Elf

(SPOILERS: Elf) Last post I discussed the external journey of Buddy the elf in Elf (written by David Berenbaum). Today I want to discuss Buddy’s internal journey, often referred to as the character arc. It is a little difficult to identify Buddy’s arc in Elf because his personality at the end of the movie is much the same as it was in the beginning. In fact, it took me a little thought to ...

Elf is a near-perfect Christmas movie that demands an annual viewing around the holiday season — but there’s one specific way that the film has aged poorly. On paper, Elf sounds like a terrible idea that shouldn’t work. A grown man wandering around New York in an elf costume sounds more like nightmare fuel than the premise for a heartwarming yuletide classic. But Jon Favreau’s sincere direction and Will Ferrell’s unwavering commitment to the bit made Elf an unlikely hit when it arrived in theaters in 2003.