The Top Ten Best Christmas Movies - 8. Elf

Hey Everybody,

We had such a good time doing our Halloween top ten that we thought we would do another one! Christmas is upon us and we thought we would try to come up with the ultimate top ten list that, in our minds, embodies the true meaning of Christmas.

Now, lately it seems as if the networks aren't interested in playing the classic Christmas movies of old. I keep seeing these crappy Scrooge rip offs over and over on all of the various networks. Like Mrs. Scrooge, Ebenezer, A Diva's Christmas Carol, A Carol Christmas. (With Tori Spelling, need I say more?) Not to mention these vapid, crappy and sacchrine kid flicks that are so PC they make me want to vomit. Thankfully I got our artist friends over at Cave Drawing Ink to help us conceptulize those memorable Christmas flicks of old. You can see our top ten here on the Bucket and on the Cave Drawing Ink site. Enjoy and have a Happy Holiday!

So far......

9.) Santa Claus: the Movie
10.) Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
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8.) Elf (2003): Buddy - "I passed through the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest, through the sea of swirly twirly gum drops, and then I walked through the Lincoln Tunnel."

- Sketch by Jeffrey Zacholl

Jeff: I'll be honest with you I've only seen Elf once since it's release in 2003, but I remember thinking this could become a Christmas classic. Will Farrell's Buddy is a naive and sweet guy, raised by Santa's Elves, and who is desperately looking for his long lost Dad. It's a little bizarre at first seeing James Caan in a movie like this but the old guy really holds his own. He serves as sort of a Scrooge/Grinch mix that has to find his heart again. Will Farrell is in top comedic form as his North Pole Elf tries to make sense of the Big Apple. There are some great moments with the Department Store elf, Jovie played by Zooey Deschanel. We are also treated to a really nice duet of Baby It's Cold Outside from Jovie and Buddy. She's got a great smoky voice, that's a real pleasure to listen to. I'm definitely going to check this one out again, and I recommend that you do the same.

Jen Huber: Anytime I get sad about a movie decision Will Ferrell has made, I know I can always turn to this movie. He makes this huge elf of a man innocent in a way that is so funny! I think my favorite character in this movie is James Caan as Buddy's business focused father. He appears to be so mean in the beginning, but honestly, who wouldn't be a little overwhelmed by a guy like Buddy? I think this was the first time I had seen Zooey Deschanel in a movie and I just remember thinking she was fantastic in an old hollywood way. This movie encourages people to accept others differences, even if they do put chocolate on their spaghetti. One of the best things about this movie is the way that Buddy keeps trying to be part of the family even when he isn't made to feel welcome. In the end, the Christmas miracle is that his newfound family becomes a loving family and his grinch of a father's heart grows three sizes.