Elf (2003)

Elf rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb7.1/10· 345K votes

Rotten Tomatoes85%

Metacritic66%

TMDb6.668/10· 5K votes

With 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 7.1/10 on IMDb and 66/100 on Metacritic, critical reception of this film has been very positive.

About Elf

When young Buddy falls into Santa's gift sack on Christmas Eve, he's transported back to the North Pole and raised as a toy-making elf by Santa's helpers. But as he grows into adulthood, he can't shake the nagging feeling that he doesn't belong. Buddy vows to visit Manhattan and find his real dad, a workaholic.

Cast of Elf

• 

  Will Ferrell

  as Buddy

• 

  James Caan

  as Walter

• 

  Bob Newhart

  as Papa Elf

• 

  Ed Asner

  as Santa

• 

  Mary Steenburgen

  as Emily

• 

  Zooey Deschanel

  as Jovie

• 

  Daniel Tay

  as Michael

• 

  Faizon Love

  as Gimbels Manager

• 

  Peter Dinklage

  as Miles Finch

• 

  Amy Sedaris

  as Deb

• 

  Michael Lerner

  as Fulton

• 

  Andy Richter

  as Morris

Elf facts

Budget

$32M

Box office

$228.5M

Our take on Elf

Jon Favreau's 2003 comedy sends up Christmas warmth with a wonderfully silly premise: as a baby, Buddy crawls into Santa's sack, is raised at the North Pole as a toy-making elf, and grows into a human-sized misfit who journeys to Manhattan to meet the workaholic father he's never known. Part family film, part fantasy, part fish-out-of-water comedy, it mines gentle laughs from a relentlessly cheerful elf loose in a cynical city. It's warm-hearted holiday fare that works for kids and adults alike, best for viewers who want sweetness and whimsy over edge. A dependable seasonal watch, sincere without turning saccharine.