When he wrote A Christmas Carol in 1843, Charles Dickens invented the Christmas fairy tale, setting the pattern for stories intended to be popular and thus help people see the faith that guides them at their best. But just as the Santa mythology developed from its own times and places, fairy tales from St. Nick to Charlie Brown are also a form of criticism of their own times — and a plea: Christmas is constantly in danger in our times. The tale is meant to diagnose and treat a problem in our modern societies and lives. In the 21st century, in which the Christmas fairy tale is too easily confused for the Christmas special, we still need and still tell these tales. One offering that doesn’t seem worth taking all that seriously has emerged as the great modern text of the season: Elf, which had its 20th anniversary in November.

Directed by Jon Favreau and starring Will Ferrell, the movie made more than $224 million globally in 2003, so it’s safe to say it was well beloved. But it’s been in the two decades since that it emerged as a Christmas classic with staying power, something to rewatch next to It’s a Wonderful Life or before reading ’Twas the Night Before Christmas, not just a one-year hit. Elf starts with a fairy tale conceit that mixes comedy and heartbreak, as most of our Christmas stories do: a baby in an orphanage playfully stealing into Santa’s gift bag. He ends up at the North Pole, a magical place where he’s raised by Papa Elf (Bob Newhart, delightful as ever). But once he grows up to become Will Ferrell, he simply can’t fit. He’s too clumsy for the precise work elves do — and too human. He cannot be reduced to a certain skill or work. So he’s kicked out of his candy paradise, innocent like a pampered childhood, and thrust into 21st-century America.