Elf is an American Christmas comedy film released in 2003. The film was directed by Jon Favreau, produced by David Berenbaum, Jon Berg, Shauna Phelan, and Matthew Tolmach, and distributed by New Line Cinema. It stars Will Ferrell, James Caan, Bob Newhart, Edward Asner, Mary Steenburgen, Daniel Tay, and Zooey Deschanel. The film's original music score was composed by David Kitay and Harry Gregson-Williams. The film was released on November 7, 2003 and has since become a holiday classic.