Gaming

Elijah Wood Dropped Into A Fan’s ‘Animal Crossing’ Island Cause The Turnip Prices Were Good

Truly our most perfect celebrity.

by Joseph Earp  24 April 2020
Elijah Wood in Animal Crossing

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In these stressful, fractured times, Animal Crossing has proven to be a wonderful way to draw people together.

After all, the classic Nintendo franchise has always been about community and friendship. The only way to ‘win’ the newest instalment, New Leaf, is to take actions that improve life for your neighbours as much as yourself, and the game prioritises harmony and fun over destruction.

We’ve all known that for a while. But perhaps nobody could have predicted that the bonds of friendship would be so strong that they’d pull Elijah Wood — he of Lord of the Rings fame — into the orbit of some of his fans.

See, Animal Crossing has an internal economy constructed around turnips. You buy turnips from a travelling salesperson on Sunday, and then throughout the week, the price of turnips fluctuates day-by-day. It’s all about waiting till the price is high before unloading your turnip bounty.

Moreover, to be helpful, people will often post on Twitter if they have particularly high turnip prices, and encourage strangers to visit their island.

That’s what Twitter user @directedbyrian did when turnip prices on their island hit almost 600 bells — and they very quickly got a DM from Wood, asking to get involved.

His character named ‘Elwood’, Wood visited @directedbyrian’s island, complimented the surroundings, and was basically as gentlemanly as you can be in Animal Crossing.

He even specifically asked whether he could pick some fruit to take back to his own island, in a demonstration of the kind of civility that has sadly gone out of style these days.

Basically, it was more proof — if any was needed — that Elijah Wood is our most essential and important celebrity, and that we must be prepared to protect him at literally any cost.