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Essential Christmas · 2003

Elf

90/100Festive FactorWhy it scores 90 ↓
UK certificate Parental Guidance97 min
Comedy · Family

Elf does the difficult thing: it is sincere without being sickly, and it holds up on the fifteenth watch.

On HBO Max · UK subscription →
Plan this film night ↓Can the kids watch? ↓
Explore this film 12 sections

The CineClaus Christmas score

Festive Factor

Christmas, right to its heart.

Two paper elves inspect a miniature city and red train with a magnifying glass, beside sweet-topped spaghetti and an amber jug on a red workbench.

A little magic in the making.

Five ingredients make the Festive Factor.
Open an ingredient to find out more.

Christmas in the storyIt can't exist without Christmas.30/30

What we ask: Take Christmas out. Does the plot survive? Worth up to 30 of the 100 points.

A world dressed for ChristmasVisibly Christmas for effectively all of it.20/20

What we ask: How much of the running time is visibly Christmas? Worth up to 20 of the 100 points.

The little seasonal details8 of the 10 kinds of Christmas icon we count turn up on screen.12/15

What we ask: How many kinds of Christmas icon turn up on screen: trees, lights, snow, carols and the rest? Worth up to 15 of the 100 points.

A Christmas heartHow far the ending rests on goodwill, family and belief: entirely.20/20

What we ask: Does the ending depend on what Christmas means: goodwill, family, redemption, belief? Worth up to 20 of the 100 points.

A returning traditionA big December film (80,000+).8/15

What we ask: Is it actually watched at Christmas in the UK? Worth up to 15 of the 100 points.

88/100

Cosiness Rating Rating

Deeply warm in tone. Mild threat. A happy ending.

How we score →
What do these scores mean?

Festive Factor measures how Christmassy a film is. Five ingredients add up to 100: story (30), setting (20), seasonal details (15), emotional heart (20) and returning tradition (15).

Cosiness is a separate score for warmth of tone, sense of safety, visual comfort, a reassuring ending and how easily you can settle into it.

How the Festive Factor works →
Your next film night

Where to watch

United KingdomChecked

HBO Max

Included with a subscription
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Sky Cinema

Included with a subscription
In the catalogue

NOW Cinema Membership

Included with a subscription
In the catalogue

Cinema Membership on NOW

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HBO Max on NOW

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HBO Max on Prime Video

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Prime Video

Rent or buy
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Rakuten TV

Rent or buy
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Sky Store

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Elf · Rental and purchase cost extra, separately from membership.

As an Amazon Associate, Cine Claus earns from qualifying purchases. Buying through a link helps pay for the site - it never changes a score.

Streaming changes constantly and we cannot promise it is still right - check the service before you settle in. Streaming availability information provided by Streaming Availability API by Movie of the Night (opens in a new tab). Sky and Rakuten TV data by JustWatch.

The story

About Elf

Buddy is a human raised among Father Christmas's elves who never quite fits the workshop, so he sets off for New York to find the father he has never met. What he finds is a cynical publishing executive with no time for him and a city with no patience for a grown man in yellow tights. Buddy's relentless good cheer slowly wears down his new family and eventually most of Manhattan.

The CineClaus verdict

Elf does the difficult thing: it is sincere without being sickly, and it holds up on the fifteenth watch.

Ferrell plays the lead entirely straight, which is why the joke never curdles into smugness — he is not winking at you. The New York material gives it just enough grit to stop the whole thing floating off.

If you want one film to open the season with a house that agrees on nothing, it is this one.

The family desk

Can the kids watch?

PG

Our take: fine for most five-year-olds. A couple of rude jokes that will go over their heads, one brief moment of jeopardy, and nothing that needs explaining afterwards.

BBFC advice: Mild bad language, sex references.

Content advice & accessibility
Where the advice comes from
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).
Our age guidance
Editorial, separate from the official PG certificate, and never looser than it.
Subtitles · Audio description
Check your chosen service and edition for supported tracks.
A first look

Watch the trailer

Official re-release trailer from Park Circus.

Sweet-topped paper spaghetti and an amber jug sit beside a glowing miniature city and red train, beneath paper snowflakes in a warmly lit toy shop.

Re-release trailer

Elf

Watch on YouTube (opens in a new tab)Nothing from YouTube loads until you press play.
The people behind the film

Cast and crew

The faces in front of the camera, and the people who brought the story to life.

Main cast

In billing order
Head and shoulders photograph of a smiling man with curly fair hair, wearing a dark jacket over a striped shirt with a pink pocket square.Will Ferrellas Buddy
Close photograph of an older man with a short grey beard and tinted aviator sunglasses, wearing a pale jacket over an olive shirt, outdoors in sunlight.James Caanas Walter
Bob Newhart smiling at the camera, seated in a theatre with rows of red seats behind him, wearing a flat cap and a light jacket.Bob Newhartas Papa Elf
Elderly man in a grey jacket and patterned tie seated at a table at a book convention, looking off to one side.Ed Asneras Santa
Zooey Deschanel with long dark hair and a fringe, resting a finger on her cheek and looking up, in front of a blue velvet curtain.Zooey Deschanelas Jovie
Faizon Loveas Gimbel's manager

Behind the camera

Directed by
Jon Favreau
Original score
Man with short fair hair and light stubble speaking at a convention panel table, with a microphone and a water bottle in front of him.John Debney
Writing & production credits
Producers
Shauna Robertson
Todd Komarnicki
Photo credits

Portraits via Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence, approved for this page by a person. Sources and full photographer credits:

Will Ferrell · Adam Chitayat · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab).

