Outside of the usual features that came with the original DVD release, the ‘Sing/Cheer Along’ features during the film add some flavor to the film. The fact that the DVD release is only $9.99 helps to sell the concept. That said, if you don’t mind having another version of Elf on your shelf, then this is worth the price of admission, if not only to humor you and friends/family. The movie is fun without this stuff, but it’s definitely more humorous with it.
Who knew that Elf would have been such a huge holiday hit like it has been over the years? I think Will Ferrell and director Jon Favreau probably did, but beyond them, it was interesting to see how a silly comedy about an adult wearing yellow tights and posing as an elf would become such a holiday classic. I’m glad it did, though, as it’s now a family tradition in the Stevens household.
For those of you who may not know how the movie goes, Will Ferrell plays an elf/human named Buddy, who was adopted by Santa Claus after slipping into Santa’s toy bag during Santa’s trip to an orphanage. Buddy grows up an elf, does his best to fit in, but discovers at an adult age that he isn’t an elf at all, rather he is pure human. Getting over the fact that he is human, Buddy has an uncontrollable urge to meet his father, so he makes his way to New York City. Upon arrival, and after a few missteps in the mesmerizing cityscape, he finds his father is a naughty-list riding, grumpy editor for a children’s book company, and someone who has lost his Christmas spirit, as well as family values. After a few rough patches with Buddy convincing his father, Walter, that he is his son, Walter concedes to the notion of fatherhood after a DNA test and his relationship building with Buddy begins.
As the movie rolls on, and I’m sure you can imagine this, Buddy gets into some mischief with a department store called Gimbels (an actual department store from 1887-1987), creates issues with his father and his company, while also managing to re-establish some missing family values and Christmas spirit that Walter didn’t know he desperately needed. The third act of the film ends on a high note that features a lot of drama, singing, and scary looking horses.
Elf is a classic film that was well-written by writer David Berenbaum (people always forget writers — they drive the success train on films), and of course directed very well by Jon Favreau (director Iron Man, Chef, and the best Jungle Book ever). Again, it’s a family tradition for my homestead, a tradition that I don’t take lightly when it comes to inserting movies into our Christmas time. This film, as well as Love Actually, are the two newest entries into the holiday tradition at the Stevens household. You really have to be a good film to make it into the yearly viewing schedule, and Elf is definitely in there now.
Anyhoo, the latest version of Elf has hit the market on DVD and I have to say that I didn’t expect as much joy as I got from it. First, the DVD format threw me off a bit. Anytime a studio puts something only on DVD it generally means that the film isn’t that good, or they are trying to make a quick buck. While I know that isn’t the case with Elf, at least it not being very good, it was interesting why they would go the DVD route. Thankfully, the DVD format actually seems to have a purpose, which is to make the release cheaper in price. The movie doesn’t need a 1080p upgrade to have the additional features added to it. Warner Home Video made a great decision to put it on this format. They seemed to know what they had with the content, so no need to jack up the price for it or put it on an unnecessary format. The content was good enough for DVD, and it works on this format.
Speaking of content…
The second part of this release that concerned me was the ‘Sing & Cheer Along Edition’. The film didn’t have a bunch of singing int it, so I was a bit concerned that it would be empty on its promise. I mean, if you have three songs, that’s kinda sparse when it comes to fulfilling the singing portion of it. It wasn’t like the Sound of Music or some other musical. Thankfully, there was ‘enough’ singing to it to warrant that moniker. There is singing in it, sometimes ridiculous singing — when Buddy meets Walter for the first time, and the Christmas-esque subtitles help to make it fun to sing. The kids and I watched this and they sang during these moments, which made the viewing sorta fun. We aren’t the singing type of family, but the mixture of wacky humor and dumb songs, like the candy gram song, made it fun and relevant.
The ‘cheer’ portion of the release was random facts about content as it emerged. For example, if Buddy said something like, “Cotton-headed Ninny Muggins”, the screen would say there are worst words than that and actually provide those words. And yes, they are as ridiculous as you might imagine, but nonetheless ‘pop-up-video’ entertaining. You also get some graphics here and there that crop up during playback. For example, when Buddy is hopping the crosswalk during his NYC introduction, you get some magical sprinkle trails coming from his jumps. It doesn’t add a heckuva whole lot to the experience, but it pushes the humor a bit thicker during such times. Again, the kids enjoyed it very much.
Outside of the usual features that came with the original DVD release, the ‘Sing/Cheer Along’ features during the film add some flavor to the film. The fact that the DVD release is only $9.99 helps to sell the concept. That said, if you don’t mind having another version of Elf on your shelf, then this is worth the price of admission, if not only to humor you and friends/family. The movie is fun without this stuff, but it’s definitely more humorous with it.
