Friday, 1 December 2023

VOD: Elf Me (dir: Younuts!, 2023)

"Never stop dreaming, even when you are awake."

This well-made and well-played family Christmas offering from Italy via MGM/Amazon covers four days leading up to Christmas, as one of Santa's crafter elves - an anarchic inventor called Trip - finds himself catapulted into the real world and the life of a sweet, lonely, bullied boy called Elia.  Clearly Amblin-inspired (notably E.T. and Gremlins), the film balances fantasy and the real world elements nicely and has a fun streak of rebellious daftness running through it, all driven by two lovely performances from Pasquale Petrolo (Trip) and  Federico Ielapi (Elia), who play off each other delightfully.  Simple, small-scale, charming and funny, Elf Me is a gentle, delightful, snowy and warm-hearted festive treat best watched in its original language (although the English dub is reasonable), and watch the bloopers playing through the end credits.
 

No comments: