Elf ( film ) - wikipedia Elf ( film ) For other uses, see Elf ( disambiguation ). Elf Theatrical release poster Directed by Jon Favreau Produced by Jon Berg Todd Komarnicki Shauna Robertson Written by David Berenbaum Starring Will Ferrell James Caan Zooey Deschanel Mary Steenburgen Daniel Tay Ed Asner Bob Newhart Narrated by Bob Newhart Music by John Debney Cinematography Greg Gardiner Edited by Dan Lebental Production company Guy Walks Into a Bar Productions Distributed by New Line Cinema Release date November 7, 2003 ( 2003 - 11 - 07 ) Running time 97 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $33 million Box office $220.4 million Elf is a 2003 American Christmas fantasy comedy film, directed by Jon Favreau and written by David Berenbaum. It stars Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, Daniel Tay, Ed Asner, and Bob Newhart. The story is about one of Santa 's elves ( Ferrell ) who learns he is actually a human and goes to New York City to meet his biological father ( Caan ), spreading Christmas cheer in a world of cynics as he goes. The film was released in the United States on November 7, 2003 by New Line Cinema. It received positive reviews from critics and grossed $220 million worldwide on a $33 million budget. It inspired the 2010 Broadway musical Elf : The Musical and NBC 's 2014 stop - motion animated television special Elf : Buddy 's Musical Christmas. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 2.1 Voices 3 Production 3.1 Development 3.2 Filming 3.3 Post-Production 4 Reception 4.1 Box office 4.2 Critical response 4.3 Accolades 4.4 Critics ' rankings 4.5 Home media 5 Musical 6 Music 7 Animated special 8 References 9 External links Plot On Christmas Eve, a baby boy crawls into Santa Claus 's sack at an orphanage and is unwittingly transported back to the North Pole. When discovered at the workshop, the elves name him `` Buddy '' because he is wearing `` Little Buddy Diapers '', and he is adopted by Papa Elf. Buddy grows up at the North Pole believing he is an elf, but due to his human size is unable to keep up with the other elves and demoted to the demeaning job of toy testing. When Buddy overhears that he is a human, Papa Elf explains that Buddy was born to Walter Hobbs and Susan Wells, and given up for adoption. Susan subsequently died and Walter, who now works for a children 's book publisher at the Empire State Building in New York City, is unaware of Buddy 's existence. Santa reveals, to Buddy 's horror, that Walter is on the naughty list due to his selfishness, but suggests Buddy could help redeem him. Buddy travels to New York where he has trouble adjusting to the customs of the cynical human world. Buddy finds his father at work, but Walter is incredulous and has security remove him. Taking a security guard 's sarcastic suggestion literally, Buddy visits the Gimbel 's department store where the manager mistakes him for an employee. At the store 's Santa Land, he meets Jovie, an unenthusiastic employee to whom he is instantly attracted. After hearing that Santa will be at the store the next day, Buddy spends the night decorating Santa Land. When Buddy realizes the Gimbel 's Santa is not the real Santa, he confronts him and yanks the beard off his costume, resulting in a fight that lands Buddy in jail. Walter reluctantly bails him out and takes him to a doctor for a DNA test, which confirms that Buddy is Walter 's son. The doctor convinces Walter to take Buddy home to meet his step mother Emily and twelve - year - old half brother Michael. Walter and Michael are put off by Buddy 's odd behavior, but Emily insists that they care for him until he `` recovers ''. Buddy and Michael become friends after defeating a gang of bullies in a snowball fight and Michael encourages Buddy to ask Jovie on a date. During the date, the two fall for each other. Walter 's boss, citing the failure of the company 's most recent book, expects a new book by Christmas Eve, so Walter and his team hire best - selling children 's author Miles Finch. Buddy interrupts a meeting between Walter 's team and Finch to tell Walter of his