“The perfect amount of lighthearted goofiness”

By Tessa Kassoff

When most people think of Christmas, they think of Santa Claus, Christmas dinner, trees filled with tinsel… but most of all, Christmas movies. The first movie to automatically come to my mind would be the legendary “Elf.”

Nothing brings me more happiness than Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf saying, “I love smiling, smiling’s my favorite.” I also will never forget Mr. Narwhal’s iconic, “Bye Buddy, hope you find your dad.” The scene of Buddy hopping on a crosswalk to the song “Pennies From Heaven” almost brought a tear of joy to my eye. Will Ferrell was absolutely perfect for this role; he exudes the energy and comedic timing required to play the fascinating character of Buddy, a human raised by Christmas elves in the North Pole. The juxtaposition of Buddy’s demeanor to the hustle and bustle of New York, accompanied by the classic city-person attitude provides the necessary comedic relief. I, an avid Christmas lover, just cannot live through the month of December without seeing Elf at least 10 times.

Furthermore, the combination of stop-motion with live action should not be discredited. It must have taken such handiwork to achieve a seamless blend of mediums, as was done in the North Pole scenes. Sometimes I even forget that Leon the Snowman isn’t live action himself. Also, the costume choices were just perfect, encapsulating the spirit of elf culture perfectly (I would know, as I am a human raised by elves). Although this movie isn’t extremely complex, and not incredibly philosophical, I feel like it is just the perfect amount of light-hearted goofiness to be perfect for a season as cheerful as Christmas. I mean, yes, it isn’t totally logical that Buddy walks from the North Pole to New York, but it’s a movie about elves–it isn’t intended to be thought about realistically.

Entering the best time of the year, I implore everyone to preach the North Pole gospel:

“Treat every day like it’s Christmas.

There’s room for everyone on the nice list.

The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”

“Heartless corporate machination”

By Victor Kidwell

It may come as a surprise to many that I do in fact possess Christmas spirit. I spend what little money I have on friends and family, I enjoy a good cup of hot cocoa now and then, and I do love going to Evergreen farms. So I’m not saying “bah, humbug” to this movie; this movie is saying “bah, humbug” to me.

Watching Will Ferrell play the same role Will Ferrell always plays gives me no joy. I think I would enjoy this movie substantially more if the main protagonist was played by someone even a twinge more charismatic; watching a fool bumbling around is fun if he’s endearing, but Will Ferrell oozes obnoxious-Hollywood-out-of-touch-actor out of his pores. The script is annoying; the musical numbers leave me feeling cold and lifeless. Will Ferrell genuinely just sounds awful next to Zoey Deschanel.

See, the thing is that it requires thought to create a good movie. I’m not saying complex lore or world-building is required, but any classic Christmas movie really pulls you into their world; think “Home Alone,” “A Christmas Story,” and especially the old animation classics. “Elf” does not; instead, it’s a heartless corporate machination designed to rack in a consistent annual income. The movie preaches about the importance of optimism (?), but generally lacks any true heartwarming quality essential to any good Christmas movie and is just a piece of kitschy slop.

From breaking the illusion of Santa to the weird nice-guy romance that offers nothing to younger audiences, the movie mocks its child viewers and the traditions of Christmas—which I am not down for. I’m so glad my parents never put this on for me when I was younger. Instead, we trimmed the tree, made cookies, and enjoyed quality time together; something I would recommend as an alternative to this movie. It has the added bonus of not making you feel soul-crushingly empty as you realize you just wasted 3 hours of your life. It’s an hour and a half, but man, does it drag on.

I also hate the yellow tights.