But I’d like to know your opinion: Is he still an elf?
Maybe Magnús decided to remove the elf aspect to make the series more 'internationally appealing'?

[possessor]

In the Icelandic dub he is still referred to as an elf, not in English. Robbie of course calls him a kangaroo because he's always jumping and stuff.

[Flashback Dude]

Yeah, but do you think that that's enough for him to be considered a real elf?

[possessor]

Yeah, but do you think that that's enough for him to be considered a real elf?

Well, if he was, then they'd have mentioned it in Sportacus on the Move or at least once..

[Flashback Dude]

When you say Sportacus on the Move, you mean the episode?

[possessor]

When you say Sportacus on the Move, you mean the episode?

Yes, and maybe the book.

[GlanniMan]

I've been thinking about this recently.
Besides (I don't speak Icelandic, I'm just an enthusiast), this language often combines existing words to form a new one.
Maybe the elf part isn't literal?
Or maybe I'm just going crazy here.

As someone who knows a little bit of Icelandic, I can confirm that Sportacus is still considered an elf in the Icelandic dub.
They still refer to him as his original name Íþróttaálfurinn (The Athletic Elf) from the original Icelandic plays, but something kind of weird though is that they refer to him as Sportacus in the Icelandic theme song, maybe his real name is Sportacus but then everyone just refers to him Íþróttaálfurinn for some reason.
But besides the theme song, he is always refered to as Íþróttaálfurinn (The Athletic Elf) in the Icelandic dub, so Sportacus is technically still considered an elf.
Sometimes they simply call him Íþróttaálfur (Athletic Elf) simply because they are just refering to him as a Athletic Elf because the "inn" in Íþróttaálfurinn means "The", depending on how they're using his name.
For example, a sentence like "Takk, Íþróttaálfur." would translate to "Thanks, Atheltic Elf." because it would be kind of weird to say "Takk, Íþróttaálfurinn." which would mean "Thanks, The Athletic Elf." which sounds kind of weird.

Basically, Sportacus is still technically an elf at least in the Icelandic dub. But something kind of weird though is why they changed him from being an elf to being a superhero in the English and quite possibly more international dubs of the show, it's very strange.

[Flashback Dude]

Wow. Thank you so much for your explanation. I really like Icelandic language but it's hard to find content about it.

So, in the Icelandic theme song, he is called Sportacus?
But only there?
I wonder why they did that...

And thank you for explaining the "Inn".

By the way, since I'm already here. Could you explain why the first stage play is spelled Latibær, but the second one is spelled Latabæ?
I've always wanted to know what happens there, grammatically speaking

[possessor]

Maybe because Ithrothallfur was too many syllables for Jon to say it and match with the flow of the song.

As for the spelling of the Icelandic town, I've heard people call it Latabær and even Latibæ, but I like to call it Latabær when typing it but saying it I say it without the -r because it is easier.

[GlanniMan]

To my knowledge, "Latibær" is the name of the town and is only ever used when you are specifically refering to the name of the town itself.
"Latabæ" is an inflection of "Latibær" which is only ever used at the end of a title or sentence.
There is another form of the word that is spelled as "Latabæjar" that can be used at both the beginning and the end of a title or sentence which is only ever used when you are refering something to the town itself.
I have seen some instences where people have used the term "Latabæinn" which means "The LazyTown" but it's never really used since it's not THE LazyTown, it's just LazyTown.
All of the terms listed above (besides "Latabæinn" which is never really used) are the only correct ways to say LazyTown in Icelandic.
If you ever are refering the Icelandic plays or the Icelandic dub of LazyTown in any other languges besides Icelandic, (since you don't need to use any of the Icelandic inflections) ALWAYS, and I do mean ALWAYS used the term "Latibær".

possessor of mine said he's heard some people call it Latabær and Latibæ, those words do not exist, the only correct way you should ever write it in an English sentence is "Latibær".

[chuft]

Perhaps "elf" has more significance in Icelandic culture than elsewhere. In the US, the term "elf" is almost exclusively limited to references to Santa Claus and Christmas (until fairly recently, when they became a fantasy trope from Dungeons and Dragons/Middle Earth, and later games especially online).

For marketing purposes "superhero" is well known around the world, and the word "superhero" carries a connotation of a good guy that protects others, a connotation "elf" probably does not have in a lot of places (if their local culture even has elves at all).

[Flashback Dude]

Yeah, maybe that's why he changed it when it aired globally.

But wait, elf's refer to Christmas in the US?
That's cool
I didn't know that

In Brazil, elf is very niche used by RPG players only. It's very far from anything mainstream

Maybe that's why I never considered him as an elf while I was a kid watching the show. Elf's don't make part of my culture.

The show being Icelandic, and his name in Icelandic meaning "elf" , than yes, I would say he is canonically an elf in the series.

[chuft]

https://people.howstuffworks.com/cul.../santa-elf.htm

[possessor]

Perhaps "elf" has more significance in Icelandic culture than elsewhere.

I read on a Tumblr post somewhere - Back in the 80s-90s, the house Magnus was living in back then at that time was close to a place called Glanni that Icelandic myths reported had elf residents

[Flashback Dude]

That's interesting.
Do you think that he named Glanni Glæpur because of it too?

It would make sense

[possessor]

Yea if he did, I would not be surprised!

[NanCake]

I thought he was, because of that scene in "Sportacus who?":
"The Blue Elf??"
* Robbie guffaws *