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There are so many great old-school type gags running past the screen at full tilt, built-on or even combined in ways that I never saw coming, encouraging multiple viewings (which I will gladly do with giddy enthusiasm).

This flick is like a combination of the best classic cartoon skits, all mooched together, added with a hint of video-game logic, then stretched out into a full length feature, and somehow nailing it. With barely any downtime, it keeps upping the ante, getting more and more zany, yet always with a focused eye on the narrative. Not to mention, for such a small budget they really got the animated style down, with prefect settings or simple but effective tools, such as goofy costumes and multiple humorous props.

One of the most fun theatre experience I've had in quite a long time, the audience belly laughing the whole was trough.

A black and white, essentially silent film has never been this much fun, nor has it been crafted with such exuberant adolescent heart, yet Hundreds of Beavers channels all of its ambitious, lo-fi energy into one of the most exhilarating gut-busting films I've seen in quite some time. Scrabbled together with no money, six beaver costumes, and spare time with friends Mike Cheslik creates a Looney-Tunes-level physical comedy romp, enlisting endless sight gags and simple plot mechanics that only get bigger, better, and sillier. The one-note story of an applejack farmer becoming a master beaver hunter gets elevated by revenge, romance, and subtle intelligence, leading to a climax full of payoffs that have been carefully placed throughout its runtime, amplifying Hundreds of Beavers' ability and soul. While the film isn't necessarily an emotional one, I found myself moved, if not for the characters than for the filmmaking. With no studio backing or theatrical distribution, Hundreds of Beavers has nothing to leverage and nothing to sacrifice, it's inherently itself through and through to the very end. Doing so, it soars to such great giddy heights that it's unwaveringly momentous that so much imagination still exists and proves there's still so much more to make, a true testament to the power of visual storytelling.

Not at all horror but I can absolutely see why Terror-Fi festival included it. This is by far the silliest movie I have ever seen, and I mean that as a high compliment. I thought No One Will Save You would be the most wordless movie I would see this year, but I was wrong. There are about 3 actual words uttered in this one. Content warning - Hundreds of animals die in this one but every animal is either a person in a costume or a plushy puppet so you'll be alright. When you first start this very entertaining live action looney tunes movie you will wonder how they can sustain it for a full feature length run time but they absolutely manage it and it's always hilarious and entertaining.

Before seeing the movie at the Hamburg Fantasy Filmfest, I wondered how an hour and a half of playtime can be filled with the ideas in the trailer without getting slow or tedious. Now I actually wonder when it was the last time I laughed that much through a whole movie.

While delivering a consistent, smart, reduced and extremely efficient visual syle, the presentation doesn't let your focus away for one second, otherwise you might miss something funny. The way it symbolizes, repeats and develops the events by smart iteration in a limited universe ist ist excellent!

I highly recommend seeing it. Not for small kids.

This is probably one of the most creative bits of home brew filmmaking I've seen in quite a while.

Incredibly creative and funny. Wonderful gags from start to finish.

Unfortunately the film's greatest strength can also be its greatest weakness at times.

The choice to have no dialogue is fun, but it denies the opportunity for the film to slow down at any point. This results in the experience being a little exhausting.

Jokes that should be funny whiz by at times, since the brain is so overstimulated.

The non-stop, rapid fire pace can be greatly appreciated in short bursts, but if you hold down the trigger the barrel is going to overheat.

Still, greatly appreciated this movie. Plenty of laugh out loud moments. I have a soft spot in my heart for films like this where it's clear the people involved have a lot of passion and love for movies.

Highly recommend, probably going to check out "Lake Michigan Monster" next.

Cheers!

I first heard of this movie from YMS, shoutout to him, and I'm glad I decided to go ahead and rent it as soon as it was available. The premise looked so interesting and a lot of people were saying it was the funniest film of the year. Now obviously humor is subjective but I personally found this one pretty funny. It's a well-made movie for everything it's got.

I feel like labeling this movie as a once-in-a-lifetime movie, along the same lines as the LOTR trilogy, Boyhood, and Everything Everywhere All At Once, for example. It must have been since Charlie Chaplin died that we've had a brilliant silent black-and-white movie like this one, and I'm not sure we'll see another. It's very rare to find something that can be both silly and hilarious, if that makes any sense. Just about every choice for this movie really does enhance the overall experience. The editing isn't smooth but I think that helps add to the silliness of the premise. You can tell it's just an actor running in place for example, and that's a good thing. The visual gags surprisingly never get old, combining all-too familiar visual gags with some brand new, more modern gags. It manages in a very good way of keeping a nostalgic and familiar feel while appealing to more modern audiences, and even the modern stuff I feel is going to take a very long time if at all to be outdated. There is character development and you cheer for the character to succeed, and there is spectacular setup and payoff for everything involved.

