Rating: PG

Duration: 97 minutes

Release date: November 7, 2003

Directed by: Jon Favreau

Genre: Comedy/Family/Fantasy

Cast: Full cast and crew

Nine years after its initial release, “Elf” has become a holiday favorite for kids and adults looking for a fun movie to watch during the holiday season. At the time of its production, “Elf” featured several unknown amounts among its cast and crew. Will Ferrell was best known for his work on “Saturday Night Live” and had made some splashes with his co-starring role in “Old School,” but it didn’t have the box office clout he would achieve after “Anchorman.” Zooey Deschanel was a little-known actress whose most famous roles at the time had been in the cult classic “Almost Famous” and “All the Real Girls.” Director Jon Favreau was coming off the hit indie films “Swingers” and “Made” but had yet to become the blockbuster director who would make “Iron Man.”

“Elf” takes audiences directly to the North Pole, where Buddy the Elf (Ferrell) has been raised to adulthood by Papa Elf (Bob Newhart). After years of failing even the simplest of elf duties, Buddy soon realizes that he is human and ventures to New York City to find his real father, Walter (James Caan). Buddy soon realizes that life in the big city is very different from the life he left behind at the North Pole. His father wants nothing to do with him, and the town’s citizens are upset by his antics and unwilling to reciprocate his Christmas cheer. Buddy finds a job at Gimbel’s, where he meets Jovie (Deschanel), a young woman who soon begins to believe her and Santa Claus’s talking snowman tales.

The movie became a hit because it appealed to both adults and children. His sugary sweet demeanor has an undercurrent of cynicism that fades as the story progresses, allowing the audience to join Buddy on his quest to find his father and spread Christmas cheer wherever he goes. Oh. At the time of the film’s release, it had been some time since a Christmas movie had captured the imaginations of multiple audiences, with “The Santa Clause” and “Home Alone” being the two previous Christmas movies that became crossover hits. Where both films had a dark sensibility, “Elf” wore its cheer for the season on its sleeve, paying homage to the Christmas movies of the 1930s and 1940s and the Rankin/Bass television productions of the 1960s. Long story short, it was unlike anything in theaters at the time.

Much of the film’s success is due to Favreau’s direction. Though this was his second directing effort and his first for a major studio, Favreau kept everything clean and kinetic, giving the film an energy that many of his Christmas contemporaries lacked. It made many nods to Christmas movies of the past, from the presence of the snowman in “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” to the use of Gimbel’s as the department store in a clever tip of a hat to “Miracle Street.” 3. 4″. “Most importantly, the actors seem to believe in the story, which is a testament to Favreau’s ability to bring out the best in the performers of him.

As Buddy the Elf, Ferrell had his first and arguably best-known acting role for children. Fresh off “Saturday Night Live,” Ferrell was familiar to adult audiences but had yet to be introduced to children. By taking the man-child character he would soon become famous for and adapting it for younger audiences, Ferrell won over the young fans who probably still watch his movies today. There’s not an ounce of negativity in Ferrell’s portrayal of Buddy, making the character easy to root for without diving into sentimentality or corniness. The script for “Elf” was originally written for Jim Carrey, but it’s hard to see how that actor could have surpassed Ferrell’s performance.

Every great leading lady should have the same love interest, and Jovie’s Zooey Deschanel’s portrayal matches Ferrell’s Buddy every time. The slightly cynical, wide-eyed character of him is meant to match the audience’s initial reaction towards Buddy. Slowly her character lights up and she begins to appreciate the joy Buddy is trying to spread, eventually joining him in an attempt to save Christmas.

As a great Christmas movie for the whole family, “Elf” belongs on the shelf with such classics as “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Miracle on 34th Street,” and “A Christmas Story.” Although Favreau, Ferrell and Deschanel later worked in bigger movies, their roles in “Elf” may be their most memorable.

Rating: 4 out of 5