Elf - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Elf



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
I’m going to admit something here. I was never a fan of Elf that much. I always felt bad around Christmas time as every one of my friends and relatives would excitedly want to watch Elf for the holiday viewing parties, and I just had to smile and sort of watch along from the back of the room wondering when it was going to be over. It’s never been that it’s a badly written story. It’s never been that every other holiday movie is simply better acted. It’s really a fact that Will Ferrell’s “man baby” act had worn pretty thin by then. I admit to loving many of Will’s movies over the years, but for some reason Elf has just never struck my funny bone, and I end up fast forwarding through many of the scenes with Ferrell acting like a 12 year old as I’ve never found that aspect of his humor funny. Re watching the film some 10 years after I’ve last seen it on Blu-ray hasn’t netted any major changes in my opinion either. It’s a fun enough family film with a few good laughs, and I know I’m definitely in the minority, the film is still a barely above average Christmas flick. Even in 4K.

The film revolves around Buddy the Elf, a human child who accidentally crawled into Santa’s (Ed Asner) bag during jolly old St. Nick’s visits to an orphanage, and subsequently is raised as an Elf at the north pole. However, Buddy (now played by Will Ferrell) just can’t seem to fit in. He’s taller than everyone else, he can’t seem to make toys like the professional elves, and no matter what he does, he just can’t seem to measure up. His life comes crashing to an end when he accidentally overhears that he’s actually a human and not an Elf, prompting him to as Santa if he can travel from the North Pole to find his real dad.

Getting to New York City to find his father Walter (the late James Caan), Buddy soon finds out that the real world isn’t as happy and joy filled as Santa’s workshop. Walter is a big editing tycoon who’s kind of on Santa’s naughty list, and despite his best efforts, Buddy is shunned by his old man. Taking up work as an elf in a mall store, Buddy soon finds new friends in the form of disenchanted “elf” Jovie (Zooey Deschanel), as well as his step brother Michael (Daniel Tay). And lo and behold, through the power of love, charm and Will Ferrell’s simple Buddy, Christmas just may bringe a few more gifts than hastily wrapped presents under the tree.

Elf has it’s moments, but it suffers from too much Will Ferrell. Will’s little man child act gets grating really fast, with Buddy the Elf seeming less and less like a fun character, and more and more like an over done cliché by the 30 minute part. Not to mention his and Jovie’s romance feels really awkward and kind of wrong. That being said, there is some genuinely funny moments through the movie, especially with Ed Asner’s Santa and an insanely funny cameo by Peter Dinklage as an egotistical children’s book writer. Scott Caan does a solid job with the Scrooge esque style father who needs to learn the lesson of live, but I really enjoyed Daniel Tay’s portrayal as Michael. He has an honest and rather enjoyable persona on screen.




Rating:

Rated PG for some mild rude humor and language




4K Video: Video:

I remember the 2008 Blu-ray looking rather good for being an early format disc. However, looking back on the disc it hasn’t aged as well as I remember. The VC-1 encoded Blu-ray (which is found in this set) is a bit worn, slightly smeary looking, and has some dulled colors that just aren’t that great when compared with modern day mastered Blu-rays. However, the new 4K UHD disc blows it straight out of the water and runs circles around the 2008 Blu-ray. The Colors are really rich and vibrant, adding a ton of punch to things like Buddy’s green jacket, or the bright red of Santa’s sleigh. Black levels are deep and inky and the film’s detail levels are so much better. There’s a definite layer of grain over the whole production, but the old disc’s detail levels don’t even come close to this 4K set.

My one complaint is due to the HDR coloring and skin tones. The film tends to be very bright and colorful, but I noticed in dark shots that skin tones would lean really heavily red and ruddy looking. This was especially true when looking at Jovie in dim lighting with her blonde hair. The reddish facial tones are a bit garrish rusty looking, and stand out a bit too sharply from the backgrounds. It’s not major, but it is a weird artifact of the disc and stands out in a couple of scenes.