newfound love and mistakes Finch, who has dwarfism, for an elf. Buddy pesters Finch into losing his temper and walking out on Walter, causing Walter to furiously disown Buddy. Buddy leaves a note for Emily and Michael, and wanders the streets lamenting that he does not fit in anywhere. On Christmas Eve, after finding Finch 's notebook full of ideas, Walter and his team scramble to create a book to pitch. Walter 's boss is prepared to hear the pitch when Michael arrives and informs Walter that Buddy is gone. Realizing he was wrong, Walter tries unsuccessfully to reschedule, then quits his job and leaves with Michael to find Buddy. Santa 's sleigh crashes in Central Park, attracting a large crowd. Buddy finds Santa, who explains that the sleigh has lost its engine and can not fly without it, due to a shortage of Christmas spirit. Buddy finds the engine and is reunited with Walter and Michael. Walter apologizes to Buddy and accepts him as his son ; Buddy then takes them to meet Santa. Michael takes Santa 's list and reads it in front of television news cameras gathered outside the park, proving that Santa is real. The Central Park Rangers, whom Santa had placed on the naughty list, chase the sleigh as Buddy tries to reattach the engine. Jovie leads the crowd in singing `` Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, '' helping raise enough Christmas spirit to fully power the sleigh. By next Christmas, Walter has started his own publishing company with a best - selling book about Buddy 's adventures. Buddy and Jovie, now married, bring their newborn daughter Susie to visit Papa Elf. Cast Will Ferrell as Buddy Hobbs, a human who was raised by Santa 's elves James Caan as Walter Hobbs, a children 's book publisher and Buddy 's biological father Zooey Deschanel as Jovie, an unenthusiastic worker at Gimbel 's and Buddy 's love interest. Mary Steenburgen as Emily Hobbs, Walter 's wife and Buddy 's stepmother Daniel Tay as Michael Hobbs, Walter and Emily 's son and Buddy 's younger half brother Ed Asner as Santa Claus, who finds Buddy in his sack and gives him to Papa Elf to raise Bob Newhart as Papa Elf, an elf that raised Buddy Faizon Love as Wanda, the manager of Gimbel 's and Jovie 's boss Peter Dinklage as Miles Finch, a best selling children 's author Amy Sedaris as Deb, Walter Hobbs ' secretary Michael Lerner as Mr. Greenway, Walter Hobbs ' boss Andy Richter as Morris, an associate of Walter Hobbs Kyle Gass as Eugene Dupree, an associate of Walter Hobbs Artie Lange as Gimbel 's Santa Jon Favreau as Dr. Leonardo, the Hobbs family 's pediatrician Matt Walsh as Eye Witness Peter Billingsley as Ming Ming ( uncredited ) Mark Acheson as a mailroom worker Patrick Ferrell ( Will Ferrell 's brother ) as a security guard ( cameo ) Voices Leon Redbone as Leon the Snowman Ray Harryhausen as Polar Bear Cub Jon Favreau as the Baby Walrus, Mr. Narwhal, and the Arctic Puffin Dallas McKennon as the Jack - in - the - Box ( archive audio ) Production Development David Berenbaum 's screenplay underwent uncredited rewrites by Scot Armstrong, Chris Henchy, and the writing team of Adam McKay and Will Ferrell. Jim Carrey was originally attached to portray Buddy, but turned down the role. Terry Zwigoff was offered to direct, but declined due to his commitment on another Christmas comedy of 2003, Bad Santa. Jon Favreau eventually directed the film. Filming Director Jon Favreau Filming took place in New York City, as well as in Vancouver and at Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam, British Columbia. The film makes heavy use of forced perspective to exaggerate the size of Buddy compared to all the other elves. Stop motion animation was employed for certain sequences. Zooey Deschanel singing was not in the original script, and Favreau added it when he learned she was a singer. When Buddy starts singing in the middle of Santaland at Gimbel 's, the lyrics were not scripted and Will Ferrell improvised the song on the spot. Even though Buddy is an excellent gift wrapper, Will Ferrell is not, and needed someone else to wrap all the gifts in the movie. Post-production