A couple things held it back from being a 10/10. I feel like the beginning wasn't executed as well as the ending in terms of comedic value, but I will say that does make the movie better and better as it goes along, which many movies are unable to accomplish. There were a couple of messy camera shots that really just left me confused (I'm thinking of the wolf attack) and had me just wondering what happened instead of the clarity of the story from the majority of the shots. A couple of the editing choices were questionable during the final action sequence but were otherwise very fitting and expertly crafted. These are honestly pretty minor things and I may change my rating to a 10 later on. My ratings not going down from here I can tell you that.

I have to say this movie is very impressive considering not many comedies these days can actually work at making you laugh. This is the highest rated comedy film that I can find on imdb after some Charlie Chaplin movies. And it has a reported budget of only $150,000???? That's insane. We're talking ONE THOUSAND TIMES LESS money than a typical Hollywood big blockbuster movie. Apparently they only had enough budget money to afford FIVE beaver suits to be used over and over again for this film. And it's still a better movie than 90% of Hollywood movies today. 100s of recommendations (see what I did there haha) for this movie; absolutely go check it out and support it.

I didn't see a parent guide for this film so I thought I'd add one so parents can decide if they want their children watching it. There is a tad bit of gore but it's black not red, and there is some impaling and other intense stuff, but those sections are very cartoony and not gory. There are also some sexual gags (objects shaped like breasts and a penis specifically; this stuff may go over some children's heads) and there is one sequence that lasts about 30 seconds of a woman pole dancing (she is clothed while doing it). Alcohol and tobacco references exist but I think that's about it; hope I gave a good overview for that.

Endlessly inventive in the style of a 1920's silent movie, Hundreds of Beavers asks the question, what do you get when you cross Wile E Coyote with Buster Keaton and set him loose in the wilds of a Wisconsin winter? The answer is a damn good time despite - and in some cases because of - the low budget effects and cheap production values.

Blending animation with live footage, the movie is a series of pratfalls, skits and visual gags that could just as easily be tasks in a video game, or else a drunken dream brought on by imbibing too much cider.

Humans wearing animal onesies are a terrific stand-in for anthropomorphized cartoon characters. Similarly, the fact that the over the top violence more often than not results in death also seems more appropriate to the live action genre.

It's unlikely that Disney will come calling anytime soon (unless they discover a market for a pole dancing princess), which means you'll just have to take a chance and discover the charm of this movie's raw, unpolished nature on your own.

Brilliant concept, and for a while it had some really funny moments. The problem is, an hour and forty eight minutes of slapstick leaves you feeling quite numb at the end. There is a reason why cartoons are short or why Three Stooges shorts are less than 15 minutes. You watch too many of them and the law of diminishing returns rears it's head and you end up tuning out. I found myself looking at my computer and looking up at the TV the last half hour or so. It's a shame because if this was edited a little bit tighter I might consider this for repeated viewing but this one is a "one and done" for me.

The most entertaining movie I have seen in years! I watched it in Columbus, Ohio. It is like Wiley Coyote meets Oregon Trail. Tons of gratuitous beaver violence. I highly recommend for anyone with an old fashioned sense of humour!

The originality of the creators and the performances of the very small principal cast make the film a must watch for 2024. The dark slapstick humor of the film is a welcome cinematic inclusion for viewers tired of preachy political movies.

Hundreds of Beavers is an example of what a dedicated group of independent filmmakers are capable of doing on a shoestring budget. Mark my words: this movie will be watched in college dorms for decades to come!

Now this is a movie that I saw at Nightmares Film Festival. It doesn't fall into horror, but I still wanted to write up a review. I should preface that this isn't normally a movie that I'd be into. Watching this with a crowd though as the day neared midnight was a fun experience. The antics in the theater from co-writer/star Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, adds to it as well. I should also include; this was the Ohio premiere.

For this movie, we have Jean Kayak (Tews) who has an orchid and he makes hard apple cider. He is a drunkard who just likes to have fun. One day, beavers come along and ruin one of his large barrels that hold his cider. This causes everything to fall apart and it is now winter. Jean isn't lucky in catching food and is struggling to survive.

