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|rating = PG}}
|rating = PG}}
{{Quote|This holiday, discover your inner elf.|The film's tagline}}
{{Quote|This holiday, discover your inner elf.|The film's tagline}}
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'''''Elf''''' is an American [[Christmas]] comedy film directed by [[Wikipedia:Jon Favreau|Jon Favreau]], written by David Berenbaum, and starring Will Ferrell, James Caan, Bob Newhart, [[Ed Asner]], and Zooey Deschanel. It was released in the United States on November 7, 2003, and grossed over $220,400,000 worldwide.
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'''''Elf''''' is an American [[Christmas]] comedy film directed by {{w|Jon Favreau}}, written by David Berenbaum, and starring Will Ferrell, James Caan, Bob Newhart, [[Ed Asner]], and Zooey Deschanel. It was released in the United States on November 7, 2003, and grossed over $220,400,000 worldwide.
==Synopsis==
==Synopsis==
[[File:Elf-02.jpg|thumb|300px]]
[[File:Elf-02.jpg|thumb|300px]]
[[File:Elf-05.jpg|thumb|300px]]
[[File:Elf-05.jpg|thumb|300px]]
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One [[Christmas Eve]], while [[Santa Claus]] is delivering toys to an orphanage, a baby named William, captivated by the sight of a teddy bear, crawls into Santa's sack of gifts. Santa unwittingly takes him back to the North Pole, where [[Papa Elf]] volunteers to raise him. William is renamed [[Buddy]] because he was wearing 'Little Buddy Diapers'. He is raised unaware that he is actually a human, until his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities force Papa Elf to tell him the truth. He reveals that Buddy was born to Walter Hobbs and Susan Wells and given up for adoption, and that Walter never knew that he was born. He explains how Susan later died, and that Walter now works at a children's book company in {{W|New York City}}. Santa tells Buddy that Walter is on "the naughty list"; nevertheless, he sets out for New York to find him.
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One [[Christmas Eve]], while [[Santa Claus]] is delivering toys to an orphanage, a baby named William, captivated by the sight of a teddy bear, crawls into Santa's sack of gifts. Santa unwittingly takes him back to the North Pole, where [[Papa Elf]] volunteers to raise him. William is renamed [[Buddy]] because he was wearing 'Little Buddy Diapers'. He is raised unaware that he is actually a human, until his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities force Papa Elf to tell him the truth. He reveals that Buddy was born to Walter Hobbs and Susan Wells and given up for adoption, and that Walter never knew that he was born. He explains how Susan later died, and that Walter now works at a children's book company in {{w|New York City}}. Santa tells Buddy that Walter is on "the naughty list"; nevertheless, he sets out for New York to find him.
[[File:Elf-07.jpg|thumb|300px]]
[[File:Elf-07.jpg|thumb|300px]]
[[File:Elf-11.jpg|thumb|300px]]
[[File:Elf-11.jpg|thumb|300px]]
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Upon arriving in New York City, Buddy displays his ignorance in several ways, as he crosses the street at the wrong time, chews discarded gum on the subway station's handrails, and takes a coffee shop's claim to have the "world's best cup of coffee" literally. He eventually finds his father in the {{W|Empire State Building}}, but an incredulous Walter Hobbs has him thrown out. He takes a security guard's sarcastic suggestion to "get back to Gimbel's", where he is mistaken for an employee and meets the lovely but unenthusiastic Jovie. The next morning, he is shocked to discover that Gimbel's Santa is not the genuine article, and a fight ensues between them. He is arrested and sentenced to 24 hours in jail. Walter reluctantly bails him out and takes him to a pediatrician for a DNA test. Once it is proven that he is in fact Walter's son, he takes him home to meet his stepmother, Emily, and half-brother, Michael. Walter is clearly put off by his immature, innocent behavior (such as slathering his spaghetti with maple syrup and {{W|M&M's}} and not seeming to understand that Walter isn't interested in playing with him), but Emily insists that they take care of him until he "recovers".
