Elf (2003)

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:

Buddy's 12-second belch was supplied by voice actor Maurice LaMarche, best-known for his cartoon character, "The Brain", from "Pinky and the Brain" (1995), and who also did the operatic belching in "Animaniacs" (1993) as "The Great Wakarotti". LaMarche also worked with Will Ferrell on the animated series, "The Oblongs..." (2001).

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Michael first sees Buddy in Central Park, after Buddy has run away, Michael yells out "Mike" to Buddy instead of "Buddy".

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:

References It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

Soundtrack:

Pop! Goes the Weasel

Great, Clean Christmas movie!

It was so nice to be able to sit down and watch a movie featuring an SNL actor without having to mute or fast forward any crude parts. Granted, this may not be Will Farrell's most amazing performance, but if you want a new Christmas movie to watch this season, I highly recommend Elf. I talked to a few people who thought the movie was stupid, but that was because they were expecting Will Farrell's character to be a duplicate of his SNL performances. So, to fully enjoy this movie, watch it without any expectations and remember that it's okay to have a childlike sense of humor--nobody's too cool for a great Christmas movie. I love most all the movies from Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, Will Farrell, Jim Carrey, Chris Farley, Chevy Chase, and David Spade, but most of them aren't appropriate for viewers of all ages. Elf is a movie you can throw in the VCR and not have to worry about what the kids hear or see on it. Thanks, Will, for putting out a hilarious movie that the whole family can watch!