Elf
Wikipedia
Guide to Christmas Movies
Elf is a 2003 American Christmas comedy film directed by Jon Favreau, written by David Berenbaum, and starring Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, Daniel Tay, Bob Newhart and Ed Asner. The film centers on Buddy, a human who was adopted and raised by Santa's elves. He learns about this and heads to New York City to meet his biological father while also spreading Christmas cheer in a world of cynics in the process.
On Christmas Eve, a baby boy at an orphanage crawls into Santa Claus's sack, and is unwittingly transported back to the North Pole. When the baby is discovered at the workshop, the elves name him Buddy after the brand label on his diaper, and Papa Elf adopts and raises him. Buddy grows up at the North Pole, believing he is an elf and accepted by the Elf community, but due to his human size, he is unable to keep up with the other elves and demoted to the demeaning job of toy testing. Soon, Buddy overhears that he is a human, and Papa Elf explains that Buddy was born to Walter Hobbs and Susan Wells and given up for adoption. Susan subsequently died, and Walter, who now works as a children's book publisher at the Empire State Building in New York City, is unaware of Buddy's existence. To Buddy's horror, Santa reveals that Walter is on the naughty list due to his selfish and unscrupulous demeanor, but suggests Buddy could help redeem him.
Buddy promptly travels to New York and finds his father at work, but even after he mentions Susan Wells, Walter misinterprets him as a dysfunctional Christmas-gram messenger and has him kicked out of the premises. Inspired by a sarcastic remark from a security guard, Buddy heads to a local Gimbels department store, where the manager mistakes him for an employee. At the store's Santa Land, he meets Jovie, an unenthusiastic employee with whom he is instantly smitten. After hearing that Santa will be at the store the following day, Buddy jubilantly decorates Santa Land overnight. When Buddy realizes that the Gimbels Santa is not the real Santa, he unmasks him and causes a wild tumult in the store that lands Buddy in jail.
Walter reluctantly bails Buddy out and takes him to a doctor for a DNA test, which confirms that Buddy is in fact his long-lost son. The doctor convinces Walter to take Buddy home to meet his stepmother Emily and twelve-year-old half-brother Michael, believing once he is faced with reality he will drop the "elf thing" and move on as a regular adult. Walter and Michael are put off by Buddy's strange behavior, but Emily insists that they care for him until he recovers. Michael eventually warms up to Buddy after Buddy defends him from a gang of bullies in a snowball fight, and Michael encourages Buddy to ask Jovie on a date, which she accepts. During the date, the two fall in love.
Meanwhile, Walter's company is in trouble after their most recent book fails to sell. Walter's boss, Fulton Greenway, lays down a hard deadline for Walter to have a new book ready by Christmas Eve. In desperation, Walter and his team secure a meeting with best-selling children's author Miles Finch. Buddy interrupts the meeting to boast of his newfound love and mistakes Finch, who has dwarfism, for an elf. Buddy unintentionally insults Finch and pesters him into losing his temper. An angered and insulted Finch attacks Buddy and walks out on Walter, who snaps in anger at Buddy for ruining the meeting and harshly disowns him. Heartbroken, Buddy leaves a note for Walter, Emily, and Michael on an Etch A Sketch and wanders about in the streets, lamenting that he does not fit in anywhere.
On Christmas Eve, after finding Finch's notebook full of ideas, Walter and his team scramble to create a book to pitch. As Walter prepares to pitch the book to Greenway that evening, Michael, who found Buddy's note, arrives and informs Walter that Buddy is gone. Realizing he was wrong and forced to choose between his job or his family, Walter quits his job and leaves with Michael to find Buddy.
As Buddy wanders the streets, he watches Santa's sleigh crash in Central Park, attracting a large crowd. Buddy tracks down Santa, who explains that the sleigh has lost its engine and cannot fly without it due to a shortage of Christmas spirit. Buddy finds the engine and is reunited with Walter and Michael. Walter apologizes to Buddy and accepts him as his son. Buddy then takes them to meet Santa, who proves himself to Michael by showing him what he truly wanted for Christmas. Michael takes Santa's list and reads it in front of television news cameras gathered outside the park, proving that Santa Claus is real. The Central Park Rangers, who have a grudge against Santa for placing them on the naughty list, chase the sleigh as Buddy tries to reattach the engine. Jovie leads the crowd in singing "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," helping raise enough Christmas spirit to fully power the sleigh without the engine for the first time in years.
