• This hilarious Christmas film tells the tale of a young orphan child who mistakenly crawls into Santa's bag of gifts on Christmas Eve and is transported back to the North Pole and raised as an elf. Years later Buddy learns he is not really an elf and goes on a journey to New York City to find his true identity. DVD Features: Audio Commentary: 2 commentaries with Will Ferrell & Director. , Feat

This hilarious Christmas film tells the tale of a young orphan child who mistakenly crawls into Santa's bag of gifts on Christmas Eve and is transported back to the North Pole and raised as an elf. Years later Buddy learns he is not really an elf and goes on a journey to New York City to find his true identity.

When he's 30, and still young by Elf standards, he learns that he's really a human. Buddy decides to go in search of his father (who's on Santa's naughty list), to find out where he belongs. He walks to New York (through the Lincoln tunnel), and is immediately run over by a cab. The chain of events starts at that moment ...

Buddy is a delightful and enchanting character with many special talents and a childish personality. He is naive to the point of stupidity, but charming all the while. His lovable demeanour gains him friends in spite of his clumsy efforts. He is sweet, kind and generous. When his father at first rejects him, Buddy ends up in a department store where other elves (people who pretend to be Santa's elves) are working, and stays up all night to decorate the place. When the department store Santa isn't the real Santa, well, you can guess what happens ...

Buddy eats spaghetti covered in syrup, smarties and pop tarts; he gets drunk in the mail room of his father's office and his young half-brother shows him to ask a girl out on a date.

But all the while, things are looking bad for Santa Claus (and also Buddy's father). How will Buddy rescue the day? When Santa crashes his sleigh in Central Park, it's Buddy's moment to shine.

Abstract, enchanting, child-like madness all make up this beautiful movie. Absolutely delightful and recommended to viewers of all ages. If you want a Christmas feel-good movie, this is it.

26 of 26 found the following review helpful:


SWEET, FUNNY AND ORIGINAL  Aug 21, 2004 By Darcie B
I rarely go see movies twice, but after taking my four children, I treated my parents and watched it again! You fall in love with Buddy, you just can't help it! Will Ferrell is not the kooky nut in this one as in most of his movies, he truly shows the innocent, sweetness of Buddy the elf. Full of laughs, and not as predictable as you might think. I just can't wait until it is released to purchase. I will own this one, please note that after viewing you will need to decorate your house for Christmas immediately !! :)

14 of 14 found the following review helpful:


A real "Feel Gooder"!  Mar 23, 2004
Elf will land a spot alongside The Grinch (cartoon), Charlie Brown & A Christmas Story in my holiday video library! Will Farrell was hilarious & touching as the ever-cheerful,naive and polite Buddy. Bob Newhart, deadpan & stuttering as ever, was the perfect Papa Elf. The rest of the cast were ideal picks. A nice movie & a clever story. I needed a "feel-gooder" the day I watched it, and I wasn't disappointed.

27 of 31 found the following review helpful:


Anarcho-Christmas cheesey brilliance  Mar 25, 2004 By Swiss Bob
First of all, this was the funniest film I have ever seen; I was in tears half way through. Yes, it is a kids' movie, but adults get to watch Will Farrel rip the heart out of Christmas by camping it up and being ridiculously sincere. Watching Farrel start a fight with a fake Santa for "sitting on a throne of lies" is about as fun as films get.

Those reviewers who think that this was cheesey nonsense - duh. It was supposed to be, and that is what made it so funny. And you seem to have missed the whole essence of the film.

Oh, and the kids liked it too.

11 of 11 found the following review helpful:


I loved this movie and can't wait to buy the DVD  Jan 20, 2004 By Peggy Sue "Peggy Sue"
Elf is an unusual movie in this day and age. It is not manipulative and speaks of simple values and simple, true love. I went to see it with my 10-year old, a 28-year old, and a 38-year old (I am 47). We all laughed and cried and came out of the movie amazed that such a simple movie could be so much fun and say so much.
Anytime you have a movie in which the main character is totally innocent and naive, it brings up how calloused and hardened we have all become to the things in life that matter. That's the message of this movie. I highly recommend it and am adding it to my Holiday DVD collection - you can bet we'll watch it every year and some inbetween!

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