We watched this as we let out thanksgiving meal settle. It was the perfect choice for the kids (age range 5-12) and the parents. The acting was fine and the jokes were funny. I even got a little choked up at times when they talked about their recently deceased dad. All in all, a fine film. Probably not an instant classic, but good enough to watch and not feel like I wasted 1.5 hours of my life. I loved the new interpretation of elves as almost gremlin-like creatures.