This hilarious Christmas film tells the tale of a young orphan child who mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts on Christmas Eve and is transported back to the North Pole and raised as an elf. Years later Buddy learns he is not really an elf and goes on a journey to New York City to find his true identity.
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Video Quality
The 4K UHD Blu-Ray of Elf offers a tremendous uptick in quality over the ancient Blu-Ray from 2008 which has always been a disappointment. Unlike some of the other recent 4K UHD Christmas releases, this package does not come with a remastered Blu-Ray disc – just the same old dusty master as before. It would not surprise us to learn that this is derived from a new 4K scan of the Original Camera Negative due to the marked improvements across the board. Trust us, Elf can look much better than what you might be used to with the old Blu-Ray.
One of the areas that starts this transfer out on the right foot is the natural film grain which has not had any major digital tinkering applied, leaving this disc free of ugly DNR, compression artifacts and other encode issues. Throughout you are treated to well-resolved grain that avoids being clumpy or swarming across the screen. Skin tones appear slightly pink with a stellar amount of detail apparent on faces such as lines and makeup. The dazzling production design in the North Pole and within the department store is presented with such clarity that you will be taken aback by how much new information you take in. There are textures that you never had on your radar visible for the first time. Nothing ever stutters or loses its definition at any point.
This disc really knows how to show off as it takes this candy-colored aesthetic and finds nuances within the hues. The HDR10 really brings the Christmas spirit to your living room as each stunning environment brings a new level of wonder to the table. The highlights in the film are more pure with greater definition and balance with no instances of blooming to be found even in the bright snow. The black levels maintain impeccable shadow detail, staying deep and inky with no hint of crush or compression artifacts. This is a very satisfying transfer that completely demolishes the old presentation and should make your holidays extra bright.
Audio Quality
This 4K UHD Blu-Ray disc comes with a new DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that delivers a presentation worthy of the film. The spritely score and key songs performed (for all to hear) really permeate the room in a lovely manner. From the opening notes, you never experience anything in the way of age-related distortion. The track does not go overboard with the low end in a significant way, but it kicks in when necessary like when Santa’s sleigh fires up. The movie is dialogue heavy and clarity is never an issue even in the busiest scenes. The track makes good use of the surround speakers with environmental flourishes and sound effects adding a lot of nuanced activity. Warner Bros. has done some great work with this one. There are English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles provided.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary #1: Director Jon Favreau provides a really solid, technically-driven track in which he discusses trying to include as much practical work as possible, preserving a nostalgic feeling for adults, working with babies, the secrets of forced perspective, working with claymation, the casting of certain characters and more.
- Audio Commentary #2: Actor Will Ferrell provides a pretty decent track in which he discusses what drew him to the project, developing the character, wearing the elf suit, and more. This is much more subdued than you would expect from the actor, but it’s informative all the same.
- Documentaries: An assortment of featurettes are provided here which give you insights into the production of the film, the themes being explored, the release of the picture and more.
- Tag Along With Will Ferrell (7:02)
- Film School For Kids (20:38)
- How They Made The North Pole (11:31)
- Lights, Camera, Puffin! (6:37)
- That’s A Wrap…(12:13)
- Kids On Christmas (6:32)
- Deck The Halls (10:26)
- Santa Mania (6:30)
- Christmas In Tinseltown (6:51)
- Fact Track: An option to watch the film with a text track that gives you some interesting information throughout.
- Focus Points: An option to watch the film with the option to dig into more behind-the-scenes content.
- Elf Karaoke
- “We Wish You A Merry Christmas”
- “Deck The Halls”
- “Jingle Bells”
- Deleted Scenes: There are eight unused scenes provided here totaling nearly 12 minutes which are not too essential but offer a good amount of entertainment. These scenes are provided with optional audio commentary from Director Jon Favreau.
- Trailer: The two-and-a-half minute theatrical trailer is provided here which does a good job of getting you excited for the film.
Final Thoughts
Elf is a modern holiday classic which has rightfully earned its place as a fixture of many family’s viewing schedules every year. Will Ferrell delivers a terrific balance of childlike wonder and joy with more emotional beats which get to the root of the season. This is a film that just works on every level that it is trying to achieve with care put into every choice. This is the perfect film to make you feel festive during the end of the year. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has delivered a 4K UHD Blu-Ray that handily beats any previous release with a stellar A/V presentation and a top notch array of legacy special features. If you are a fan of the film, you owe it to yourself to pick up this new package. Highly Recommended
Elf is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.