“Elf” is the kind of movie that’s as engaging as it is predictable.

Almost from the beginning, one knows that Buddy the Elf, played by Will Ferrel, will have to save Christmas in the end. Isn’t that how Christmas movies work?

The story, by screenwriter David Berenbaum, is more than simple. It opens with Bob Newhart’s deadpan narration telling the story of how, as a child, Buddy crawls into Santa’s sack, only to be raised by elves at the North Pole.

-Although Buddy is five times as large as his friends, he doesn’t realize he’s human until he overhears two other elves gossiping about him. Shocked, he learns about his past and decides to journey to New York City to seek out his biological father, who works for a publisher in the Empire State Building. In a classic Christmas movie cliché, Buddy carries a snowglobe with the New York skyline.

Buddy arrives in New York with gleeful wonder. Everything from used gum to revolving doors fill him with joy. Unfortunately, (cue ominous music), Buddy’s father, Walter (James Caan), is on the naughty list, and at first he has Buddy thrown out of the building.

While “working” at a department store, Buddy persists in his attempts to show love for this father, and after a surprisingly quick DNA test, Buddy moves in with his father, step-mother (Mary Steenburgen) and half-brother (Daniel Tay). Hilarity, as they say, ensues as Buddy tags along to work with his father, makes spaghetti topped with maple syrup and offers everyone and anyone hugs.

One of movie’s biggest laughs comes when Buddy attempts to expose the department store Santa as a fraud. Another especially funny scene involves an elf-like writer of children’s books. Director Jon Favreau stirs in more than a couple of laughs, but not enough belly-rolling guffaws.

The movie probably wouldn’t spark as much laughter if Will Ferrell didn’t have the starring role. Obliviously, chained by a PG rating, he can’t be as bawdy as he was in “Old School.” Nevertheless, he works his boyish charm almost to the breaking point. His enthusiasm never ends. One has to wonder for how many more years Ferrell can play an overgrown kid. He’s already 36.

“Elf” wants to be the next modern Christmas classic, and this movie has enough warm fuzzies to qualify with the best of them. It may not be as smart as, say, “The Santa Clause” or “The Grinch,” but it’s definitely cute enough to make viewers leave the theater with a smile.

So sit back with a cup of hot cocoa, put your mind on auto-pilot and enjoy this light holiday farce.