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3/26/2017

Elf (2003) - Favreau and Ferrell supply belly laughs and Christmas magic



+ Best Christmas Movie of the Year + Best Huge Hit of the Year 


Will Ferrell is strapped for hijinks inside a Christmas ball on this poster for Jon Favreau's Elf


Buddy is a human who is raised in the elf world, who now discovers his different origin and decides to travel to New York to find his father. - But life is hard in the big city for an elf!

Will Ferrell (Semi-Pro (2008)) lights up every scene like a Christmas lantern in the title role here in this wonderful family comedy. Elf flies high on his spirited performance, the strange and creatively accomplished elf world on the North Pole, and a great sense of absurd comedy coupled with genuinely sweet moments.
Ferrell receives enthusiastic backup from Zooey Deschanel (Our Idiot Brother (2011)), Michael Lerner (The Mod Squad (1999)), Peter Dinklage (Human Nature (2001)), James Caan (Viva Las Nowhere (2001)) and Mary Steenburgen (I Am Sam (2001)) in supporting parts.
Elf is written by David Berenbaum (The Haunted Mansion (2003)) and directed by great New-Yorker director Jon Favreau (The Jungle Book (2016)). It is handsomely produced, funny, thrilling and has Christmas magic in spades. It is a favorite with just about everyone.

Related posts:

Jon Favreau2016 in films - according to Film Excess

The Jungle Book (2016) - Favreau's great, widest appealing movie to date
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
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Iron Man 2 (2010) - Favreau and Theroux's boisterous, entertaining sequel

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

 





Watch a trailer for the movie here

Cost: 33 mil. $
Box office: 220.4 mil. $
= Huge hit
[Elf premiered 9 October (Austin Film Festival) and runs 97 minutes. Jim Carrey was offered the role, but turned it down, and Terry Zwigoff was offered to direct but turned it down in preference for his Christmas movie, Bad Santa (2003). Shooting took place in Vancouver, Canada and in New York from December 2002 - March 2003. Buddy's (Ferrell) singing in Gimbel's' Santa-land wasn't scripted; Ferrell reportedly made it up on the spot. The film opened #2, behind The Matrix Revolutions, to a 31.1 mil. $ opening weekend in North America, where it rose to #1 in its second week (a substantially quieter week at the box office) and spent a total of 6 weeks in the top 5, grossing 173.3 mil. $ (78.6 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 28 mil. $ (12.7 %) and Australia with 6.1 mil. $ (2.8 %). Roger Ebert gave the film 3/4 stars, equal to a notch harder than this review. It has since its release been listed as one of the best Christmas films of all time by several respected publications. The film has spun a 2010 Broadway musical and a 2014 NBC special, with Jim Parsons playing Buddy. Elf is certified fresh at 84 % with a 7 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Elf?

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