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Upon arriving in New York City, Buddy displays his ignorance in several ways, as he crosses the street at the wrong time, chews discarded gum on the subway station's handrails, and takes a coffee shop's claim to have the "world's best cup of coffee" literally. He eventually finds his father in the {{w|Empire State Building}}, but an incredulous Walter Hobbs has him thrown out. He takes a security guard's sarcastic suggestion to "get back to Gimbel's", where he is mistaken for an employee and meets the lovely but unenthusiastic Jovie. The next morning, he is shocked to discover that Gimbel's Santa is not the genuine article, and a fight ensues between them. He is arrested and sentenced to 24 hours in jail. Walter reluctantly bails him out and takes him to a pediatrician for a DNA test. Once it is proven that he is in fact Walter's son, he takes him home to meet his stepmother, Emily, and half-brother, Michael. Walter is clearly put off by his immature, innocent behavior (such as slathering his spaghetti with maple syrup and {{w|M&M's}} and not seeming to understand that Walter isn't interested in playing with him), but Emily insists that they take care of him until he "recovers".
[[File:Elf-14.jpg|thumb|300px]]
[[File:Elf-14.jpg|thumb|300px]]
[[File:Elf-16.jpg|thumb|300px]]
[[File:Elf-16.jpg|thumb|300px]]
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Buddy befriends Michael after the former defeats a gang of bullies single-handedly in a snowball fight, and Michael encourages him to ask Jovie out. The next day, Walter reluctantly takes him to work with him, and uses his naïveté to send him down to the mailroom. He gets drunk on a coworker's whiskey, thinking it's syrup, and ends up throwing a party in there. That night, he goes on a date with Jovie. Walter, meanwhile, has been trying to save his floundering business by hiring the temperamental best-selling writer Miles Finch. When the vertically-challenged Finch arrives, Buddy innocently thinks he is an elf. Miles attacks Buddy after being pushed to his limit and storms out of the conference room without signing a deal with Walter's company. Walter is so angry over this setback that he yells at Buddy to "get out of his life" as well as stating that he doesn't care that he's an elf, that he's crazy, and that he's his son. Buddy, now afraid of Walter's shadow, writes a message to his father, and then he runs away with hurt feelings.
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Buddy befriends Michael after the former defeats a gang of bullies single-handedly in a snowball fight, and Michael encourages him to ask Jovie out. The next day, Walter reluctantly takes him to work with him, and uses his naïveté to send him down to the mailroom. He gets drunk on a coworker's whiskey, thinking it's syrup, and ends up throwing a party in there. That night, he goes on a date with Jovie. Walter, meanwhile, has been trying to save his floundering business by hiring the temperamental best-selling writer Miles Finch. When the vertically-challenged Miles arrives, Buddy innocently thinks he is an elf. Miles attacks Buddy after being pushed to his limit and storms out of the conference room without signing a deal with Walter's company. Walter is so angry over this setback that he yells at Buddy to "get out of his life" as well as stating that he doesn't care that he's an elf, that he's crazy, and that he's his son. Buddy, now afraid of Walter's shadow, writes a message to him, and then he runs away with hurt feelings.
[[File:Elf-17.jpg|thumb|300px]]
[[File:Elf-17.jpg|thumb|300px]]
[[File:Elf-20.jpg|thumb|300px]]
[[File:Elf-20.jpg|thumb|300px]]
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Meanwhile, Michael sees Buddy's written message, and he bursts in on Walter's board meeting to tell him frantically that Buddy is gone. He manages to convince him to put his family above his job for the first time, and his boss fires him because of leaving the business meeting on him with Michael. Buddy looks up and sees Santa's sleigh crash in {{W|Central Park}}. He finds Santa, who explains that he lost the sleigh's engine and that the last bit of Christmas spirit on the Clausometer (which had powered the sleigh previously) had gone. He convinces Buddy to help him fix the sleigh. Walter and Michael find Buddy in Central Park as he locates the sleigh's engine. He takes them to meet Santa, who reveals to Michael that belief in him (manifested in knowing that he is bringing people what they want for Christmas) can make his sleigh fly. Michael therefore steals his list and reads it in front of the TV cameras now gathered outside the park, so that people all over New York City believe conclusively in him. The Central Park Rangers begin to chase his sleigh while Buddy is still trying to reattach the engine, and it is one point lost.