James Caan · Georges Biard · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab).

Bob Newhart · Alan Light · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab).

Ed Asner · Terry Ballard · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab).

Mary Steenburgen · Angela George at https://www.flickr.com/photos/sharongraphics/ · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab).

Zooey Deschanel · Genevieve · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab).

Jon Favreau · Genevieve · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab).

John Debney · Floatjon · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab).

Keep the Christmas feeling

Music & soundtrack

That tune you recognised. That score you loved. Take a little of the film into the rest of your Christmas.

Every track on the soundtrack album, in album order.

Behind the music. John Debney composed the score.

About this music list

These are the songs and soundtrack we hold for the film, not a complete cue sheet, and they give no scene timings. Album track lists and durations come from MusicBrainz. Spotify and Apple Music links open the matched recordings; links marked Search open a search on that service. Album covers are each release's own, from the Cover Art Archive, credited under the cover.

Rotten Tomatoes (composer credit) ↗ (opens in a new tab) MusicBrainz ↗ (opens in a new tab) MusicBrainz ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Step into the story

Filming locations

The real places behind Elf. Choose one to explore.

Find it on the mapEmpire State Building

© OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in a new tab)

Open larger map ↗ (OpenStreetMap, opens in a new tab)

Map shows the selected place. Drag to explore; use + and − to zoom.

Choose your next scene

Photographs of the real places

There’s more behind the film.
Explore the next place.

Photo credits & location sources

These are photographs of the places, not film stills. Dates vary; photographs do not show current conditions or guarantee access.

Empire State Building · Axel Tschentscher · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · On Location Tours (opens in a new tab)

Rockefeller Center · HeatherMarieKosur · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · On Location Tours (opens in a new tab)

Central Park · On Location Tours (opens in a new tab)

Queensboro Bridge · Apricot50 · Source image (opens in a new tab) · Public domain · On Location Tours (opens in a new tab)

Bethesda Terrace, Central Park · Jay Dobkin · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · On Location Tours (opens in a new tab)

Map pins mark the place, not a camera position or a route. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), including any pin positions read from OpenStreetMap.

A little more Elf

Film facts &
behind the scenes

For the fans who stay after the credits.

Movie magic

Two sets, one tall Buddy

Will Ferrell towers over Bob Newhart without a green screen. The crew built two sets, one raised and nearer the camera and one further back, so the actors look different sizes in a single shot. Favreau left the seam visible rather than hide it in post, for a more timeless look.

Read the story
On your next watchThe early scenes with Buddy and Papa Elf sharing a frame.

Source: Screen Rant ↗ (opens in a new tab)

On set

The jack-in-the-box scare was real

Buddy's fearful reaction to the slow toy was not entirely acted. Jon Favreau triggered the box from off-screen, so Will Ferrell was genuinely startled when it finally sprang open.

Read the story

Source: Screen Rant ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Movie magic

A look borrowed from old TV specials

Favreau modelled the elves' world on the Rankin/Bass specials he grew up watching, and the elf costumes copy outfits from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Read the story

Source: Screen Rant ↗ (opens in a new tab)

On set

A darker script made family-friendly

Favreau spent about a year rewriting an earlier, darker draft, moving it from PG-13 towards a PG family film and making the elves kind rather than bullying.

Read the story

Source: Screen Rant ↗ (opens in a new tab)

And at a glance

The Christmas in it
Snow on screen. Carols and songs heard: Sleigh Ride, Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Jingle Bells, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, Winter Wonderland, Baby, It's Cold Outside. Snow falls in the New York scenes, including a snowball fight. Songs listed are those on the official songs album.
Releases and certificates
: In cinemas. Opened in UK cinemas at number two and went on to top the chart.
At the UK box office
£20,609,123, as of .
Sources & a note on these facts

Each production story is linked to its source, in our own words. Ending details stay behind a spoiler reveal.

Gifts for film lovers · Elf

Something for the Elf fan

Little gifts for someone whose Christmas always includes Elf.

As an Amazon Associate, Cine Claus earns from qualifying purchases. Buying through a link helps pay for the site - it never changes a score.

For the fan who watches it every Christmas.Sold by the linked retailer
Good to know

Questions about Elf

Who made Elf?

Jon Favreau directed it, with a score by John Debney. Will Ferrell, James Caan, Bob Newhart, Ed Asner, Mary Steenburgen and Zooey Deschanel lead the cast.

When did Elf come out in UK cinemas?

It opened in UK cinemas on 28 November 2003.

Where was Elf filmed?

In New York, including the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, Bethesda Terrace and the Queensboro Bridge.

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