Elf (film)
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| Elf | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical Release Poster |
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| Directed by | Jon Favreau |
| Produced by | Jon Berg Todd Komarnicki Shauna Robertson |
| Written by | David Berenbaum |
| Starring | Will Ferrell James Caan Zooey Deschanel Mary Steenburgen Daniel Tay with Edward Asner and Bob Newhart |
| Music by | John Debney |
| Cinematography | Greg Gardiner |
| Editing by | Dan Lebental |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema Alliance Films (Canada) |
| Release date(s) | November 7, 2003 (USA) |
| Running time | 97 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $33,000,000 US (est.) |
| Gross revenue | $220,443,451 |
Elf is a 2003 American Christmas comedy film directed by Jon Favreau, written by David Berenbaum and released in the United States on November 7, 2003. The film was generally well-received by moviegoers and critics and continues to air throughout the year on television, with an emphasis on the November-December airdates.
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[edit] Plot
The film begins with Buddy as a baby being placed in the crib by a nun. As Santa Claus comes down to the room, Buddy discovers that there is a teddy bear in the sack and crawls in just until he's brought to the North Pole where the elves continue to make toys. Buddy is raised by Papa Elf and manages to stand up and grows up in a sequence into a big guy. He seems to be too big unlike the elves. In the toy testing room, he demonstrates the jack-in-the-boxes to pop open and he gets a little frustrated. He overhears other elves complaining about him not realizing that he is a human, which causes him to faint in shock.
Buddy learns from Papa Elf and Santa that his father is a businessman in New York City who is unfortunately on the naughty list. He decides to travel from to North Pole to meet his dad at the Empire State Building, but he is mistaken for a Christmas-gram. His behavior gets him thrown out, and he wanders to Gimbels department store. He is thought to be an employee and meets Jovie, a worker at the store who is not too thrilled about Christmas. Buddy is immediately smitten with her.
His enthusiasm for Christmas and being an elf gets in the way everywhere he goes, at Gimbels and at his father's job. He eventually befriends his half-brother, and asks Jovie on a date. On Christmas Eve, a misunderstanding leads to him being thrown out by his father, and he walks through Central Park to discover Santa with his sleigh. He needs Buddy's help to get everyone's Christmas spirits back up so he can fly, and his family and Jovie help. Christmas is saved.
Buddy ends up writing his own children's book about his adventure, and the film ends with Buddy visiting Papa Elf at the North Pole, accompanied by Jovie and their baby daughter, Susie.
[edit] Cast
- Buddy - Will Ferrell - The main character who is a human, but thinks he is an elf.
- Santa Claus - Edward Asner
- Walter - James Caan - Buddy's real father
- Papa Elf - Bob Newhart - Buddy's elf father
- Jovie - Zooey Deschanel - Buddy's crush
- Emily - Mary Steenburgen - Buddy's step-mom
- Michael - Daniel Tay - Buddy's half-brother
- Manager - Faizon Love - The manager at Gimbels
- Miles Finch - Peter Dinklage - A writer who works with Walter
- Debra - Amy Sedaris - Walter's Secretary
- Fulton - Michael Lerner - Walter's Boss
- Morris - Andy Richter - One of Walter's employees
- Eugene - Kyle Gass - One of Walter's employees
- Carolyn - Lydia Lawson-Baird - A girl who waits in the hospital
Note: The credits didn't say that Frank Welker did the voice of a little puffin. As for Leon Redbone, he did the voice of the Snowman who's named Leon. Ray Harryhausen did the voice of a polar bear cub.
[edit] Box office
The film made over $220 million at the box office worldwide. [1]
Production budget: $33 million
Grosses:
Domestic: $173,398,518
Foreign: $47,044,933
Total: $220,443,451
Movie was released on November 7, 2003
Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes
[edit] Reception
2004 ASCAP award-Top box office film
2004 Golden Trailer-Best Comedy
nominated for 7 other awards
[edit] Soundtrack
"Pennies From Heaven" (1936) Music by Arthur Johnston
"Sleigh Ride" (1948) Written by Leroy Anderson
"Santa Claus Party" Written by Eddie Pola and George Wyle
"Santa Baby" (1953) Written by Joan Javits, Philip Springer (as Phil Springer) and Tony Springer
"The Nutcracker Suite, Op.71a" (1891-2) Written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (uncredited)
"Baby, It's Cold Outside" (1949) Written by Frank Loesser
"Sleigh Ride" (1948) Written by Leroy Anderson and Mitchell Parish
"Jingle Bell Rock" (1957) Written by Joseph Beal and James Boothe (as Jim Boothe)
"What Christmas Means to Me" (1967) Written by George Gordy, Allen Story and Anna Gordy Gaye
"Christmas Island" (1946) Written by Lyle Moraine
"Brollic" Written by Ft and Marvin Gaye
"Nothing from Nothing" (1974) Written by Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher
"Christmas Stylee" (1992) Written by Johnnie Osbourne and Clement Dodd
"Whoomp! There It Is" (1993) Written by Stephen Gibson and Cecil Glenn
"You Make Me Feel So Young" (1946)
"Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" (1934) Written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie
"Winter Wonderland" (1934) Music by Felix Bernard
"Baby, It's Cold Outside" (1949) Written by Frank Loesser
"Pop! Goes the Weasel" (uncredited)
"Auld Lang Syne" (1788) (uncredited)
[edit] Home media
Elf is available on DVD, VHS and Blu-ray Disc, the latter of which was released on October 28, 2008. It is also available for the Playstation Portable with Universal Media Disc.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Elf |
- Official site for the movie
- Elf at the Internet Movie Database
- Elf at Allmovie
- Elf at Rotten Tomatoes
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Elf [[2]]
