"Elf" is the story of a man named Buddy, played by former Saturday Night Live star Will Ferrell, who chases a teddy bear into Santa Claus's bag as a baby and accidentally ends up at the North Pole. There, the good-hearted Papa Elf (Bob Newhart) raises the plus-sized Buddy as his own son, training him to be an elf. Unfortunately, Buddy's adult size of 6'3" limits his effectiveness as a toy maker, and he finds himself far behind quota on Etch A Sketch production. His awkwardness in Santa's workshop leads Papa Elf to reveal the secret that Buddy is actually a human and that his real father lives in New York City. Upon learning this, Buddy bids farewell to his elf friends-and to Santa Claus, played with a perfect mixture of belly laughs and sage advice by veteran Ed Asner-and sets out on an iceberg in search of his biological family.
"Elf" is essentially two "fish out of water" stories. Buddy is too large for set designer Johanne Hubert's fluffy, whimsical North Pole and too innocent and sweet for the harsh realities of New York City. The fact that Ferrell makes both situations so funny is a credit to his talent as a comedian. Buddy's time in Santa's workshop is spent sleeping on tiny beds and using tiny toilets, prompting him to squeal with delight when he uses his first full sized toilet in New York City. While in New York, Buddy pushes all the buttons on the Empire State Building elevator and congratulates workers at a grimy diner for having "the world's best cup of coffee."
When Ferrell is onscreen, the comedy flows easily and abundantly, and Favreau, who makes a cameo as a family doctor, allows Ferrell to command the pace of the movie. The stop-time animation sequences of the North Pole give it a whimsical, 1960's quality, hearkening back to the days of classic holiday movies like "Rudolf the Red-Nose Reindeer."
After miraculously arriving in New York-this movie really strains the viewers' suspension of disbelief-Buddy seeks out his father, Walter, played with Scrooge-like undertones by James Caan.
Buddy's experiences in the Big Apple land him in several awkward situations, including a brawl with a department store Santa and accidental intoxication while at work in his father's mailroom. Nevertheless, he manages to form close relationships with Walter's wife (Mary Steenburgen) and son (Daniel Tay) and begins a sweet romance with an angel-faced co-worker (Zooey Deschanel). However, the plot of the movie is important only as a vehicle for Ferrell to get entangled in increasingly ridiculous situations, including a verbal and physical sparring match with a midget corporate executive, played by Peter Dinklage, and a super-powered snowball fight with Walter's son. Caan, and indeed most of the supporting cast, is so subdued and bland compared to Ferrell that I found myself losing interest when Buddy wasn't onscreen.
Ultimately, this movie would have been better as a recurring SNL sketch, but it is still good as a movie. Buddy's heart-warming relationships and his faith in Christmas make this big-screen showing worth the brisk 90 minute running time. It relies on a constant stream of pure, though not riotous, humor and utilizes comic situations and people, not gross-out humor or cheap jokes. Buddy the Christmas Elf is destined to join other memorable holiday characters in the hearts of young and old alike. Even this Jewish reviewer can't help smiling at the thought of him.