Reviewed by: Kris

Directed by: Jon Favreau

Produced by: Shauna Robertson, Jon Berg, Todd Komarnicki, & Shauna Weinberg

Cast: Katie Asner, Jon Favreau, Kyle Gass, Will Ferrell, & Edward Asner

Comedy 1 hr. 35 min. As a baby, Buddy crawls into Santa's toy bag and is whisked off to the North Pole, where he is raised as an elf. A misfit who grows to be three times the size of his elf family, Buddy ultimately heads to his birthplace of New York City to seek out his roots. Unfortunately, they turn out to be a "Scrooge"-like father and a cynical ten-year-old stepbrother who doesn't believe in Santa. Worst of all, everyone seems to have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas. But using his simple elf ways, Buddy sets out to single-handedly win over his family and save Christmas in New York, hoping to at last find his true place in the world.

First off, I must say that I do not like Will Ferrell. I realize that most people find him funny, so I may be condemning myself by saying that. I personally do not find Will Ferrell all that funny. I find his humor to be the kind for most teenagers, and I want more substance than that in the movies I see.

Now that I have said that, I have to tell you that I did somewhat enjoy Elf. It’s a cute little story, and could become a Christmas classic. There are some really funny parts in it, and that was enjoyable. It was also nice to see that characters change from the beginning of the film to the end. The end of the movie is a little too sappy for me, but it was appropriate for a film of this type. Most Christmas movies are sappy, and this one doesn’t leave that out.

Most of the actors/actresses in this movie do a wonderful job; yes, even Will Ferrell. His character is pretty funny, and I found the only parts I didn’t really like were the ones they showed in the previews for it.

This is a refreshing take on a Christmas story, so if you like Christmas stories you should enjoy this. Will Ferrell’s humor isn’t as dumb as it normally is, so if you don’t like stupid humor, you would probably like this movie as well. This is definitely a movie to rent some day.