Overview
In the 19th century, a drunken applejack salesman must go from zero to hero and become North America's greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers.
Directed by Mike Cheslik, and written by Cheslik and Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, Hundreds of Beavers is a slapstick comedy that draws on retro video game quest tropes, is shot and presented in a 1920s to 1930s black and white comedy style, with a rapidfire approach of the classic era of Looney Tunes cartoons – especially Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck. The tale sees a 19th century applejack salesman, Jean Kayak, have his farm destroyed by beavers, and has to survive in the wilderness. The first act is his struggle to hunt and survive, working out how to slowly gain experience and trade with a local trader, and maybe woo the trader’s daughter. He soon becomes a mighty hunter and the second and third act work towards him completing quests in a constant chain like flow until he can earn the ultimate prize.
As this film began, I initially wondered if I had made the wrong choice, with the old-style look and feel seeming like it could go messily wrong at any point. With over 100 minutes ahead of me, I worried I was in for a rough ride. However, within the first 5 minutes the chuckles started, and pretty soon there were belly laughs to accompany them as the absolute chaos of comedy that was presented made its way comfortably into my chuckle-center. The look of the film swiftly charmed me and won me over, and I began rooting for the unlikely hero as puns and japery began dropping out in a rapid progression. Small pratfall moments or repeating call-back elements had me erupting in chuckles – one such element being whenever any rabbits flee the hunter, one inevitable trips and falls with a ‘ker-splat’ noise in the snow, before jumping up and fleeing, and every time it made me laugh – and having the varied animals all played by people in silly costumes makes it even more wonderfully surreal.
This is a film you have to see to appreciate, and no amount of trying to explain to people what is great about it will ever do it justice. Knowing that it cost so little to make ($150,000 with the effets and layouts being done on Adobe After-Effects) and yet manages to entertain better than any other comedy of recent years just highlights that sometimes budgets aren’t as important as ideas.
If you want over an hour and a half of crazy, surreal, old-school slapstick comedy with a rapid-fire approach to delivery, that will keep you giggling throughout, then look no further than Hundreds of Beavers. Well recommended.