One of the most hilarious, heartfelt and endearing Christmas movies is celebrating a milestone. Ready to sing with Will Ferrell’s Buddy? The 15th anniversary Elf edition is entitled Buddy’s Sing & Cheer Along Edition and is out now on DVD and digital. Not only is it a great present for any movie lover on your list, but it surely something you’re going to want in your library as well. Heck, this release could be the centerpiece of some seriously popular Christmas parties this season!
Elf was directed by Jon Favreau (who went on to helm a little indie called Iron Man and another—The Jungle Book. The comedic touch of the director is sublime and illustrates his Midas touch by taking an out-there subject matter and turning it into one of the most popular holiday movies and most profitable seasonal flicks of all time.
Buddy (Will Ferrell) is an Elf, but he certainly does not look (or act) like any of the other elves in Santa’s North Pole workshop. That is because Buddy is not an elf, he is a human being who became separated from his parents when he was young and was raised by elves in the perfect place for someone who adores Christmas as much as Buddy does. When the truth hits Buddy (hard) that he is a human being, he decides to take on a pilgrimage to his birthplace, New York City, and find his folks.
Sadly, his papa (James Caan) turns out to be more like Scrooge than Santa. One thing becomes clear to Buddy, his pops has no Christmas spirit and there is nothing more off-putting to the Elven raised kid. He decides to ignore his father’s “go away” sentiment upon discovering that he has a son he never knew, and to attach himself to his dad to help him rediscover the joys of the season.
The original script, which is a delight, was penned by David Berenbaum and features a stellar ensemble. Caan and Ferrell are joined by Zooey Deschanel, Mary Ste3enburgen, Peter Dinklage, Faizon Love, Amy Sedaris, Edward Asner (as Santa!), Andy Richter and Bob Newhart (as Papa Elf.)
The Elf sing-along features a bouncing elf hat that appears whenever it’s time to sing with the film. There are a slew of goofy and adorable sonic moments that will have the entire family singing with glee along with Ferrell and his cinematic cohorts.
Another bonus feature for this terrific and timely DVD release are Buddy’s Best Lines. And oft-quoted movie classic, Elf’s most legendary lines will get the dash, dance and scream on screen moments letting all know that these are the movie minutes that you’ll be quoting for years to come.
A virtual book, Buddy’s Big Book of Elf Culture, is another treat of a featurette that finds Buddy’s in-depth and behind-the-scenes thoughts on what it means to be an elf. Toy-making tips to elfin dance moves that are sure to make you smile at the least and spur you to try them out at the most!
As anyone who adores Elf can tell you, Buddy loves his sugar-soaked goodness. Sweet Treats highlights some of our favorite six-foot-plus elf’s most tasty treats from the flick and includes recipes for them so you can enjoy them yourself! Is that a great idea or what? Kind of wish Eat Pray Love did that!
The Clausometer tracks Buddy’s holiday spirit as the film progresses and lets us know where on the scale of Christmas fanatic to Scrooge that we find Buddy. Also, a joy is Buddy’s Buddies that find his North Pole pals popping up on the screen during special moments of the movie. Their animated version will be something everyone will want to keep an eye out for throughout Elf.
Like pop-up video from back in the day, Fun Facts and Trivia is a featurette that showcase pop-up information from Buddy’s journey that will brush you up on all things Elf for those movie trivia nights at the local watering hole.
Also included are the special features from the previous home video releases of Elf, including the delightful commentaries by Will Ferrell and Jon Favreau during the flick, deleted or alternate scenes, and nine featurettes that have become classics. You won’t want to miss Tag Along with Will Ferrell, Film School for Kids, How They Made the North Pole, Kids on Christmas and Santa Mania.
Film Grade: A
Bonus Features: A