By the next Christmas, Walter starts his own publishing company with a best-selling book about Buddy's stories. Buddy and Jovie, now married, bring their newborn daughter Susie to visit Papa Elf.
On Christmas Eve, a baby boy at an orphanage crawls into Santa Claus's sack, and is unwittingly transported back to the North Pole. When the baby is discovered at the workshop, the elves name him Buddy after the brand label on his diaper, and Papa Elf adopts and raises him. Buddy grows up at the North Pole, believing he is an elf and accepted by the Elf community, but due to his human size, he is unable to keep up with the other elves and demoted to the demeaning job of toy testing. Soon, Buddy overhears that he is a human, and Papa Elf explains that Buddy was born to Walter Hobbs and Susan Wells and given up for adoption. Susan subsequently died, and Walter, who now works as a children's book publisher at the Empire State Building in New York City, is unaware of Buddy's existence. To Buddy's horror, Santa reveals that Walter is on the naughty list due to his selfish and unscrupulous demeanor, but suggests Buddy could help redeem him.
Buddy promptly travels to New York and finds his father at work, but even after he mentions Susan Wells, Walter misinterprets him as a dysfunctional Christmas-gram messenger and has him kicked out of the premises. Inspired by a sarcastic remark from a security guard, Buddy heads to a local Gimbels department store, where the manager mistakes him for an employee. At the store's Santa Land, he meets Jovie, an unenthusiastic employee with whom he is instantly smitten. After hearing that Santa will be at the store the following day, Buddy jubilantly decorates Santa Land overnight. When Buddy realizes that the Gimbels Santa is not the real Santa, he unmasks him and causes a wild tumult in the store that lands Buddy in jail.
Walter reluctantly bails Buddy out and takes him to a doctor for a DNA test, which confirms that Buddy is in fact his long-lost son. The doctor convinces Walter to take Buddy home to meet his stepmother Emily and twelve-year-old half-brother Michael, believing once he is faced with reality he will drop the "elf thing" and move on as a regular adult. Walter and Michael are put off by Buddy's strange behavior, but Emily insists that they care for him until he recovers. Michael eventually warms up to Buddy after Buddy defends him from a gang of bullies in a snowball fight, and Michael encourages Buddy to ask Jovie on a date, which she accepts. During the date, the two fall in love.
Meanwhile, Walter's company is in trouble after their most recent book fails to sell. Walter's boss, Fulton Greenway, lays down a hard deadline for Walter to have a new book ready by Christmas Eve. In desperation, Walter and his team secure a meeting with best-selling children's author Miles Finch. Buddy interrupts the meeting to boast of his newfound love and mistakes Finch, who has dwarfism, for an elf. Buddy unintentionally insults Finch and pesters him into losing his temper. An angered and insulted Finch attacks Buddy and walks out on Walter, who snaps in anger at Buddy for ruining the meeting and harshly disowns him. Heartbroken, Buddy leaves a note for Walter, Emily, and Michael on an Etch A Sketch and wanders about in the streets, lamenting that he does not fit in anywhere.
On Christmas Eve, after finding Finch's notebook full of ideas, Walter and his team scramble to create a book to pitch. As Walter prepares to pitch the book to Greenway that evening, Michael, who found Buddy's note, arrives and informs Walter that Buddy is gone. Realizing he was wrong and forced to choose between his job or his family, Walter quits his job and leaves with Michael to find Buddy.
As Buddy wanders the streets, he watches Santa's sleigh crash in Central Park, attracting a large crowd. Buddy tracks down Santa, who explains that the sleigh has lost its engine and cannot fly without it due to a shortage of Christmas spirit. Buddy finds the engine and is reunited with Walter and Michael. Walter apologizes to Buddy and accepts him as his son. Buddy then takes them to meet Santa, who proves himself to Michael by showing him what he truly wanted for Christmas. Michael takes Santa's list and reads it in front of television news cameras gathered outside the park, proving that Santa Claus is real. The Central Park Rangers, who have a grudge against Santa for placing them on the naughty list, chase the sleigh as Buddy tries to reattach the engine. Jovie leads the crowd in singing "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," helping raise enough Christmas spirit to fully power the sleigh without the engine for the first time in years.
By the next Christmas, Walter starts his own publishing company with a best-selling book about Buddy's stories. Buddy and Jovie, now married, bring their newborn daughter Susie to visit Papa Elf.