Elf (2003)
There's not a huge amount left to say about Elf. It's a fun movie. It's very zippy and rewatchable so it works great as a Christmas film that gets put on in the background while you're decorating trees or getting dinner ready. Will Ferrell's look in this has become iconic and helped the movie stay in the zeitgeist through clips and gifs every holiday season.
It was good fun watching it this week as usual but I appreciated a few things in particular this time around that I wanted to highlight.
There is great use of filming techniques such as forced perspective. Last year when watching Red One it felt overwhelming with the amount of special effects thrown in your face and I think using practical effects, even if it is a little too obvious or aided by CGI, helps lend Elf a more festive feel. It's like when we make our own decorations or repair an ornament as best we can, it's that kind of down-to-earth feeling. You can often feel the hard-graft put into the sets here which is wonderful.
Another aspect that adds to this is the short claymation section. Elf doesn't come across as a movie trying to be the next Christmas classic. It's not billing itself as being better than what came before. It pays homage to a classic Christmas animation and I think it lends a very genuine energy to the big transition moment of the movie. It's dumb and it's only a short sequence but I just think it's really neat.
Anyway, I don't think I need to recommend this movie. It'll end up on your tv at some point. It's hard to avoid!
