Best movies like Elf
Last updated March 2024
Looking for movies related to Elf? Share your familiarity to navigate others to movies and tv shows you've viewed before that may likewise appeal to them. Support broadening the network of people mentioning videos to one another. We appreciate your involvement!
Plot Summary:
When young Buddy falls into Santa's gift sack on Christmas Eve, he's transported back to the North Pole and raised as a toy-making elf by Santa's helpers. But as he grows into adulthood, he can't shake the nagging feeling that he doesn't belong. Buddy vows to visit Manhattan and find his real dad, a workaholic publisher.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 298000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: funny, feel good, humorous, christmas special, light, entertaining, hilarious, touching, sweet, absurd
Best tv shows and movies like Elf (2003):
Similar in 75%
Snow Day (2000)
Plot Summary:
When a school in upstate New York is snowed in, a group of students hi-jack a plow to keep the school closed.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: feel good, humorous, melancholic, entertaining, semi serious, scary, romantic, clever, unusual plot structure, sweet
Similar in 79%
Snow (2004)
Plot Summary:
Set in San Ernesto, California with only three days before Christmas, Nick Snowden needs to rescue a young reindeer from a zoo.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, feel good, humorous, semi serious
Similar in 86%
Call Me Claus (2001)
Plot Summary:
If She's Going To Save Christmas, She's Got Some Big Shoes To Fill.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: feel good, humorous, semi serious, entertaining
Similar in 82%
A Fairly Odd Christmas (2012)
Plot Summary:
After Timmy Turner causes Santa amnesia he must become the new Santa in order to save Christmas.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 68 min
Plot tags: christmas special, feel good, humorous, captivating, light, semi serious
Similar in 89%
Hook (1991)
Plot Summary:
The boy who wasn't supposed to grow up—Peter Pan—did just that, becoming a soulless corporate lawyer whose workaholism could cost him his wife and kids. But a trip to see Granny Wendy in London, where the vengeful Capt. Hook kidnaps Peter's kids and forces Peter to return to Neverland, could lead to a chance at redemption, in this family-oriented fantasy from director Steven Spielberg.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 269000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 142 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, sweet, stylized, feel good, inspirational, touching, entertaining, sentimental, humorous, exciting
Similar in 82%
Ernest Saves Christmas (1988)
Plot Summary:
When Santa Claus decides to retire and pass on his magic bag of Christmas surprises to a new Saint Nick, he enlists the aid of a hilarious assortment of characters. A perky teen runaway and hapless taxi driver Ernest P. Worrell must convince a skeptical kiddie-show host to take over the post of Father Christmas.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: light, humorous, melancholic, surreal, entertaining, intense, feel good, not serious, light hearted, independent film
Similar in 78%
Santa Buddies (2009)
Plot Summary:
When Puppy Paws (the fun-loving son of Santa Paws) gets bored, he finds Budderball on Santa's naughty list and figures he's just the dog to show him how to be an ordinary pup. When the magical Christmas Icicle starts to melt however, and the world begins to forget the true meaning of the season, it's up to Puppy Paws and his newfound Buddies to journey back to the North Pole and save Christmas.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: Canada, USA, UK
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: feel good, fairy tale, sweet, light, exciting, touching, offbeat, humorous, semi serious
Similar in 82%
Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011)
Plot Summary:
Jim Carrey stars as Tom Popper, a successful businessman who’s clueless when it comes to the really important things in life...until he inherits six “adorable” penguins, each with its own unique personality. Soon Tom’s rambunctious roommates turn his swank New York apartment into a snowy winter wonderland — and the rest of his world upside-down.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 104000
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: funny, humorous, entertaining, feel good, light, slapstick, sweet, sentimental, touching, uplifting
Similar in 81%
The Perfect Holiday (2007)
Plot Summary:
A young girl turns to a department store Santa in the hopes that he will help find a new husband for her divorced mother.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: sweet, feel good, humorous, light, black comedy, touching, realistic, semi serious, fairy tale, sentimental
Similar in 84%
Spirited (2022)
Plot Summary:
Each Christmas Eve, the Ghost of Christmas Present selects one dark soul to be reformed by a visit from three spirits. But this season, he picked the wrong Scrooge. Clint Briggs turns the tables on his ghostly host until Present finds himself reexamining his own past, present and future.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 46000
Genere: Comedy, Family, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: emotional, buddy comedy, feel good
Similar in 83%
All I Want for Christmas (1991)
Plot Summary:
Two New York City children who launch a hilarious scheme to get what they most want this holiday season.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy, Family, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: feel good, semi serious, touching, humorous, realistic, emotional, offbeat