Jean then gets into fur trading. He watches a bearded man make a killing. So much so that the guy running the post, Doug Mancheski, wants him to marry his daughter who is the furrier, Olivia Graves. Jean has an uphill battle to become a trapper and this will bring him head-to-head with beavers in the area. They have created an epic dam that is holding much more inside.

So, I was a bit familiar with what I'd get here after seeing a previous film from Tews called Lake Michigan Monster. This is in a similar vein. There is CGI and animation for the backgrounds. These techniques are also used with character movements and just bringing this to life in general. This takes a lot of time and I'm impressed there. What helps is that we don't get much in the way of dialogue. This is presented like a silent film at times, we even get title cards. It also reminds me of cartoons where our characters didn't talk. This looks cheap, but what goes into is much harder than it seems.

Going along with this idea, they tell a narrative story without using a lot of dialogue. Things we see do get repetitive. I'll admit that as we neared the end, I was exhausted and ready to head home. I don't want to detract from this though, staying awake the closer we get to midnight gets harder each day. I will say though. This movie is made for a theater experience or to have people over for drinks and just enjoy your time with it.

I can see people hating this. I'm telling you as someone who loves serious and bleak movies, this is a pallet cleanser that if you just roll with it, it's a great time. I didn't even mention that all the animals are just people in costumes. That makes it even better with the antics that we're seeing. If you get the chance to see this in the settings that I said, jump on this one for sure.

My Rating: 6 out of 10.

I haven't laughed this much through a movie in ages. Maybe ever.

But it will be a polarizing title, because you're either going to love it or hate it - not much room for a middle ground.

Some of the jokes are predictable and you can guess them right before they happen, but they're still satisfying. However, a bunch of the time, you're also wondering where on earth the movie is going. Fortunately, they introduce a plot device with goals or side quests to keep the plot progressing.

The film is surprisingly gory, but the fluffy stuffed-animal nature of it makes it all the more hilarious. I could have done without a couple sexual jokes, as those will keep me from showing the movie to my kids. But this movie knows what it is and embraces it.

This is one of the weirdest, silliest films I have ever seen, and I highly recommend you watch it with friends, not alone.

This film was excellent for the first half hour. The premise the look of the film, and also the comedic timing was spot on. I commend all of the filmmakers for the do it yourself style.

The only in major issue with it is it's way too long. There isn't a world where this film needed to be two hours long. If it was 80 minutes and a little faster paced in the middle this would have a very higher score.

But the cinematography and the editing was excellent. Wes Anderson would be proud. I'm excited to see what this filmmaker does with his next project which I hope is a little more focused and tight.

I will just assume that I'm the one to blame because everyone else seem to love this but me. I can't say I even liked it. You know sometimes, at the beginning of a movie, there will be an animation clip of a few minutes with slapstick humour to sort of indicate what the movie will be about? Well, I was wondering when the movie would start until I realized that th there was nothing more to it. 1h40mins of silly, childish and ludicrous slapstick humour. 35 minutes in I already had enough i'm started working on my computer while it played in the background. If this was released in 1926, I'd understand the attraction and appeal but at this point, I don't understand the use for this kind of movie. But then again, it's not my kind of entertainment to start with and I'm in the minority so don't take my word for it. I'm giving it three points for the original look. My rating: 3/10.

Creative and very entertaining. Its wild slapstick draws from Looney Tunes and silent movies, but it also feels highly original. It seems like it will wear thin, but the antics get funnier as it goes along, helped considerably by Cheslik's great sense of pace and use of misdirection. It's all "cartoon violence," but some of the deaths are delightfully grisly - and somehow acceptable, even though it's depicting the odious act of animal trapping. You even have Olivia Graves in a role reminiscent of Red Hot Riding Hood. Love the homage, love the update to the form; somewhere Tex Avery and Chuck Jones must be smiling.

For being a mostly not spoken film it to rely on visual gags is difficult. The film was also great for its visual appeal that captures when the film is set in. It also kept me entertained for the 1hr and 47 minute run time. The film is also packed full of references of video games and television which are sometimes hard to pick up. I loved seeing it in the theater because there was something for everyone to laugh at. This film took 4 years of dedication 15000 composited shots which is a lot but also for a small film like this one. The performance of all the characters was great with the cartoony nature of all of them.

This movie has plenty of laughs fueled by a seemingly endless stream of sight gags. Silent movie slapstick meets inventive satire. Live action is enhanced with silly animation, wacky sound effects, and actors in mascot costumes.

