We have another foreign Christmas movie brought to us by Netflix. David and the Elves is a Polish family-friendly flick. It is available dubbed or subtitled in a variety of languages. I watched this one in the original language with English subtitles.
David (Cyprian Grabowski) loves listening to the Christmas stories his father, Piotr (Michał Czernecki), tells him. His favorite story is about Albert the Elf (Jakub Zając), who is the most popular elf at the North Pole. But Albert’s magic is beginning to wane. In order to regain his strength through the love of humans, Albert takes a trip to Warsaw. While Albert has fun with David, he learns that he is not as popular with humans as he thought. Can David save Albert before he loses his magic, turns into a toy, and disappears forever?
While I thought this was an adorable movie, I can see how some people might think it’s rather slow paced. There aren’t any big impressive scenes and most of the movie is actually a bit sad. After the move to Warsaw, both of David’s parents spend a lot of time working, leaving David by himself. Albert starts out as a fun-loving elf who just wants to give everyone gifts but he gets very depressed when he learns that humans don’t believe in him. To me, that sadness makes the ending all the more happy.
David and the Elves isn’t a movie for small children. Not because of the content but because I don’t think the movie would hold their interest for very long. Especially in the US. Kids in the 8-10 age range might enjoy it though. They are at that age where the belief in Santa is starting to wane and kids on the playground are starting to make fun of the kids that do believe. And that is where this movie lives - that space in between belief and disbelief. Even if your kids don’t want to watch it or don’t enjoy it, I think a lot of adults will find it enjoyable without them.