Apart from snow, most of the computer generated imagery ( CGI ) in the film was created by Rhythm & Hues Studios. Buddy 's belch after drinking a two - liter bottle of Coca - Cola was real, as dubbed by voice actor Maurice LaMarche. Reception Box office Elf grossed $173.4 million in North America and $47 million in other territories for a total gross of $220.4 million, against a budget of $33 million. The film opened at number two at the box office in the United States with $31.1 million, finishing behind The Matrix Revolutions, also in its first week. It topped the box office on its second week of release, beating out Master and Commander : The Far Side of the World. In the United Kingdom, it opened in second behind Love Actually. Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 84 % based on 189 reviews, and an average rating of 7 / 10. The site 's consensus reading, `` A movie full of Yuletide cheer, Elf is a spirited, good natured family comedy, and it benefits greatly from Will Ferrell 's funny and charming performance as one of Santa 's biggest helpers. '' On Metacritic, the film has a normalized score of 64 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating `` generally favorable reviews ''. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of `` A -- '' on an A+ to F scale. Roger Ebert gave it 3 out of 4 stars, calling it `` one of those rare Christmas comedies that has a heart, a brain and a wicked sense of humor, and it charms the socks right off the mantelpiece. '' Writing for Rolling Stone, Peter Travers gave the film 2 out of 4 stars, saying : `` Ferrell makes the damn thing work. Even though he ca n't get naked or use naughty words, there 's a devil of comedy in Ferrell, and he lets it out to play. Director Jon Favreau has the good sense to just stand out of his way. '' Accolades The film was nominated for nine awards and won two. Won 2004 ASCAP award -- Top Box Office Films ( John Debney ) 2004 Golden Trailer -- Best Comedy Nominated 2004 Nickelodeon Kids ' Choice Award -- Favorite Movie 2004 MTV Movie Award -- Best Comedic Performance ( Will Ferrell ) 2004 PFCS Award -- Best Live Action Family Film and Best Use of Previously Published or Recorded Music 2004 Teen Choice Award -- Choice Movie Actor -- Comedy ( Will Ferrell ) and Choice Movie -- Comedy 2005 Golden Satellite Award -- Best Youth DVD Critics ' Rankings Elf is often ranked among the greatest Christmas films of all - time, and since its release has joined the many films which air annually on television during the holiday season. Empire -- # 11 New York Daily News - # 23 about.com -- # 9 Digital Spy -- # 3 Forbes -- # 7 Newsday -- # 7 The Guardian -- # 4 Chicago Tribune -- # 17 San Francisco Chronicle -- # 4 Entertainment Weekly -- # 4 Total Film -- # 3 The Hollywood Reporter -- # 6 Home Media The film was released on DVD and VHS on November 16, 2004, and on Blu - ray on October 28, 2008. It is also available for the PlayStation Portable with Universal Media Disc. Musical Main article : Elf : The Musical A Broadway musical based upon the film ran on Broadway during the 2010 Christmas season. It was directed by Casey Nicholaw, with music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin, and a book by Bob Martin and Thomas Meehan. The musical officially opened at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on November 10, 2010, after previews from November 2, 2010. The cast included Sebastian Arcelus as Buddy, Amy Spanger as Jovie, Beth Leavel as Emily, Mark Jacoby as Walter, Matthew Gumley as Michael, Valerie Wright as Deb, Michael McCormick as Mr. Greenway, Michael Mandell as Store Manager, and George Wendt as Santa. It ran through to January 2, 2011. Music The soundtrack was released on New Line Records in November 2003 in the United States and in October 2005 in the United Kingdom. It was certified Gold by the RIAA in April 2011. Having sold 695,000 copies in the United States, it is the second best - selling film soundtrack / holiday album hybrid since Nielsen SoundScan started tracking music sales in 1991, behind only The Polar Express. `` Pennies