joefriday

So you think you know the real story behind Santa Claus? So starts "Elf Bowling the Movie: The Great North Pole Elf Strike" and it takes you on a laugh filled journey from pirate filled oceans to the North Pole to Fiji. There are several toe tapping musical numbers along the way including Wrapplestiltskin rapping and Dingle, the evil brother, crooning. Oh and let's not forget the "Elf Bowling". I'm not familiar with the video game but it sure is funny seeing how the game is fit into the film. The elves signature reaction of joy cracked me up. First rate writing, brilliant voice work by Joe Alaskey and Tom Kenney (of Spongebob fame), and superb animation will make this a holiday treat that everyone will enjoy.

Very intelligent film ....penetrating... It's rare these days that a film is both fresh and intelligent... Overall, quite enjoyable... a film that has a growing cult following.

The film has a large ensemble cast and many of the performances are well layered and developed. A couple of cast members that really stood out to me were John Joyce as the sinister drug addicted wise-ass, Richie Wexler and Thomas Olson as the alcoholic abusive dad, Hank Weaver.... Satchel Underwood has given an outstanding debut effort on all fronts which is difficult for some combination writer/director/actors... so plan to see more of him soon.

Probably a film that is even better on a second viewing. Go see it... A 10 !

After reading that Pennyweight's filmmakers had just won this year's Director's Competition at Project Greenlight and discovering that they were Maine natives, I was able to find this film for viewing on scifi.com. What a treat it was to watch as I found myself laughing out loud throughout the film. I'm glad to see local filmmakers recognized, congratulations.