By HILLARY EDMAN

Staff Writer

"Elf" is a refreshing, family Christmas movie for the young as well as the young at heart.

Director Jon Favreau creates a holiday flick that will leave the viewer singing "Santa's Coming to Town" all the way home. This yuletide film will have the viewer yearning for the Christmas spirit at the very start.

Will Ferrell, as Buddy, convincingly plays a naive human that was raised in the North Pole by Santa's elves.

Although Buddy is bigger than the rest, he is raised to believe that he, too, is an elf.

Buddy uncovers the truth, however, that he is a human and sets out on a journey to New York to find his real father.

Along the way, Buddy brings the spirit of Christmas and togetherness to the people of New York.

The sets, plot, costumes and the characters all add to the abundant hilarity of this film.

The creative camera angles and sets that help make Buddy look 10 times bigger are ingenious.

The audience cannot help but laugh when they see Buddy crying in an elf-sized bathroom, while sitting on a barely visible toilet.

The fact that Ferrell spends most of the 95 minutes of this film in body-bearing yellow tights, a ridiculous elf shirt and pair of curly-cue style elf shoes makes up a good bit of why this film is so funny.

Ferrell's portrayal of Buddy and his reaction to learning the ropes of New York life is what makes the plot.

Ferrell is one of the few actors who can pull off this character believably. The fact that he can deliver lines with a straight face such as, "Watch out! The yellow ones don't stop," after being hit by more than one taxi cab makes the film hilarious.

This is a light-hearted film the whole family can love. Although the plot is somewhat predictable and child-like, Ferrell's slap-stick quips and jokes give it a good balance.

The viewer cannot help but boil over with laughter when Buddy tries to reveal the real identity of the "Mall Santa" in front of hundreds of children. He proceeds to tell the "Mall Santa" that he is, "sitting on a throne of lies" and he "smells like beef and cheddar," something Buddy knows is not characteristic of the real Santa.

The movie never runs out of ways to keep the audience laughing and entertained.

"Elf" is an excellent attempt to bring back the Christmas spirit in everyone.