Elf (2003)

• Year: 2003
• Released: 07 Nov 2003
• Country: United States
• Adwords: 2 wins & 7 nominations
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0319343/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/Elf
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/elf
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: PG
• Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Family
• Runtime: 97 min
• Writer: David Berenbaum
• Director: Jon Favreau
• Cast: Will Ferrell, James Caan, Bob Newhart
• Keywords: christmas, holiday, romance, orphan, father son relationship,

	7.0/10
	64/100
	85% – Critics
	79% – Audience

Elf Storyline

Buddy was a baby in an orphanage who stowed away in Santa’s sack and ended up at the North Pole. Later, as an adult who happened to be raised by elves, Santa allows him to go to New York City to find his birth father, Walter Hobbs. He, who is on Santa’s naughty list for being a heartless jerk, had no idea that Buddy was even born. Buddy, meanwhile, experiences the delights of New York City (and human culture) as only an elf can. When Walter’s relationship with him interferes with his job, he is forced to reevaluate his priorities.

Elf Play trailer

Elf Photos

Elf Torrents Download

Elf Subtitles Download

Elf Movie Reviews

There’s magic in the man in green.

The perfect holiday movie for the cynical New Yorker (or anybody from any other metropolis) is so colorful and cheerful, yet not one that will give you a sugar overdose. It’s the story of Buddy the elf, Will Ferrell, an actor I normally can’t abide. He’s an orphan who crawled into Santa’s bag and was adopted by bachelor elf Bob Newhart and when he learns the truth of who he is heads to the Big Apple to locate his father, the cynical James Caan, and ends up finding a family.

Stepmom Mary Steenburgen (along with Dianne Wiest and Sissy Spacek the perfect on-screen mom) immediately takes to him, half brother Daniel Tay finds a playmate and world weary Zooey Deschanel goes from wanting to kill him on their first meeting to completely entranced by his sweetness. Caan must find the kid in himself to from the Scrooge like publisher to a loving husband and father, and that will take a Christmas miracle.

Having not seen this until now, I felt like a complete freeze miser for unintentionally missing it, although I did see the musical on Broadway in 2012. This film pays great tribute to our modern Christmas culture with references to the Franken-Bass TV specials of my childhood and even gets a very funny Keebler elf reference in as well. Who better to play Santa than Ed Asner? He’s completely loveable with absolutely no Lou Grant gruffness.

One of the funniest gags is the reemergence of the long defunct Gimbles department store where Buddy meets Deschanel and turns the Santa village upside down by redecorating it overnight. When he surprises her in the employee lounge (complete with shower) as she sings “Baby It’s Cold Outside”, it’s a magical moment, one of many that starts with the sight of Santa’s real village.

Everybody is absolutely perfect here, not a false note in the film. So old fashioned in theme but very modern in spirit, this never falters in any way. The ensemble seems to have been magically delicious in loving the script because they are all filled with joy even when acting grumpy like veteran little actor Peter Dinklage, playing one of Caan’s prestigious clients whom Ferrell accidentally insults. Putting my own big city cynicism away for the evening, this made me feel like Scrooge the morning after all of his nightmares when the spirit of Christmas returned to him. At times, this can even bring on a tear of joy.

Enjoyable fluff…very enjoyable fluff!

“Elf” is a pretty cute film–but they’re starting to overplay it a bit. Just this Christmas season, it’s been on TV 1483857 times (give or take 2). And I worry that being shown so much that folks might have a backlash–might start to hate the film even though it’s decent family entertainment and is worth your time.

Will Ferrell stars as ‘Buddy’–a STRANGE young man indeed. Apparently, as a baby he was accidentally kidnapped and brought back to the North Pole by Santa. Not knowing what to do with the boy so he gave him to an elf (Bob Newhart) to raise as his own. However, he’s a terrible elf. Part of it that he’s absolutely too big to live as an elf–and part of it is that he’s a bit…well….stupid. Eventually, after not fitting in for a very long time, the elves inform Buddy that they now know who his read father is and Buddy leaves the Pole for New York City to find his dad. Once there, Buddy once again does NOT fit in–and makes a mess of most everything. Can Buddy sort all this out and connect with his dad or will the audience leave the theater feeling depressed and miserable (yeah, right!).

The film has many funny moments (my favorite was when he exposed FAKE Santa to the kids waiting to see him), a few sweet ones and some very clichéd ones–but I can forgive this, as it IS a family comedy and I am not expecting Shakespeare! Well worth seeing….and a bit odd seeing Ed Asner playing Santa!

Sweet and charming, salvaged by the cast

Elf isn’t a perfect Christmas movie, but it was sweet and charming with a great cast. The script can be a little too fluffy and unfocused sometimes though, while the pace occasionally lags and some jokes such as Buddy eating the sweets felt forced. However, it does look terrific, with the locations striking and the cinematography very nice. The soundtrack is a nice addition too, it made me nostalgic and all the more ready for Christmas. The story while simple and a tad predictable is at least original and well-meaning, while the direction is credible. The cast is what gives Elf its staying power and charm. Although I am not a fan of Will Ferrell, I think he really shone here as Buddy, while Zooey Deschannel is beautiful and a huge part of the film’s charm, James Caan is a suitably gruff father-like figure and Bob Newhart is wonderful. All in all, it is a sweet film if you forgive the slightly cliché ending, by all means not for all but the cast do save the day. 7/10 Bethany Cox