NCFA Media : Archived News

"ELF" Misses The Mark On Adoption

Maybe I just ate too much this Thanksgiving, but as an adoption advocate, I thought TimeWarner’s new movie, “Elf,” was a turkey.

"Elf" is the story of a baby who crawls out of his crib and into Santa’s knapsack during Santa’s Christmas Eve visit to an orphanage. Baby is discovered when Santa returns to the North Pole. Santa’s elves adopt him, name him Buddy, and raise him as an elf.

No one tells Buddy he is adopted, and no one tells him he is human. He is left to wonder why he is many times the size of those around him. But if Buddy is overlarge physically, he makes up for it mentally. This adopted elf is so simpleminded that he’s painful to watch. As a veteran of kids’ movies, I’ve weathered talking animals, cloying children, and plots that take a backseat to mindless action. But I’m not used to a main character who insults the intelligence of even the youngest members of the audience. Adopted or not, Buddy, played by Saturday Night Live’s Will Ferrell, is just plain dumb.

When Buddy’s elf dad finally tells him he’s adopted, I found myself wincing. Buddy, age 30, is seated in his father’s lap, and the chair strains under his weight. Surprised by the news, Buddy sets off for the Big Apple to find his "real" father. His biological dad, corporate tough guy James Caan, initially rejects Buddy. But his dad’s wife thinks it’s just wonderful that her husband has another child. Is this the simplistic message we want to send about adoption searches that lack mutual consent?

"Elf" bothers me because it infantilizes an adopted adult, makes a mockery of a person’s adoption story, and suggests that adopted people need to find their biological families to feel whole, and will receive a warm welcome when they do so. In an era when we are so careful not to offend many other segments of society, this movie says that it’s still acceptable to make fun of adoption.

I have nothing against a little mindless entertainment during the holiday season. But for its inane portrayal of adoption, this movie deserves a lump of coal.

Rosemary C. McDonough
Board Member
National Council For Adoption
12/2/03