20 essential classic holiday films to watch this year

Elf (2003)

The most recent holiday addition to this list is Jon Favreau’s utterly adorable Elf. Elf follows Buddy (Will Ferrell), a human baby adopted and raised in the North Pole. Unfortunately, Buddy is different, unable to keep up with toy production and generally just being a human. Hoping to find out where he belongs, Buddy decides to go into the big city of New York to find his father (played by James Caan).

Elf is a film that works because of Will Ferrell, who creates a character that’s childlike and innocent, but eager to learn how the world works. What has allowed the film to endure, and remain so infectiously quotable, is Buddy’s excitement at seeing a different landscape, from the size of the toilets (“they’re ginormous”) to celebrating the world’s best cup of coffee. The others around him all assume he’s crazy, but you can’t help but fall for his eagerness.

The rest of the cast is stellar, from the acerbic James Caan to Zoey Deschanel as the somewhat surly manic pixie dream girl. There are moments within Elf that never fail to make me laugh, from Buddy sling-shotting himself onto the family Christmas tree, to his sad melancholy about ruining everyone’s life and “stuffing six cookies in the VCR.” See, I can’t help it. It’s impossible not to quote this film.

Rent on PlayStation, Amazon, YouTube, Google Play, and Vudu.

Tell us your go-to Christmas classic!