from Heaven '' -- Louis Prima `` Sleigh Ride '' -- Ella Fitzgerald and the Frank De Vol Orchestra `` Let It Snow ! Let It Snow ! Let It Snow ! '' -- Lena Horne `` Sleigh Ride / Santa Claus Party '' -- Ferrante and Teicher / Les Baxter `` Baby, It 's Cold Outside '' -- Leon Redbone / Zooey Deschanel `` Jingle Bells '' -- Jim Reeves `` The Nutcracker Suite '' -- Brian Setzer `` Christmas Island '' -- Leon Redbone `` Santa Baby '' -- Eartha Kitt and the Henri René Orchestra `` Winter Wonderland '' -- Leon Redbone `` Santa Claus Is Coming to Town '' -- Eddy Arnold `` Nothing from Nothing '' -- Billy Preston The score to the film, composed and conducted by John Debney and performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony, was released by Varese Sarabande. Animated special Main article : Elf : Buddy 's Musical Christmas Elf : Buddy 's Musical Christmas is an hour long stop motion animated musical television special based on the film and the musical of the same name. While Edward Asner was the only one to reprise his role from the film, the rest of the cast consists of Jim Parsons as Buddy, Mark Hamill as Walter Hobbs, Kate Micucci as Jovie, Rachael MacFarlane as Emily Hobbs, Max Charles as Michael Hobbs, and Gilbert Gottfried as Mr. Greenway. It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and first aired on NBC on December 16, 2014. It uses songs from the musical. References Jump up ^ `` Elf ''. American Film Institute. Retrieved October 25, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Elf ( 2003 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 7, 2016. Jump up ^ Falcon, Jesse ( February 1, 2007 ). `` Old School 's Scot Armstrong ''. Cracked. Retrieved 25 November 2017. Jump up ^ Fritz, Ben ( June 14, 2005 ). `` Inside Move : Lack of Will power wo n't stop ' Elf ' sequel ''. Variety. Retrieved 25 November 2017. Jump up ^ Riley, Jenelle ( May 27, 2016 ). `` Will Ferrell and Adam McKay Celebrate a Decade of Gary Sanchez Productions ''. Variety. Retrieved 25 November 2017. Jump up ^ O'Hara, Helen ( January 17, 2016 ). `` Adam McKay : laughing all the way to the bank ''. The Telegraph. Retrieved 25 November 2017. Jump up ^ Caro, Mark ( December 6, 2013 ). `` ' Anchorman 2 ' : The Chicago roots of Adam McKay ''. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 25 November 2017. Jump up ^ Weiner, Jonah ( February 28, 2014 ). `` Anchor Management ''. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 25 November 2017. Jump up ^ Mullins, Jenna ( 18 December 2014 ). `` NEWS / 56 Facts You May Not Know About Your Favorite Holiday Films ''. E ! News. Retrieved 17 June 2015. ^ Jump up to : Gary Susman ( 2013 - 12 - 24 ). `` ' Elf ' at 10 : Jon Favreau Reflects on Buddy 's Magical Legacy Movies News ''. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2014 - 02 - 21. Jump up ^ `` Explanation of the sound effect ''. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2014. ^ Jump up to : `` Will Ferrell in ' Elf '' Interview ``. Vimeo. Retrieved 2016 - 04 - 21. Jump up ^ Snipes, Stephanie ( November 7, 2003 ). `` How to create an ' Elf ' ''. CNN.com. CNN. Retrieved December 25, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Maurice LaMarche interview on Talk Radio Meltdown - Explanation of Buddy the Elf 's belch at 21 : 52 ''. Talk Radio Meltdown. Retrieved 27 May 2011. Jump up ^ `` Weekend Box Office Results for November 7 - 9, 2003 ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 9 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` Elf beats Crowe at US box office ''. bbc.co.uk. BBC News. 16 November 2003. Retrieved 2011 - 12 - 24. Jump up ^ `` Elf at Rotten Tomatoes ''. Flixster Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 31, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Elf ''. Metacritic. Retrieved May 31, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Elf -- CinemaScore ''. CinemaScore. Retrieved December 3, 2017. Jump up ^ Emerson, Jim ( 2003 - 11 - 07 ). `` Elf Movie Review & Film Summary ( 2003 ) ''. Roger Ebert. Retrieved 2014 - 02 - 21. Jump up ^ Travers, Peter ( November 7, 2003 ). `` ' Elf ' review ''. Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 3, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Elf Awards ''. IMDb. Retrieved 1 January 2010. Jump up ^ `` Christmas Movie Rankings : 10 Best Christmas Movies ''. Heavy.com. Jump up ^ `` 17 Favorite Christmas Movies ''. Huffington Post. December 24, 2012. Jump up ^ Dave Infante ( December 18, 2015 ). `` Best Christmas Movies including Home Alone, Scrooged, Muppet Christmas Carol ''. thrillist. Jump up ^ `` The 10 Greatest Christmas Movies Of All - Time, According To British People ''. cinemablend.com. Jump up ^ `` The 30 Best Christmas Movies Ever ''. empireonline.com. Bauer Consumer Media. December 2010. Retrieved 2011 - 12 - 24. Jump up ^ `` Merry Christmas ! The best Christmas movies ever ''. Daily News New York. 21 December 2011. Retrieved 2011 - 12 - 24. Jump up ^ `` Top 10 Christmas Movies ''. About.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2011 - 12 - 24. Jump up ^ Reynolds, Simon ( December 19, 2011 ). `` Muppet Christmas Carol tops Digital Spy favourite Christmas film poll ''. Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved December 24, 2011. Jump up ^ Hughes, Mark. `` Elf # 7 Forbes best christmas movies of all time ''. Jump up ^ `` Newsday Elf 7th best christmas film ''. Jump up ^ `` Guardian Greatest christmas movies Elf # 4 ''. HanMan. Jump up ^ `` Chicago tribune # 17 elf greatest christmas film of all time ''. HanMan. Jump up ^ `` SFC Elf # 4 Greatest christmas movie of all time ''. The San Francisco Chronicle. Jump up ^ Nashawaty, Chris ( 2011 - 12 - 26 ). `` Entertainment Weekly Greatest xmas movies of all time Elf # 4 ''. Jump up ^ `` Elf # 3 total film greatest xmas film of all time ''. Jump up ^ Couch, Aaron. `` Elf # 6 Greatest xmas film of all time ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Jump up ^ Hetrick, Adam. `` Beth Leavel, Mark Jacoby and George Wendt to Star in Elf -- The Musical on Broadway '' Archived 2010 - 08 - 15 at the Wayback Machine. playbill.com, August 11, 2010 Jump up ^ `` Elf Soundtrack ''. Amazon.com. Retrieved 1 January 2010. Jump up ^ `` Elf Original Soundtrack ''. Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 1 January 2010. Jump up ^ `` American certifications -- Elf : Music from the Major Motion Picture ''. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 7, 2014. Jump up ^ Caulfield, Keith ( December 6, 2014 ). `` Billboard 200 Chart Moves : ' Guardians ' on Cassette Cashes In ''. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 7, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Hollywood Studio Symphony ''. Retrieved 1 January 2010. External links Wikiquote has quotations related to : Elf Elf on IMDb Elf at AllMovie Elf at Box Office Mojo Elf at Rotten Tomatoes Elf at the Internet Broadway Database Films directed by Jon Favreau Made ( 2001 ) Elf ( 2003 ) Zathura : A Space Adventure ( 2005 ) Iron Man ( 2008 ) Iron Man 2 ( 2010 ) Cowboys & Aliens ( 2011 ) Chef ( 2014 ) The Jungle Book ( 2016 ) The Lion King ( 2019 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elf_(film)&oldid=816063508 '' Categories : 2003 films English - language films American films 2000s comedy films American adventure comedy films American children 's comedy films American Christmas films Elf ( film ) Elves in popular culture Fantasy - comedy films Films scored by John Debney Films directed by Jon Favreau Films set in department stores Films set in New York City Films shot in Vancouver Films using computer - generated imagery Films using stop - motion animation Films with live action and animation New Line Cinema films Santa Claus in film Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from November 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Čeština Dansk Deutsch Español فارسی Français 한국어 Italiano Македонски Nederlands 日本 語 Polski Português Română Русский Simple English Suomi Svenska ไทย 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 19 December 2017, at 00 : 47. 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Question: who played papa elf in the movie elf
Answer: Bob Newhart