Buddy The Elf Motif

Jon Favreau’s “Elf”, released in November 2003, is a comedic Christmas movie that follows Buddy the Elf in NYC. In the movie, Buddy is a human who was raised by Christmas elves at the North Pole but goes to New York to find his biological dad- Walter. Therefore, I will be discussing the different acts and symbols present throughout the film. Additionally, this essay will analyze how the plot, characters, and theme of “finding and staying true to yourself” are developed through the progression of the film Elf. To begin, the first act is where we are introduced to the main characters and plot of the film. This is where Buddy realizes he does not fit in with the other elves and decides to adventure off to New York to connect with Walter. Consequently,

Thus, Buddy is at first not accepted by Walter and he ends up at Gimbels- a major toy store in Manhattan, where he meets Jovie. She is at first very closed off and reserved towards Buddy and the holiday spirit. After Walter does a paternity test on Buddy, he allows him to stay at his house with his family and Buddy meets Emily and Michael. Michael is Buddy’s half brother and is closed off towards him and thinks he is weird. After Michael and Buddy enter a snowball fight and win, Michael changes his opinion of Buddy and even offers him advice on Jovie leading to a childlike yet adorable date. This is where both Michael and Jovie’s characters develop and they both start to act more true to themselves. This is because Michael was not used to having a companion and Jovie was dealing with the stresses of life crushing both of their Christmas spirits but Buddy, staying true to himself, brought out their true personalities. This is also a turning point in the movie because Buddy ecstatically barges into Walter’s office during an important meeting to tell him how he loves Jovie, which causes Walter to lash out at him, and essentially kick him out of his