Similar in 88%
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
Plot Summary:
Instead of flying to Florida with his folks, Kevin ends up alone in New York, where he gets a hotel room with his dad's credit card—despite problems from a clerk and meddling bellboy. But when Kevin runs into his old nemeses, the Wet Bandits, he's determined to foil their plans to rob a toy store on Christmas eve.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 388000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: feel good, funny, humorous, hilarious, slapstick, exciting, christmas special, cute, sweet, parody
Similar in 84%
Are We There Yet? (2005)
Plot Summary:
The fledgling romance between Nick, a playboy bachelor, and Suzanne, a divorced mother of two, is threatened by a particularly harrowing New Years Eve. When Suzanne's work keeps her in Vancouver for the holiday, Nick offers to bring her kids to the city from Portland, Oregon. The kids, who have never liked any of the men their mom dates, are determined to turn the trip into a nightmare for Nick.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 34000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: funny, humorous, feel good, slapstick, entertaining, road movie, inspirational, touching, black comedy, family comedy
Similar in 81%
Daddy's Home 2 (2017)
Plot Summary:
Brad and Dusty must deal with their intrusive fathers during the holidays.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 80000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: light, funny, sentimental, feel good, humorous, captivating, emotional, saga, meta, cult classic
Similar in 84%
Surviving Christmas (2004)
Plot Summary:
Drew Latham is an executive leading an empty, shallow life with only wealth on his side. Facing another lonely Christmas ahead, he revisit his old childhood home in the hope of reliving some old holiday memories – but he finds that the house in which he was raised is no longer the home in which he grew up.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Comedy, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: humorous, feel good, funny, entertaining, hilarious, light, captivating, black comedy, teen, happy
Similar in 81%
The Princess Bride (1987)
Plot Summary:
In this enchantingly cracked fairy tale, the beautiful Princess Buttercup and the dashing Westley must overcome staggering odds to find happiness amid six-fingered swordsmen, murderous princes, Sicilians and rodents of unusual size. But even death can't stop these true lovebirds from triumphing.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 444000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, feel good, touching, entertaining, funny, sweet, romantic, hilarious, romantic comedy, parody
Similar in 79%
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006)
Plot Summary:
Now that Santa and Mrs. Claus have the North Pole running smoothly, the Counsel of Legendary Figures has called an emergency meeting on Christmas Eve! The evil Jack Frost has been making trouble, looking to take over the holiday! So he launches a plan to sabotage the toy factory and compel Scott to invoke the little-known Escape Clause and wish he'd never become Santa.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 42000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: feel good, christmas special, humorous, semi serious, fairy tale, sweet, entertaining, mysterious, exciting, funny
Similar in 85%
Noelle (2019)
Plot Summary:
Kris Kringle's daughter, Noelle, sets off on a mission to find and bring back her brother, after he gets cold feet when it's his turn to take over as Santa.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 26000
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: light, fairy tale, feel good, humorous, exciting, captivating, entertaining, naughty, gay cinema
Similar in 75%
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
Plot Summary:
It's Christmas time and the Griswolds are preparing for a family seasonal celebration, but things never run smoothly for Clark, his wife Ellen and their two kids. Clark's continual bad luck is worsened by his obnoxious family guests, but he manages to keep going knowing that his Christmas bonus is due soon.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 211000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: funny, humorous, feel good, christmas special, slapstick, light, hilarious, entertaining, sentimental, inspirational
Similar in 83%
Bedtime Stories (2008)
Plot Summary:
Skeeter Bronson is a down-on-his-luck guy who's always telling bedtime stories to his niece and nephew. But his life is turned upside down when the fantastical stories he makes up for entertainment inexplicably turn into reality. Can a bewildered Skeeter manage his own unruly fantasies now that the outrageous characters and situations from his mind have morphed into actual people and events?.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 100000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: feel good, fairy tale, funny, romantic, humorous, light, sweet, predictable, slapstick, surreal
Similar in 84%
The Christmas Chronicles (2018)
Plot Summary:
Siblings Kate and Teddy try to prove Santa Claus is real, but when they accidentally cause his sleigh to crash, they have to save Christmas.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 81000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: light, sincere, atmospheric, sentimental, feel good, captivating, fairy tale, funny, mysterious, stylized
