Elf

Elf – Due to a mix-up at an adoption centre at Christmas, human baby ‘Buddy’ is transported to the North Pole and raised by Santa’s elves. When he gets too big to be able to do any of the elf tasks, Buddy decides to track down his real father who lives in New York. Unfortunately, the life skills Buddy has learned with the permanently jolly elves does not translate well to the human world and his reunion does not go well. But when Santa crash lands in Central Park, and Buddy’s father’s business is about to go under, will the power of Christmas spirit save the day?

Elf (2003) – Director: Jon Favreau

Rating: PG

Running Length: 97 mins

Starring: Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel

Genre: Comedy

REVIEW: ‘ELF’

Some movies attract cult popularity status and when said movies have a seasonal reason to be shown regularly every year then said status only grows. ‘Elf’, a good cheer infused Christmas tale comedy vehicle starring Will Ferrell, has done just that. Ferrell’s OTT acting and super loud delivery makes for an ideal children’s movie whilst there are enough pratfalls and knowing winks to keep adults interested too.

The plot is fairly standard stuff. Of course biological father (James Caan) is a workaholic who doesn’t know how to connect with his own child, never mind the explosive good cheer of Buddy who instantly fills his house with homemade Christmas decorations. His publishing company makes children’s books but desperately needs a hit. Hmmm, where will the source material for that come from? An arbitrary love plot is thrown in (Zooey Deschanel) where she is hard and cynical at first but gradually won over by Buddy’s earnest joyousness. And Buddy’s constant attempts to connect with his father help wake the man up to what he is missing: family. All of this is littered with a few winning sub-plots (Buddy’s friendship with his twelve-year-old half-brother is genuine and lovely, and the comedy exasperation of his apparent department store boss – Faizon Love – has constant chuckles). And with a finale that revolves around Santa’s sleigh only being able to fly when there is enough Christmas cheer……well, you can see the signposted ‘moments’ from a mile away.

Quite how the movie has achieved such fanatic devotion though is hard to tell. It’s nowhere near as funny as it thinks it is. For every grin inducing moment of silliness or misunderstanding, there are three overblown moments where the camera is heavily mugged in the name of ‘comedy’. Will Ferrell’s manic delivery can definitely grate, even when it comes in the form of permanent good nature. At the core the movie contains some laughs, a message of family, and plenty of Christmas cheers so when you smoosh those elements together the result is always going to appeal. But really this is a movie that goes for the in-your-face kids style of entertainment so for your household this will be a hit or miss depending on your tolerance levels!

CONTENT: IS ‘ELF’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

When Buddy discovers he is a human and not an elf the camera shot distorts and a jack in the box looms in close up, laughing manically. This scene is brief but may scare younger viewers.

One character is explaining New York to Buddy and says, “If you see a sign that says ‘Peep Show’ then it doesn’t mean you see presents before Christmas”.

Buddy approaches a wild raccoon thinking it will be friendly. He hugs it, but it snarls and attacks him.

Despite being warned not to, Buddy picks gum off of metal street railings and puts it in his mouth. Even after the first piece he keeps on doing this.

Buddy is not used to traffic and walks straight across the road without looking, only to be hit by a car. He is knocked down, but unhurt.

Buddy is exploring a department store and sprays perfume directly into his mouth.

Whilst ‘working’ at the department store a ‘Santa’ turns up to work in the grotto. Buddy is initially very excited as he knows Santa personally from his time in the North Pole, but once he sees the person working as Santa he becomes upset and resentful. He accuses the man of not being Santa and declares him a fake in front of all the gathered children. The man working as Santa turns aggressive and hisses, “How’d you like to be dead?!”.

Buddy continually eats cotton balls throughout the movie with no apparent ill effects. Also, he (like all elves) only eats very sweet food. He chuggs a whole bottle of Cola and belches loudly, and he pours maple syrup all over spaghetti.

Buddy is talking to a co-worker in the post room and is excited to drink some ‘coffee’ that he has heard about. However, he doesn’t realise that the co-worker has poured alcohol into the coffee and they both proceed to get drunk. This makes them giggly and contemplative, as they both lie down whilst they are supposed to be working.

Miles Finch is a character described as a children’s story writing genius. When he arrives to Buddy’s father’s office we learn for the first time that he is a dwarf. However, when Buddy bursts into the meeting room he thinks that Miles is an elf from the North Pole. Whilst Miles is shown to be an arrogant character, he is also very offended by the things that Buddy says, thinking that he is purposefully insulting him. He attacks Buddy physically in retaliation. This scene may possibly confuse or cause inappropriate behaviour in children who have not met people with dwarfism before.

When Santa crashes in Central Park, the ‘Central Park Rangers’ are introduced and hinted at using violent methods to enforce Central Park rules. They are dark figures on large horses and are shot to be foreboding and scary. However, they have little actual screen time and ultimately do not do anything to our characters.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘ELF’ FOR KIDS?

Whilst Elf does have a few subtle adult oriented jokes, the humour and style is geared strongly towards children’s sensibilities. It lacks in subtlety but deals largely in schmaltzy bones overlaid with OTT comedy layers. Due to some minor scary parts and some imitable behaviour we would recommend this movie as suitable for children aged 6 and up.

• Violence: 1/5 (Miles attacks Buddy for perceived insults about his dwarfism but this is brief and comedic)
• Emotional Distress: 1/5 (Buddy is upset to be yelled at by his father)
• Fear Factor: 1/5 (some minor camera distortions and foreboding)
• Sexual Content: 1/5 (mild innuendo)
• Bad Language: 0/5
• Dialogue: 1/5 (dealt with in our content section)
• Other Notes: Deals with themes of family, adoption, abandoned children, step-parents, learning about your origins, Christmas spirit, the dangers of overwork, seeing the best in people, and supporting those you love

Words by Michael Record

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