The writing and editing are very creative, and the attention to detail is very meticulous. The pacing is also excellent. The lead actor is charismatic and has great comedic chops.

Think about the creativity involved in The Evil Dead with Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. Think about the inventiveness of the Daniels, or the relentlessness of a James Cameron pic.

Just when you think this movie can't top itself, it does. Hopefully, this leads to bigger things for the folks involved.

In a bizarre way, Hundreds of Beavers kind of constitutes closure for me. It's the closest thing we'll get to a proper live-action Looney Tunes film (because, yeah, there was a time when even I looked at cartoons and went "This I gotta see in three dimensions").

When I saw Space Jam and Looney Tunes: Back in Action in my youth, I was disappointed and didn't fully understand why until later: The movies are about a group of characters coming together to stop bad guys and helping each other out. That's not the Looney Tunes. The Looney Tunes are supposed to annoy, beat the snot out of, and try to consume each other, oft in hilariously elaborate ways that can only happen in cartoons -- or, as it were, in the RIGHT type of live-action film.

Hundreds of Beaver is more or less that film, but visually, it is closer to a picture by Charlie Chaplin -- the original live-action cartoon -- with a few dashes of old video games and YouTube Poops. Yet, it all flows together perfectly, creating a world wherein there's a method to the madness, consistency to the chaos, and logic to the surrealism. We find ourselves immersed, understanding the rules and geography of this surreal slapstick realm of cartoon physics and AVGN-tier animal suits.

Set in 19th-century North America at the height of winter (that's about as specific as the film gets), the story follows an applejack salesman who is forced to become a fur trapper, fighting against the elements to capture enough animals to win the hand of a local merchant's daughter, using all sorts of intricate traps and schemes to do so. Meanwhile, the local beavers don't take kindly to this bearded menace. He learns that they may have been involved in him losing his applejack business.

It is, for all its influences, one of the most truly unique movies I've seen in a while. It is constantly zany and rife with visual cleverness -- with some gags that become important near the third act (allow me to propose the screenwriting term Chekov's Snot-cicle). The one complaint I can imagine people will have is that it feels just a touch too long.

In my mind, the story is sufficiently interesting -- and the gags and setpieces sufficiently varied -- to justify the runtime. But because of its hectic nature, a given minute of screentime will have so many things going on that it seems like several minutes -- not in the sense that it's tedious but in the sense that it's dense. I imagine it can be exhausting for some but as I've mentioned, the film is varied enough that you should be fine. At times, it gets close to feeling repetitive; at that same time, it does something out-of-pocket and treats us to some new sight. (Besides, the repetition is sometimes part of the humor, evoking the rhythm/structure of those silent 'toons of old.)

What's undeniable is the devotion of these filmmakers -- the "commitment to the bit" as the young uns might put it. Each scene represents just as much effort and silly wit as the last, never once failing to capture the intended vibe and look (sans maybe one shot where the backgrounds, as stupid as this may sound, look too much like a real forest).

The actors are having the time of their lives with this material and the music, cinematography, and directing in general consistently achieve that "old, wordless cartoon" feel. Real ones might know Mike Cheslik and Ryland Brickson Cole Tews for 2018's Lake Michigan Monster and the 2016 short film L. I. P. S., but if there's any good in the world, these will soon be widely known names.

Regardless of my notes above, I think you'll have a blast with Hundreds of Beavers -- and feel free to partake in the official drinking game posted by the filmmakers.

This is the sort of movie where you really need to be relaxed and feel that you have nothing else you need to be doing. My husband, son, and I went to view this film at a local indie theater. It was their last showing of the year. I knew the film was long but was so curious about such a unique concept that I bought tickets for all three of us despite the busy-ness of the holiday season. I ended up feeling like the film could have been finished 30 minutes sooner. With that being said, there were some laughs, some unexpected moments, and some zaniness in a truly creative and impressive way. While I wouldn't just recommend this movie to anyone (would rather tell them what they need to know to make their own decision), the truth is that I am still thinking about this film.

You should only watch it if you appreciate film as art and appreciate creativity. Definitely not for the average person who only likes the Hollywood type of film.

This is basically a 108 minute Wiley E. Coyote movie about an apple orchard owner who brews his own alcoholic cider. One autumn, beavers decimate his business, leaving him to tough out the long winter without food or shelter.

I knew that premise going in and I was still not prepared for just how Looney Tunes this concept is. It has a very low budget, indie movie quality to it. All the animals are either puppets or just people in mascot costumes, with tons of green screen and simple CGI compositing to make it all work.

