Elf (2003)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Jon Favreau

Writer (WGA):

David Berenbaum (written by)

Release Date:

7 November 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

This holiday, discover your inner elf.

Plot:

After inadvertently wreaking havoc on the elf community due to his ungainly size, a man raised as an elf at the North Pole is sent to the U.S. in search of his true identity.

Plot Keywords:

Elf | North Pole | Taxi | Book Publishing | Reindeer

Awards:

2 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Will Ferrell	...	Buddy
James Caan	...	Walter
Bob Newhart	...	Papa Elf
Edward Asner	...	Santa
Mary Steenburgen	...	Emily
Zooey Deschanel	...	Jovie
Daniel Tay	...	Michael
Faizon Love	...	Gimbel's Manager
Peter Dinklage	...	Miles Finch
Amy Sedaris	...	Deb
Michael Lerner	...	Fulton
Andy Richter	...	Morris
Kyle Gass	...	Eugene
Artie Lange	...	Gimbel's Santa
Leon Redbone	...	Leon the Snowman (voice)

Also Known As:

Buddy - Der Weihnachtself (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some mild rude humor and language.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Norway:7 | Finland:K-3 | Iceland:L | Netherlands:AL (DVD rating) | South Korea:All | New Zealand:G | Portugal:M/6 | Sweden:Btl | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Brazil:Livre | Canada:G | Germany:6 | Philippines:G | Singapore:G | Spain:T | UK:PG | USA:PG (certificate #40170) | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

One of the skyscrapers built by Buddy in Gimbels is the Liberty One building in Philadelphia. In real life, Gimbels was a Philadelphia-based department store.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The trucks on the skateboard that Santa gives Michael are facing the same way. It would be impossible to turn like that; a skateboard is put together with the trucks facing opposite each other.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Papa Elf: Oh, hello. You're, uh, you're probably here about the story. Elves love to tell stories. I-I'll bet you didn't know that about elves. There's, uh, probably a lot of things you didn't know about elves. Another, another interesting, uh, elfism, uh, there are only three jobs available to an elf. The first is making shoes at night while, you know, while the old cobbler sleeps.
Disgruntled Cobbler Elf: Lazy bum! Couldn't even make a clog!
Papa Elf: You can bake cookies in a tree. As you can imagine, it's, uh, dangerous having an oven in an oak tree during the dry season. But the third job, some call it, uh, "the show" or "the big dance," it's the profession that every elf aspires to. And that is to build toys in Santa's workshop.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Iron Man (2008)

Soundtrack:

The Nutcracker Suite, Op.71a

Wonderful

A great holiday comedy, destined to be a minor classic. Better than JINGLE ALL THE WAY but not quite as good as A CHRISTMAS STORY, this razzle-dazzle fantasy by actor-director Jon Favreau tells the off-center tale of a human, played by a rather fey Will Ferrell, raised by Santa's elves, who at age 30 goes off in search of his father, a New York City book publisher played by a weary-looking James Caan. Much hilarity ensues, as the merry Ferrell teaches the frumpy Caan the true meaning of Christmas. Some delightful touches such as a bunch of Rankin-Bass-type North Pole creatures including a Burl Ives-ish snowman played by Leon Redbone and an adorable penguin with both eyes on one side of its head. Lots of attention to detail (for instance, note Caan's apartment after Ferrell has transformed it, including the dozens of Christmas cookies on the kitchen counter). Some hysterically funny moments, such as Caan coming upon Ferrell sleeping in Gimbel's (yes, Gimbel's!) window and Ferrell running full-tilt into a steel locker after surprising Reese Witherspoon-lookalike Zooey Deschanel in the shower. This is the film that makes Ferrell a bona fide star, by the way. It owes nothing to SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, thank God, being wholly original in thought and content and character. In the end, ELF goes on a bit long, it falters whenever Ferrell is offscreen, and the ending is a bit too much...but what the heck. By the way, the movie is just this side of being a musical, which will surprise and delight many moviegoers. The soundtrack is simply magnificent, filled with memorable holiday tunes including a nice duet of "Baby It's Cold Outside" featuring Ferrell and Deschanel.