By Sydney Simpson – News Editor

The holiday classic “Elf” starring Will Ferrell is a Christmas staple in some households. Since its release in 2003, the family comedy has been quite popular, hitting box office records upon its release and airing on AMC’s “countdown to Christmas” each and every year. The movie was directed by Jon Favreau, who has also directed many popular movies such as the newest rendition of “The Lion King” (2019). Favreau truly captured the real meaning of Christmas in this funny yet heartwarming story of a human elf trying to find his dad. 

The movie follows Buddy the Christmas Elf (Ferrell) as he goes on a journey from the North Pole all the way to New York to find his real dad. Buddy grew up raised as an Elf, but he was significantly larger than all the other elves and also did not possess the same amount of skill when it came to toymaking. The elves, along with Santa, felt that it was time to tell Buddy that he was in fact human, and that his father lived in New York by the name of Walter Hobbs (James Caan). Hobbs is not portrayed as a particularly nice man, always at work, not spending time with his family, and at first disregarding Buddy as crazy. The movie shows the viewers Buddy’s journey to finding his family, finding love, and even saving the holiday. Although there are many ups and downs in his adjustment to New York and his new family’s adjustment to him, the movie doesn’t fail to put a smile on the viewer’s face as Buddy and his family save Christmas. 

“Elf” is heartwarming, funny, and family friendly all in one, making it the perfect movie for the holidays. Watching Buddy win over his family and show both his dad and his love interest the true meaning of Christmas evokes a feeling of joy in viewers. He showed Walter Hobbs the importance of family, of love, and of laughter, effectively bringing his dad off of Santa’s naughty list. Hobbs’ transformation throughout the movie was a genius move by the director, creating a theme that family and love are what really make a person happy. Buddy was also able to bring joy into the life of his love interest Jovie (Zooey Deschanel), who wasn’t into the Christmas spirit previous to meeting the eccentric Elf. “The best way to spread Christmas cheer, is singing loud for all to hear,” said Buddy. 

The movie is also hilarious, with scenes of Buddy pouring syrup onto pasta, getting scared of the radiator, and even getting into a fight with a fake department store Santa. He decorated a whole department store with elaborate lego designs and lite brite’s overnight, and also pelted kids with snowballs with extreme accuracy after he and his brother were ambushed by bullies. This funny factor to Buddy’s odd behavior brings viewers in, grasping their attention and keeping them interested. It is what sets this classic apart from boring old Hallmark movies. “Elf” is also family friendly, a movie the whole family can enjoy. It does have many different plots occurring at the same time, however, which can be confusing for younger viewers. Buddy is building his relationship with his family whilst he is also doing so with Jovie, all while adjusting to New York and saving Christmas. Further, parents may not want to have their children watch “Elf” due to the scene where Buddy exposes a department store Santa for being fake. Some parents may feel like this ruins the experience for their kids of getting to visit Santa and tell him what they want for Christmas. 

All in all, “Elf” is one of the best holiday classics to watch as a family this winter season because it shows all the aspects of a good holiday movie and really drives home the point that Christmas is more about love and family than it is about giving. 

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars