Elf is a 2003 American Christmas comedy film directed by Jon Favreau, written by David Berenbaum, and starring Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, Daniel Tay, Bob Newhart and Ed Asner. The film centers on Buddy, a human who was adopted and raised by Santa's elves. He learns about this and heads to New York City to meet his biological father while also spreading Christmas cheer in a world of cynics in the process.

Plot

On Christmas Eve, a baby boy at an orphanage crawls into Santa Claus's sack, and is unwittingly transported back to the North Pole. When the baby is discovered at the workshop, the elves name him Buddy after the brand label on his diaper, and Papa Elf adopts and raises him. Buddy grows up at the North Pole, believing he is an elf and accepted by the elf community, but due to his human size, he is unable to keep up with the other elves and demoted to the demeaning job of toy testing. Soon, Buddy overhears that he is a human, and 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 as a children's book publisher at the Empire State Building in New York City, is unaware of Buddy's existence. To Buddy's horror, Santa reveals that Walter is on the naughty list due to his selfish and unscrupulous demeanor, but suggests Buddy could help redeem him.