Those with an Amazon Prime or HBO Max subscription can steam Elf from their device of choice.

PLYMOUTH, Minn. — No one gets more mail than Santa Claus. This time of year, children stuff mailboxes with their hand-crafted letters of wishes and questions for the jolly man in the big red suit.

There are Christmas movies that wrap themselves in tinsel and good intentions, trafficking in the comforting myth that benevolence is our natural state, and given a few ghostly visitations or a nudge ...