David and the Elves

Obvious, I love it. Because it preserves all flavors of my childhood . Because it is that kind of Christmas films proposing self rediscover. An elf looking for know the people. A Santa having not the most charming experiences with humans. A boy and his father, exploring, together, a fantastic world. A skeptical mother. The grandparends reminding, in some measure, the grandpa of Heidi. And a lot of adventures.

I do not know what can propose/ suggest this film to a Western / American public. For me, it was a fine resurrection of memories about Arabella, Polish animation, Soviet fairy tales adaptations.

Sure, a lot of unrealistic situations ( the turn of mother can be the first ) and flaws. But it is a profound charming film. This is its basic trait, most important fact and the feelings after final credits are the best. And the young Dawid propose a great role, reminding, in fair way, the unique maturity and wisdome of children.

We didn't expect much from this comedy cum drama cum fantasy cum children's movie... but somehow it paid off! Perhaps our joy in it came from reveling in another culture's traditions or avoiding the sappy dialogue and voices by listening to it in its native Polish and reading the subtitles? (Aside: We did that for Megan Markle's banal narration of Disney's nature documentaries and it made them actually watchable - French audio, English subtitles.) Whoever wrote those subtitles really knew how to make them meaningful and funny - even just the "Ho ho ho" while the audio only had "Ho ho" was a cute one.

Even in English though, I imagine this still was a good movie. The casting was terrific, the pacing was perfect, the sets were cut down but well done, and there was just enough holiday cheer. No overblown FX here or celebrity casting for no reason whatsoever. The little side gags were really well timed and without any of that excess acting/dialogue/stupidity that often ruins them in these Netflix/Hallmark Christmas tropes. And, for the main plot itself, well, there's not much too it and it is definitely not what the tag says it is ("overworked elf..." ah, no), but it still works in an odd sort of way.

Overall, this was a tough review to write as it's a very tough movie to describe... but we loved it! Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia!

According to Wikipedia, Poland has only made a total of 4 Christmas films as of the time of writing: The Nutcracker (1967), Letters to Santa (1&2), and David and the Elves. It is clear that as a country, Poland has for the most part been very private with its Christmas traditions and lore, and I would like to start by saying thank you so much for opening yourselves up so that we of the rest of the world can have such a glimpse of your Holiday Season. The acting is well done and the fact that it has an English dubbed version on Netflix is even better. I especially loved the clever little references to other Christmas films, such as The Santa Clause with the beard scene. The cinematography was excellent, on par with other traditional films such as The Christmas Chronicles, however low-budget it may have been. The story is wonderful and heartwarming and an absolute joy to watch. Thank you, Poland, for sharing such a unique and charming Christmas tale with us. I would love a sequel.

Well long time I haven't seen such a funny and beautiful Christmas movie , I'm not looking for flaws in the details, the important thing is that it was watched by the whole family with a lot of laughter. Congratulations.

I'm 38 and I find this movie funny, I cried a bit to be honest on the end but the Elfy acting excellent for this movie.

Do not expect to be everything perfect but in general this movie is funny, cute, kids can learn to love.