Elf is a 2003 American Christmas comedy film produced by Jon Berg, Todd Komarnicki and Shauna Robertson, directed by Jon Favreau with music by John Debney and written by David Berenbaum. It stars Will Ferrell, James Caan, Bob Newhart, Ed Asner, and Zooey Deschanel. It was released in the United States on November 7, 2003 by New Line Cinema. The story is about one of Santa's elves who learns of his true identity as a human and goes to New York City to meet his biological father, spreading Christmas cheer in a world of cynics as he goes. The film earned $220.4 million world wide on a $33 million budget. The movie inspired the 2010 broadway musical Elf: The Musical and NBC's 2014 stop-motion animated television special Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas. More: en.wikipedia.org.