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Meanwhile, Michael sees Buddy's message, and he bursts in on Walter's board meeting to tell him frantically that Buddy is gone. He manages to convince him to put his family above his job for the first time, and his boss fires him because of leaving the business meeting on him with Michael. Buddy looks up and sees Santa's sleigh crash in {{w|Central Park}}. He finds Santa, who explains that he lost the sleigh's engine and that the last bit of Christmas spirit on the Clausometer (which had powered the sleigh previously) had gone. He convinces Buddy to help him fix the sleigh. Walter and Michael find Buddy in Central Park as he locates the sleigh's engine. He takes them to meet Santa, who reveals to Michael that belief in him (manifested in knowing that he is bringing people what they want for Christmas) can make his sleigh fly. Michael therefore steals his list and reads it in front of the TV cameras now gathered outside the park, so that people all over New York City believe conclusively in him. The Central Park Rangers begin to chase his sleigh while Buddy is still trying to reattach the engine, and it is one point lost.
However, Jovie, remembering what Buddy had told her about how singing is the best way to spread the joy of Christmas, manages to overcome her shyness and get the sleigh in the air by the power of Christmas spirit when she leads the crowd in singing "[[Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (song)|Santa Claus is Comin' to Town]]", with even Walter eventually joining in. Later, he starts his own publishing company with the first book released being titled Elf, an account of Buddy's adventures. Buddy and Jovie also marry, have a daughter named Susie, and are shown to visit Papa Elf and the North Pole periodically.
However, Jovie, remembering what Buddy had told her about how singing is the best way to spread the joy of Christmas, manages to overcome her shyness and get the sleigh in the air by the power of Christmas spirit when she leads the crowd in singing "[[Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (song)|Santa Claus is Comin' to Town]]", with even Walter eventually joining in. Later, he starts his own publishing company with the first book released being titled Elf, an account of Buddy's adventures. Buddy and Jovie also marry, have a daughter named Susie, and are shown to visit Papa Elf and the North Pole periodically.
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*Much of the filming takes place in New York City, with the exception of the exterior scenes for Gimbel's, which were done in Vancouver.
*Much of the filming takes place in New York City, with the exception of the exterior scenes for Gimbel's, which were done in Vancouver.
*Director Jon Favreau makes a cameo appearance in the film as the Hobbs' family doctor.
*Director Jon Favreau makes a cameo appearance in the film as the Hobbs' family doctor.
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*[[wikipedia:Jim Carrey|Jim Carrey]] was originally cast to play Buddy, but he passed on it, giving Ferrell his Hollywood breakthrough role after originally starring on ''{{w|Saturday Night Live}}''.
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*{{w|Jim Carrey}} was originally cast to play Buddy, but he passed on it, giving Ferrell his Hollywood breakthrough role after originally starring on ''{{w|Saturday Night Live}}''.
*Ed Asner previously portrayed Santa Claus in ''[[The Story of Santa Claus]]'' and ''[[Olive, the Other Reindeer]]''.
*Ed Asner previously portrayed Santa Claus in ''[[The Story of Santa Claus]]'' and ''[[Olive, the Other Reindeer]]''.
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*The designs for Santa's workshop and the elf uniforms come from ''[[Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Rankin/Bass)|Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer]]''. Additionally, the character of Leon the Snowman is an obvious parody of [[Sam the Snowman]].
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*The designs for Santa's workshop and the elf uniforms come from ''[[Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Rankin/Bass)|Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer]]''. Additionally, the character of Leon the Snowman is an obvious parody of [[Sam the Snowman|Sam]].
==Availability==
==Availability==
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The film was released on VHS and DVD on November 16, 2004, and on Blu-ray on October 28, 2008. It was also made available as a Universal Media Disc for the [[wikipedia:PlayStation Portable|PlayStation Portable]] in 2005. A Collector's Edition DVD and Blu-ray was released on October 26, 2010. A 10th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray/DVD combo pack was released on November 5, 2013.
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The film was released on VHS and DVD on November 16, 2004, and on Blu-ray on October 28, 2008. It was also made available as a Universal Media Disc for the {{w|PlayStation Portable}} in 2005. A Collector's Edition DVD and Blu-ray was released on October 26, 2010. A 10th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray/DVD combo pack was released on November 5, 2013.
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In addition to the film's own individual releases, the ''Elf'' DVD was also included in {{W|Warner Home Video}}'s ''Christmas Comedy Collection'' box set, alongside ''[[A Christmas Story]]'' and ''[[National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation]]'', in 2007. Two years later, it was then packaged in the ''Holiday Comedy Collection'', along with ''Christmas Vacation'' and ''[[Fred Claus]]''. The movie's Blu-ray was also released as part of the ''Essential Holiday Collection'' Blu-ray set, which also included the Blu-rays of ''A Christmas Story'', ''Christmas Vacation'', and ''[[The Polar Express]]''.
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In addition to the film's own individual releases, the DVD was also included in {{w|Warner Home Video}}'s ''Christmas Comedy Collection'' box set, alongside ''[[A Christmas Story]]'' and ''[[National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation]]'', in 2007. Two years later, it was then packaged in the ''Holiday Comedy Collection'', along with ''Christmas Vacation'' and ''[[Fred Claus]]''. The Blu-ray was also released as part of the ''Essential Holiday Collection'' Blu-ray set, which also included the Blu-rays of ''A Christmas Story'', ''Christmas Vacation'', and ''[[The Polar Express]]''.
<gallery captionalign="center" widths="215" bordersize="none" position="center" spacing="small">
<gallery captionalign="center" widths="215" bordersize="none" position="center" spacing="small">
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==Adaptations==
==Adaptations==
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On November 14, 2010, a {{W|Elf the Musical|stage musical version of the film}} opened on [[wikipedia:Broadway|Broadway]] at the [[wikipedia:Al Hirschfeld Theatre|Al Hirschfeld Theatre]]. It was directed by Casey Nicholaw, with music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin, and a book by Bob Martin and Thomas Meehan. The cast included Sebastian Arcelus as Buddy, Amy Spanger as Jovie, Beth Leavel as Emily, Mark Jacoby as Walter, Matthew Gumley as Michael, Valerie Wright as Deb, Michael McCormick as Mr. Greenway, Michael Mandell as the store manager, and George Wendt as Santa. It ran through to January 2, 2011.
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On November 14, 2010, a {{w|Elf the Musical|stage musical version of the film}} opened on {{w|Broadway}} at the {{w|Al Hirschfeld Theatre}}. It was directed by Casey Nicholaw, with music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin, and a book by Bob Martin and Thomas Meehan. The cast included Sebastian Arcelus as Buddy, Amy Spanger as Jovie, Beth Leavel as Emily, Mark Jacoby as Walter, Matthew Gumley as Michael, Valerie Wright as Deb, Michael McCormick as Mr. Greenway, Michael Mandell as the store manager, and George Wendt as Santa. It ran through to January 2, 2011.
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A stop-motion animated musical adaptation of the movie, titled ''[[Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas]]'' and starring Jim Parsons as Buddy, is scheduled to premiere on {{W|NBC}} on December 16, 2014.
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A stop-motion animated musical adaptation of the film, titled ''[[Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas]]'' and starring Jim Parsons as Buddy, premiered on {{w|NBC}} on December 16, 2014.
==Cast==
==Cast==
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! Actor !! Character
! Actor !! Character
|-
|-
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| {{w|Will Ferrell}} || [[Buddy|Buddy Hobbs]]
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| {{w|Will Ferrell}} || [[Buddy]]
|-
|-
| James Cann || Walter Hobbs
| James Cann || Walter Hobbs
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| {{w|Mary Steenburgen}} || Emily Hobbs
| {{w|Mary Steenburgen}} || Emily Hobbs
|-
|-
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| {{w|Edward Asner}} || [[Santa Claus]]
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| [[Ed Asner]] || [[Santa Claus]]
|-
|-
| {{w|Bob Newhart}} || [[Papa Elf]]
| {{w|Bob Newhart}} || [[Papa Elf]]
|-
|-
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| {{w|Daniel Tay}} || Michael
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| {{w|Daniel Tay}} || Michael Hobbs
|-
|-
| {{w|Faizon Love}} || Gimbel's manager
| {{w|Faizon Love}} || Gimbel's manager
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| {{w|Peter Dinklage}} || Miles Finch
| {{w|Peter Dinklage}} || Miles Finch
|-
|-
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| {{w|Amy Sedaris}} || Deborah "Deb"
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| {{w|Amy Sedaris}} || Deb
|-
|-
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| [[wikipedia:Michael Lerner (actor)|Michael Lerner]] || Fulton
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| {{w|Michael Lerner (actor)|Michael Lerner}} || Fulton
|-
|-
| {{w|Andy Richter}} || Morris
| {{w|Andy Richter}} || Morris