Elf
Buddy’s Sing & Cheer Along Edition
DVD
Directed by Jon Favreau
Written by David Berenbaum
Starring Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, Edward Asner, Daniel Tay, Faizon Love, Peter Dinklage, Leon Redbone
Warner Brothers
Not Rated | 97 minutes
Release Date: November 27, 2018

Elf is the story of Buddy (Will Ferrell), an orphan who as a baby, crawled into Santa’s bag and accidentally went to the North Pole. One of the elves (Bob Newhart) decides to raise him as his own. 30 years later, Buddy is the biggest elf in the toyshop and not very good at making toys. He accidentally overhears that not only is he not an elf, but he is a human and his father is in New York City. Not only that, he is on the “naughty list.” Hoping to find him anyway for a special reunion, Buddy begins his journey to New York for Christmas.

Up
5-Disc 3D/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital l 4-Disc Blu-ray l 3-Disc Blu-ray
Directed by Pete Docter
Starring Edward Asner, Jordan Nagai, Christopher Plummer, Bob Peterson
Disney-Pixar
Release Date: December 4, 2012

Get ready to soar into Pixar’s tenth film, the studio’s first Oscar-nominated feature for Best Picture and quite possibly its most sentimental. Though Up already claims a place in our hearts – and on store shelves – now it has arrived on Blu-ray 3D. Is this new five-disc package worth the price? Let us hover toward a review of this emotional roller coaster.

Whether you caught Up in theaters or in its earlier home video release – or perhaps this may be your first screening – every viewing promotes laughs, tears, and much self-reflection. The most epically simple romance between balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen and his adoring wife Ellie is a testament to Pixar’s genius, in eliciting every emotion in the book in the span of ten minutes. Their darling story, which pervades past their marriage, transcends the medium of film. Up‘s tastefully-done treatment of love and loss captures the nostalgic filmmaking of bygone decades. As Carl realizes his lifelong aspiration to fly his home to Paradise Falls, the supposedly real quest takes off. But we know that while “adventure is out there,” the true adventure is that of living, making memories, and loving others.