Dakota Motley
Contributing Writer
Everyone knows the movie “Elf,” or at least has heard of it. Will Ferrell brings a new kind of joy to Christmas during this movie.
“Elf” is a movie about a human named Buddy (Ferrell), who as a baby crawls into Santa’s toy bag and is whisked away to the North Pole, where he is raised as an elf. He is a misfit who grows to be three times the size of his elf family. Buddy then goes to his birthplace to seek out his family.
Everyone in the North Pole is happy for Buddy because they believe that everyone deserves to know who their family is and wish him a happy trip. Before leaving Santa (Ed Asner) tells Buddy that his father is on the naughty list, which is the worst thing for an elf, for he is selfish, but Buddy believes he can help change his fathers ways.
In the movie Buddy goes on an adventure to find his birth father, learns how to live in the “modern” world, finds love, and gains a family along the way. Buddy doesn’t fit in at all when he first arrives but after he gets to know Walter (James Caan), his birth father, Michael (Daniel Tay) and Emily (Mary Steenburgen) he feels like he really belongs and has a family.
Buddy also falls in love with Jovie (Zooey Deschanel), a worker at Gimbels. They seem like an odd couple at first because Buddy is this outgoing, happy person while Jovie is unenthusiastic and closed off, but they are a great match.
There aren’t many Christmas movies that are funny for both children and adults. Little children would like the Christmas aspect of the movie, with all the bright colors, happy music and toys. While adults and teenagers will like the more comedic aspect of it.
The movie is one-hour-and-37 minutes long and is in full color. The movie streams on Hulu, HBO Max, Sling TV, Starz, Amazon Prime Video and Philo with subscriptions. Renting or buying the movie is also available on YouTube, Google Play Movie, Apple TV, Vudu for $8.99.
“Elf” has been nominated for eight awards and has won two of them including, ACAP award for Top Box Office Films and Golden Trailer Award for the Best Comedy, both in 2004 a year after the movie was released.
The movie may be very appealing to others and just another Christmas movie to others. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t a happy and funny movie to enjoy with the whole family.
