A computer-animated film based on the games was released on October 2, 2007, and was entitled Elf Bowling the Movie: The Great North Pole Elf Strike. It features the voices of Rex Piano, Jill Talley, Tom Kenny, and the late Joe Alaskey. The movie was animated between 2005 and 2006.

The film was a United States–Fiji–South Korea co-production directed by Dave Kim, with Rex Piano as co-director. The musical score for the film was composed by Chris Anderson. Simi Valley, California resident David Kim was asked to direct the film while studying editing at the Academy of Art University; Kim took the offer as a way to break into the film industry, previously working as a production assistant on music videos. After finishing Elf Bowling, he got work as a production coordinator on The Simpsons Movie (2007) and The Golden Compass (2007). Produced by Filmbrokers International, Elf Bowling the Movie began production in Fiji and South Korea before moving into a Simi Valley house owned by Kim's mother, where the film's story reel was edited. before being released on Amazon Prime on January 1, 2008, and Blu-ray on May 18, 2016.

The film was panned by critics for its writing, animation, directing, humor, plot, musical numbers, voice acting, characterizations, and for having little or nothing to do with the premise of the game. Due to the film's disastrous critical reception, plans for a sequel titled Elf Bowling 2: The Great Halloween Pumpkin-Heist were immediately cancelled.

The film received a parody stage adaptation in 2021 by Chapman University's sketch comedy group The Player's Society, adapted by Sasha Espinosa and directed by Delaney Tobin.

References

  • CNET Article on Original Creators