Raised at the North Pole as one of Santa's toy-makers after crawling into a gift sack as a baby, the impossibly cheerful Buddy never quite fits among the elves who tower a foot below him. Learning he is human, he journeys to New York to find his real father, a cynical workaholic on the naughty list, spreading maple-syrup-and-candy enthusiasm through a city that has forgotten how to believe. Jon Favreau crafts a warm-hearted, instantly beloved holiday comedy, and Will Ferrell's wide-eyed, guileless performance turns childlike wonder into pure joy. Sweet without being saccharine, it has become a modern Christmas perennial.