Elf

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jon Favreau directs. Greg Gardiner behind the camera. John Debney scores. Dan Lebental cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Made its money back 7.1× over at the box office.
• 2Released 23 years ago.
• 3Directed by Jon Favreau, shot by Greg Gardiner. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 4Original score by John Debney. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 5Editor Dan Lebental shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 6Will Ferrell and James Caan and Bob Newhart carry the top of the cast.
• 7Marketing tagline: "Discover your inner elf.".
• 8IMDB entry: tt0319343 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 9Classified under 16 themes, including "elves", "dwarf", "holiday", "adoption".

The technical file

Cinematography

Greg Gardiner

Original score

John Debney

Editing

Dan Lebental

Production design

Rusty Smith

Costume design

Laura Jean Shannon

Makeup / hair

Sherry Linder-Gygli

VFX supervisor

Joe Bauer

Sound

Jon Taylor

Stunt coordinator

G.A. Aguilar

Runtime

97 min · 1h 37m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$32,000,000

Box office

$228,500,000

Return

714% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

PG

IMDB

Elf (2003) ↗

Also by

Jon Favreau

• 
  In Case of Emergency

  2007 · ★ 9.0
• 
  The Office

  2005 · ★ 8.6
• 
  The Mandalorian

  2019 · ★ 8.4
• 
  Young Sheldon

  2017 · ★ 8.0
• 
  Iron Man

  2008 · ★ 7.7
• 
  The Orville

  2017 · ★ 7.6

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

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Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  The Original Costume Drawing Behind ‘Elf’!

  Featurette · Official
• 

  ▶
  “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  Not the Real Santa

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  Buddy The Elf Arrives in New York City - Movie Clip

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  Meet Buddy The Elf - Full Movie Preview

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  Buddy The Elf Helps Santa

  Clip · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Peter McGinn2020-08-18
  ★ 9/10

  Okay, this is a fun movie, what I consider to be one of those classic Christmas movies I am willing to watch every year. And for me, that is a fairly short list, such as A Christmas Story and the ubiquitous It’s a Wonderful Life. (Interestingly, Peter Billingsley, who plays the lead Ralphie role in A Christmas Story, has an adult role in Elf.) The script goes over the top a bit sometimes, resulting in cringeworthy moments for me, but it is harmless and easily forgiven. There is wit, pathos and sight gags galore. I like the chemistry between Will Farrell and Zooey, and it is a treat to have national treasures Ed Asner and Bob Newhart leading off the film as Santa and the Papa elf. James Caan and Mary Steenburgen are credible as Elf’s prospective new family in New York City. So there is not a lot of depth to this movie, nor is there supposed to be. It is a great film to watch with friends or extended family. It shouldn’t offend anyone and you can visit with each other, because you don’t have to pay close attention to the plot. In fact, many viewers will be able to recite he lines along with the characters.

  Read full review ↓
• Kamurai2020-12-10
  ★ 7/10

  Good watch, will likely watch again, and can recommend. For all the good this movie has in it, there is a fair amount of annoying as well, which is what keeps it from being a great movie. A family reconnection trope, with a character out of his element trope, crossed with one of the most annoyingly positive characters of all time trope. Ultimately, it's a sweet, hear warming story that really captures the spirit of family, Christmas, and togetherness. It also captures all of the insanity Will Ferrell can conjure up for his character, basically as if he wrote a SNL Christmas special and just rode rough shod over the other actors. The cast does a wonderful job of backing up Will Ferrell, but that's clearly what it is. Around the holidays, especially, don't be afraid of giving this a try, and bear through the annoying bits, because there is likely something really funny just about to happen.

  Read full review ↓
• Wuchak2020-12-28
  ★ 7/10

  Destined to be played on TV every Christmas the rest of your life Released in 2003 and directed by Jon Favreau, "Elf" is a Christmas dramedy/fantasy starring Will Farrell as an orphaned infant who stows away on Santa Claus' sleigh and isn't discovered until he's at the North Pole, where he's adopted by Papa Elf and named Buddy. After growing up as an elf, he travels to New York City to meet his father (James Caan) and starts a relationship with his neglected younger half-brother. He also starts a relationship with a department store worker (Zooey Deschanel) and helps spread Christmas cheer as Santa (Ed Asner) arrives to the city. This is an all-around entertaining Christmas flick highlighted by Farrell's goofiness as the quasi-elf. It's fun with consistent laughs, not to mention a nice Christmas moral. The film runs 97 minutes and was shot in New York City and Vancouver. GRADE: B+

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  New Line Cinema

  US

• GU

  Guy Walks into a Bar Productions

  US

Key crew

• EditorDan Lebental
• Executive ProducerToby Emmerich
• Executive ProducerCale Boyter
• Executive ProducerJimmy Miller
• Executive ProducerJulie Wixson Darmody
• Executive ProducerKent Alterman
• StuntsOwen Walstrom
• Stunt CoordinatorG.A. Aguilar
• Visual EffectsDouglas Bloom
• AnimationMusa Brooker
• AnimationJustin Mitchell
• AnimationJeremy Oddo
• CompositorsJoe Salazar
• Visual EffectsAntoine Durr
• Production Office AssistantTroy W. Carrington
• CompositorsGreg Groenekamp
• AnimationSteve Baker
• Animation SupervisorErik De Boer
• AnimationHunter Athey
• AnimationBrian Dowrick
• CompositorsBrian Fisher
• Lighting ArtistJohn Paszkiewicz
• Visual Effects SupervisorJoe Bauer
• Visual Effects ProducerDan Foster

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• elves
• dwarf
• holiday
• adoption
• santa claus
• sarcasm
• looking for birth parents
• romance
• fish out of water
• orphan
• north pole
• christmas spirit
• christmas
• workshop
• father son relationship
• lighthearted

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical2003-11-07PG
• Digital2013-11-05PG· 4K UHD
• Physical2022-11-01PG· 4K UHD / Blu-ray

Also known as

International titles

• エルフ サンタのくにからやってきたJP
• Enchantada ChristmasCL
• Vánocní skrítekCZ
• AlfDK
• एल्फ़IN
• エルフ　サンタの国からやってきたJP
• EnchantedUS