Similar in 86%
Fred Claus (2007)
Plot Summary:
Fred Claus and Santa Claus have been estranged brothers for many years. Now Fred must reconcile his differences with his brother whom he believes overshadows him. When an efficiency expert assesses the workings at the North Pole and threatens to shut Santa down, Fred must help his brother to save Christmas.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 47000
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: sentimental, humorous, light, melancholic, semi serious, slapstick, exciting, fairy tale, mysterious, surreal
Similar in 79%
Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
Plot Summary:
A little girl discovers dreams can come true if you really believe. Six-year-old Susan Walker has doubts about childhood's most enduring miracle - Santa Claus. Her mother told her the 'secret' about Santa a long time ago. But after meeting a special department store Santa who's convinced he's the real thing, Susan is given the most precious gift of all something to believe in.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 42000
Genere: Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, sentimental, touching, feel good, inspirational, uplifting, humorous, semi serious, independent film, light
Similar in 90%
The Santa Clause (1994)
Plot Summary:
Scott Calvin is an ordinary man, who accidentally causes Santa Claus to fall from his roof on Christmas Eve and is knocked unconscious. When he and his young son finish Santa's trip and deliveries, they go to the North Pole, where Scott learns he must become the new Santa and convince those he loves that he is indeed, Father Christmas.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 130000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: feel good, touching, sentimental, light, sweet, entertaining, fairy tale, semi serious, funny, hilarious
Similar in 87%
Christmas with the Kranks (2004)
Plot Summary:
Luther Krank is fed up with the commerciality of Christmas; he decides to skip the holiday and go on a vacation with his wife instead. But when his daughter decides at the last minute to come home, he must put together a holiday celebration.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 55000
Genere: Comedy, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: feel good, humorous, funny, satirical, slapstick comedy, slapstick, entertaining, cult classic, christmas comedy, witty
Similar in 88%
Home Alone (1990)
Plot Summary:
Eight-year-old Kevin McCallister makes the most of the situation after his family unwittingly leaves him behind when they go on Christmas vacation. But when a pair of bungling burglars set their sights on Kevin's house, the plucky kid stands ready to defend his territory. By planting booby traps galore, adorably mischievous Kevin stands his ground as his frantic mother attempts to race home before.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 626000
Genere: Comedy, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: funny, light, humorous, not serious, slapstick comedy, hilarious, slapstick, feel good, clever, christmas special
Similar in 79%
The Santa Clause 2 (2002)
Plot Summary:
Better watch out! The big guy in red is coming to town once again. This time, Scott Calvin -- also known as Santa Claus -- finds out there's an obscure clause in his contract requiring him to take on a wife. He has to leave the North Pole to fulfill his obligations, or else he'll be forced to give up his Yuletide gig.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 63000
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, humorous, feel good, light, entertaining, touching, christmas special, semi serious, funny, exciting
Similar in 76%
Paddington (2014)
Plot Summary:
After a deadly earthquake destroys his home in Peruvian rainforest, a young bear makes his way to England in search of a new home. The bear, dubbed "Paddington" for the london train station, finds shelter with the family of Henry and Mary Brown. Although Paddington's amazement at urban living soon endears him to the Browns, someone else has her eye on him: Taxidermist Millicent Clyde has designs on the rare bear and his hide.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 129000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK, France, USA, China
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: touching, feel good, sweet, colorful, stylized, not serious, semi serious, funny, humorous, slapstick
Similar in 84%
Jack Frost (1998)
Plot Summary:
A father, who can't keep his promises, dies in a car accident. One year later, he returns as a snowman, who has the final chance to put things right with his son before he is gone forever.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 40000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: christmas special, sad, tear jerker, fairy tale, anamorphic, romantic, cult classic, comedy drama, crying, feel good
Similar in 89%
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Plot Summary:
Inside a snowflake exists the magical land of Whoville. In Whoville, live the Whos, an almost mutated sort of Munchkin-like people. All the Whos love Christmas, yet just outside of their beloved Whoville lives the Grinch. The Grinch is a nasty creature that hates Christmas, and plots to steal it away from the Whos, whom he equally abhors. Yet a small child, Cindy Lou Who, decides to try befriending the Grinch.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 279000
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, funny, stylized, humorous, light, sweet, entertaining, absurd, semi serious, parody