Audio:

Instead of the 5.1 Dolby TrueHD track of the Blu-ray, we have a newly done 5.1 DTS-HD MA track. At first I thought it was a simple re-encode of the TrueHD track into DTS-HD MA, but upon listening to the two side by side it’s pretty obvious that this is a remixed track. It’s not going to be night and day different than the old mix, but I noticed a more robust feeling to the mix, with stronger bass levels during the final conflict with Santa’s sleigh, and a slightly more immersive surround usage. It’s still a dialog heavy film with lots of music to keep the surrounds active, and not going to be a powerhouse mix by any stretch of the imagination, but the experience is quite good and should please fans.








Extras:

• Audio commentary by director Jon Favreau
• Audio commentary by Will Ferrell
• Deleted and Alternate Scenes
• Behind the Scenes Featurettes:
-- "Tag Along with Will Ferrell"
-- "How They Made the North Pole"
-- "Lights Camera Puffin"
-- "That's a Wrap"
-- "Kids on Christmas"
-- "Deck the Halls"
-- "Santa Mania"
-- "Christmas in Tinseltown"
• Music From Elf
• Elf Karaoke
• Theatrical Trailer

Final Score: ​

Elf is a fun little romp that could have been a lot better if Will Ferrell hadn’t insisted on doing his man child routine that he’s sort of over done a million times. It’s cute, has some great cameos (including Ray Harryhausen as the voice of the polar bear cub) and seems to be a classic film among many Christmas aficionados, so take my lackluster take on the film with a grain of salt (bah, humbug). The 4K UHD disc seriously blows the Blu-ray out of the water though, with a stunning new transfer and a slightly upgraded audio mix as well. Fans of the movie will definitely be impressed with the new set, and is highly recommended for them.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Will Ferrell, Scott Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Peter Dinklage
Directed by: Jon Favreau
Written by: David Berenbaum
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, French, Spanish DD 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Warner
Rated: PG
Runtime: 97 Minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: November 1st, 2022

Recommendation: Great Buy for the Fans

 

[Asere]

My family loves this film and we watch it every year. Call me Elf again lol. I am glad you got to review it because we own the bluray and I was not sure until now if the 4K would be better or look about the same.

 

[Michael Scott]

My family loves this film and we watch it every year. Call me Elf again lol. I am glad you got to review it because we own the bluray and I was not sure until now if the 4K would be better or look about the same.

Oh yeah. If you're a fan the 4k tears the old blu-ray apart

 

[Asere]

I placed an order

 

[Todd Anderson]

This is a good one! Glad to see this land with a big update!

 

[thepiecesfit]

Finally, a review that calls out the color timing and skin tones issue. I would have loved to see a scan that closely resembled the blu ray. For me this completely changes the feel of the movie in a very unfavorable way. The open shadows, neutral colors and original color timing worked well to compliment the comedy and Christmas theme of this film. Not sure why they needed to mess with it.

 

[Michael Scott]

Finally, a review that calls out the color timing and skin tones issue. I would have loved to see a scan that closely resembled the blu ray. For me this completely changes the feel of the movie in a very unfavorable way. The open shadows, neutral colors and original color timing worked well to compliment the comedy and Christmas theme of this film. Not sure why they needed to mess with it.

it's honestly not that bad most of the time, but when it's obvious, it's REALLY obvious. Especially when looking at Zooey in low light where it comes out and slaps you in the face

 

[Asere]

We just finished watching Elf and you are right the 4K is night and day from the bluray. Much deeper blacks and chroma. My wife hardly makes any comments and today she said wow looks much nicer.

 

[Michael Scott]

We just finished watching Elf and you are right the 4K is night and day from the bluray. Much deeper blacks and chroma. My wife hardly makes any comments and today she said wow looks much nicer.

glad you liked the boost in quality