6. Elf (2003)
We like to smile, smiling is our favourite.
It couldn’t quite beat out The Matrix Revolutions upon its release, but Jon Favreau’s Elf has become a firm fan-favourite during the festive period. So much so that when it was pulled from Channel 4 to be a Sky exclusive here in the UK, there was a public uproar is if a Christmas tradition had been torn asunder!
Telling the story of a human raised as a Christmas elf who travels to New York to find his real father, Elf is a wonderfully sweet and tender movie that also manages to squeeze in a barrel load of laughs. Insanely quotable and unforgettable, Elf is now a bonafide Christmas classic that, like Bad Santa, has managed to evade a sequel – to the point where Will Ferrell turned down $29 million to do it!
Still, he did a sequel to Anchorman. So let’s see how Get Hard does before we can scratch off Elf 2 from his resume permanently…
With now yearly quote-a-longs at the Prince Charles Cinema among others, Elf could be argued as the most iconic Christmas movie of the last decade.
You can listen to the Flickering Myth Podcast’s thoughts on the Top 10 Christmas movies using the player below:
Originally published December 24, 2014. Updated July 3, 2023.
