Hello everyone! 🙂
Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!
Last year, I shared my DVD/Blu-ray review on the Christmas film ‘Elf’ starring Will Ferrell. This year, I saw ‘Elf’ on the big screen at my local Showcase Cinema in Nantgarw. My parents and I had a great time seeing it. We didn’t have pizza and coke to watch it but we had a nice Christmas meal at a restaurant.
I also had a hot chocolate and a cookie before going in to see the film on the big screen. I was watching ‘Elf’ at the cinema in one of my Christmas pullovers and was wearing my Santa hat. Even Cuddles and Puddles, my cuddly toy dogs were in Christmas gear. 😀 It was all massive fun to see ‘Elf’ at the cinema.
‘Elf’ remains one of my favourite Christmas films from 2003. It’s amazing that it’s been 16 years since the film was released at cinemas. It doesn’t feel that long ago. Seeing it recently on the big screen was the first time I’d seen it at the cinema. I didn’t see it first time at the cinema. I saw it first time on DVD.
That was back in 2004. The film stands the test of time. The comedy and the jazzy-like music stand up pretty well. I recall people in the audience laughing out loud at the funny stuff. Even someone who came out watching it said they had a good time. It goes to show ‘Elf’ has won many people’s hearts. 🙂
The film’s director Jon Favreau has come a long way since making ‘Elf’. He’s directed ‘Zathura: A Space Adventure’, ‘Iron Man’, ‘Iron Man 2’, ‘The Jungle Book’ (2016) and ‘The Lion King’ (2019). He’s also played Happy Hogan in the ‘MCU’. But I still regard him highly directing this amazing Christmas classic.
Seeing ‘Elf’ on the big screen makes a huge difference, especially when you pick out certain details you hadn’t seen before. Having seen the film countless times over Christmas, I knew what the lines were going to be from each character. The comedy moments were still funny as my parents and I saw them.
It was a fun experience with me knowing the film off by heart and watching it on the big screen. I can imagine how people must’ve reacted to this film when they saw it on the big screen back in 2003. It must’ve been a great experience. It does well in combining both nostalgia and modern day at Christmas.
Will Ferrell still excels, giving 100% in his performance as Buddy the Elf. The rest of the cast are equally excellent including James Cann as Walter Hobbs, Zooey Deschanel as Jovie, Mary Steenburgen as Emily, Daniel Tay as Michael, Bob Newhart as Papa Elf and Edward Asner as Santa Claus. It’s all pretty brilliant!
The jazzy music featured in the film still excels in the film. Songs and numbers like ‘Pennies From Heaven’, ‘Sleigh Ride’, ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’, ‘The Nutcracker Suite’, etc, and the music composed by John Debney still please my Dad. It’s amazing to hear these jazz numbers and it makes me still feel Christmassy as I watch it on the big screen.
It’s still funny seeing Will Ferrell as Buddy call Peter Dinklage as Miles Finch ‘an angry elf’ and getting beaten up by him. The drinking a bottle of coke moment and Buddy burping out long and loud is still very funny. The stuff in the Gimbels store and Buddy revealing a fake Santa is still amusing to see on the big screen.
I reflect on how many Christmas films have been made recently. A lot of them don’t match to the charm and magic that is in ‘Elf’. What makes ‘Elf’ stand out so well is how good-spirited it is. Buddy trying to win his dad’s affection and spreading Christmas cheer to everyone is still very heart-warming.
I’m sure I’ll be seeing ‘Elf’ again soon for future Christmas viewings this year as well as for future years. Whether it’ll be on the big screen; currently on Blu-ray or on TV, I don’t know. But I’m very happy my parents and I saw ‘Elf’ on the big screen lately. It still remains a great Christmas film and one of my favourites!
Please feel free to check out my full DVD/Blu-ray review on ‘Elf’ in the link.
Enjoy! 🙂
Thanks for reading!
Bye for now!
Tim. 🙂
Bradley's Basement 