Did you ever see a cult film so wonderful that it made you miss cult films? I just did. The world of Hundreds of Beavers is as silly as it is brilliant. This a film in which there are, indeed, Hundreds of Beavers. And they’re all played by people in beaver costumes. But, hey, don’t let that dissuade you; there are also people in raccoon costumes, rabbit costumes, dog costumes, wolf costumes, and two men playing a horse. Not unlike the original Airplane!, this film is so ridiculously puerile that it borders on genius.
The ”hero” -for lack of a better word- and one of -essentially- five humans in the film, is cider-merchant-turned-fur-trapper Jean (co-writer Ryland Brickson Cole Tews). He’s a cider enthusiast for all of about thirty seconds at the start of the film until he realizes that beavers have gnawed away his business. It is winter; there is snow, there is just forest, cold, and little “animals” running around everywhere.
Our rather animated subject needs to take up hunting to stay alive, but he’s really bad at it. I mean really, really bad. For the uninitiated, my generation grew up with a cartoon called Bugs Bunny. Long before Bugs played basketball or however he’s animated these days, Bugs Bunny was “prey.” In every cartoon, there was a hunter, Elmer Fudd, who would stalk Bugs and Bugs, being smarter and more resourceful, would get the better of Elmer every time.
This is a great deal of how the first act of Hundreds of Beavers went. Jean hunts. Is unsuccessful. Then he tries to trade with limited success.
- I should note here that not only are the animals all just tongue-in-cheek people in costumes, there’s almost no dialogue in this film. The action can be understood by any audience in any language. You see the trader with a picture of raccoon = knife, you get the idea immediately: Jean will have to bring back a dead raccoon if he wants to earn a knife.
Meanwhile, the beavers are busy building the Tower of Babel … or at least that’s what it looks like to me. And I swear the best parts of the film are when people in costume act not like animals but like, well, people in costume. Jean hunts beavers. Is unsuccessful. Beavers see Jean lying prone on the ground and start to kick him repeatedly, you know, like beavers do.
I don’t want to give anything away because it is all such juicy fun, but there is a point in a courtroom scene late in the film where I had tears in my eyes from how much I was enjoying the action. You know a film is quality when it entertains you without anybody saying a word.
The only mark against this film I have really, is quality. I know it was made on the cheap, so it’s hard to be too critical, but the film quality is a turn-off, and sometimes the lack of clarity on screen can make the action temporarily confusing. But don’t let those words hinder. If you have an aptitude for hyperbole and outrageous fun, this is the film for you. It is not only a delight, but it’s a strangely well considered film. It is also one of the few films I’ve seen which got better and better as the film went on. This is a true gem of a cult film and I cannot see what Mike Cheslik and Ryland Brickson Cole Tews do when they get a bigger budget because I guarantee they will.
Once a man of cider persuasion
Had to learn a newer equation
For the beavers had gnawed
And the snow hadn’t thawed
It was time for some winter abrasion
Not Rated, 108 Minutes
Director: Mike Cheslik
Writer: Mike Cheslik, Ryland Brickson Cole Tews
Genre: Silly
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: How much silly do you need in your life
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: If you don’t like animation, you’re really not going to like 1930s style animation, huh?
