HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS – Review

Since it seems that the big action blockbusters are taking over the multiplex far in advance of their usual Summertime occupancy, what’s out there for lovers of silent-movie style slapstick and Golden Age cartoon short lunacy (as in those “Tunes”)? Well, a recent “midnight movie” indie hit on the “film festival circuit” is now available to rent or buy via streaming. Oh, but that title might raise a few “red flags” on your business search engine when getting some info on it. Not to worry, since most rating boards would probably give it a “PG-13” rating, at most, due to some scatological humor and some sexy gymnastics for a few seconds. Ah, but let’s delve a bit more into the movie with the ‘eyebrow-raising’ moniker, the fantasy fable/farce concerning HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS.

Well, it does resemble a silent comedy from a hundred years ago just before we’re treated to a whimsical musical number mixed with some simple “underground comics-inspired” animation. It’s a rowdy “tavern tune” (we can imagine the soused patrons raising a mug and joining in) that tells the story of an enterprising explorer, Jean Kayak AKA “Apple Jack” (Ryland Brickson Cole Tews), who planted an orchard and crafted “high-octane” apple cider for thirsty, weary travelers. But when beavers gnaw away at the supports of his massive reserve barrels, the resulting chaos destroys his business…and leaves him cold and very hungry. After thwarted attempts to catch rabbits and fish, Jean decides to exact revenge on the beavers, and is beaten up by the “dam-builders”. Eventually, Jean stumbles upon a lone fur trader/merchant (Doug Mancheski) and his skinner/furrier daughter (Olivia Graves). Jean is quite smitten with her though Papa has nothing but disdain for him. It’s then that Jean teams up with a Master Fur Trapper (Wes Tank) to acquire some animal pelts. Despite some success with snarling wolves and ravenous raccoons. The Merchant isn’t impressed. To be worthy of his daughter, Jean will need to return with…(title fanfare) hundreds of beavers. Can Jean defeat the highly organized and prolific rodents when he attempts to sneak into their fortress/ lumber mill? Especially since they appear much smarter than him…

The slapstick silliness works due to the expert physical skills of star Tews, who commits as though he were Chaplin, Keaton (Buster), and Lloyd all rolled into a beefcake-flavored custard pie. His expressive emoting conveys Jean’s motivation more than reams of dialogue, whether he’s in full hunger mania, trying to hatch a plan, or has his heart twisted in knots over the fetching furrier. Graves projects lots of silent heroine playful charm while adding more physicality than most “hero’s girl” roles. Mancheski is a perfect surly sourpuss, who only loses his scowl when admiring Tank as the Santa-like master trapper, who’d rather hang out with his poker-playing sled dogs. Oh, speaking of the animals, you can believe the old end credit line that “none were harmed during the making of this film”. That’s because the forest creatures were either well-crafted puppets (birds, frogs, and fish) or humans in costume-shop full suits, namely big over-the-top helmet heads, and furry jumpsuits for the dogs.,wolves, raccoons, “wabbits”, and bountiful beavers. The odd stares as they move those big heads add to the comedy as we try to guess what they’re thinking and what until their eyes are covered with “X’s” to denote their demise. Director and co-writer (with Tews) Mike Cheslik offers up a treasure trove of comedic tropes aside from the superb pratfalls, including a bit of “fourth wall damage” via sound and “title cards” along with some clever “call-backs” involving a whistle-triggered woodpecker and an unused spittoon. And while most viewers will harken Jean’s schemes to those of Chuck Jones’ Wile E. Coyote, or even Tom vs. Jerry, the bumbling action in the stark-white snow put me in mind of some 1920s silent cartoons like Felix the Cat and particularly a pre-Mouse Walt Disney’s meshing love actors into animation in his “Alice in Cartoonland” shorts. It all can get a bit exhausting well past the ninety-minute mark, but Cheslik offers a fast and furious finale spoofing courtroom dramas along with a Rube Goldberg-inspired Beaver sawmill that should have home viewers chuckling to the final fadeout on the funny fate of HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS.

3 Out of 4

HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS is now available to rent or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV with other platforms soon to follow including Fandor on 4/19/2024