Oh I don’t mean it as a joke ( Altho I am guilty of of describing characters as having a cat like temperament a lot lol ) I just like little things that remind a viewer elves are not humans. Like you said.
Probably why I liked the elves in Hellboy 2. The fact is mostly human but you have stuff like their eyes to give off that not human vibe
Or the lines in their face making them look more like sculpted figures.
I always thought elves should have big red noses that squeak when you tweak them. Oh and bright colorful rainbow hair and big red shoes. I mean they’re always clowning around with magic or something so…hic!