And it really does work. This movie knows it's incredibly dumb looking, but it leans into it, nailing the perfect tone of like, cartoon silliness meets silent film accelerated motion.

Yet the movie manages to keep a bit of an edge to it. Despite being very slapstick and Looney Tunes, I would not necessarily say this is a movie for little children. Silly as it may be, this is a story about a man learning to survive on his own in the wilderness, and there are times where it can be a little dark and adult. That's all part of its charm.

I find the whole thing very fun and refreshing, though I'm not entirely sure I'd want more of it than just this one movie. But while it lasts, this is a great movie full of lots of surprises.

This film, which used composite shot footage, which was humorously referencing video game strategies. This almost slapstick Buster Keaton like, or Bruce Campbell antics?) comedy, features "devilishly" stunts plus witty audio bits.

There's no spoken dialogue, mostly visual one may just say that this production crew was influenced by Wes Anderson, but has roots with the cinema of Absurdist Fiction or surreal humor meet Walt Disney.

This laborous effort shows brilliant gimmick, playing with the idea of the hunted and the hunter. This crew mainly of Wisconsin based talents showing up across the country with film festivals snapping up awards for special effects abd comedy.

The narrative follows a hunter played by Ryland Brickson trying get on the hunt, with interruptions by local animal and population living in the woods.

When his cider distillery is destroyed, a pioneer must learn to trap beaver to stay alive through the winter and win the love of the fur trader's daughter. This live action cartoon is the Looney Tunes love child of Jeremiah Johnson and Chaplin's The Gold Rush. It's ridiculously clever and inventive and the hilarious gags never stop flowing from beginning to end. Filmed in the snowy forests but heavily edited in After Effects, it has the rough-hewn quality of silent films that complements its setting and adds to its charm. Lead actor and co-writer Ryland Brickson Cole Tews is terrific in a heavily physical role that's broadly comic without overplaying it. I laughed a lot and will be recommending this film to everyone.

Great fun, but a bit long for what it was.

Imagine cartoon slapstick comedy where every animal is a man in a suit and you get the gist of the absurdist comedy that it is. Also, no words spoken to drag it down. A couple of suggestive portions meant to be comedic, but make it unadvisable for those under 16 in my opinion.

The story was simple and endearing and the action sequences feel like a cross between a Charlie Chaplin flick and something out of Star Trek the original series.

It shined in plenty of moments while seeming to be long-winded in others. For what it was, very enjoyable, but I'm not sure what their target audience was as I'm not sure there are many who'd go out of their way to watch a low budget B movie.

I liked it, but one watch is all it warrants.

It's like a novel idea for a short film. But I grew out of the whole ACME slapstick routine when I was like 7. It's a weird thing where these low budget productions kind of rally around some egotists machismo. Like the premise is supposed to be that like the protagonist is down on his luck and he has to survive the North American winter wilderness...and yet dude is mostly naked and flexing 20 mins in. Which isn't even really that bad, but it just seems like a "look at me" move.

I don't know if I'm going to finish it. It's awesome to incorporate elements of cartoons in your film...like Ryan Johnson tends to do in his action sequences. And plenty of others. But to make a whole movie essentially a Wile E. Coyote bit...is just, not creative or entertaining. And that brings me to my next point.

Why is this movie getting good reviews? The animation is the best thing about this movie...and honestly, that's not very good. The plot is...beavers. Or more specifically people in beaver suits. Or really people in animal suits.

If someone I knew made this, I'd be like "omg! This is awesome" but just knowing that this was a group effort...with like funding... to like come together and rip off loony toons with animal suits, I can't really get excited about it.

Looks like they might have had fun making it though, so right on.

When I saw the trailer for this movie I was intrigued and perplexed as to what to expect. Before I get to my opinions of the movie, let me save you some time and skip to the info I would have liked to know before I saw it.

Is this movie watchable with small children? Parts of it are, some are questionable. When you check the parental guide here on IMDB, they mention gore but don't describe what happens which left me unsure. It is nowhere near happy three friends level gore, but there are scenes where they gut and skin the stuffed animals. It isn't any more gory than seeing meat being processed for food or leather being made so I there isn't anything traumatizing depicted. The kids are more likely to mimic the slapstick stupidity. There also a couple of adult jokes, like a brief poledance and gay rabbits. All in all, a kid old enough to have a discussion with is IMO old enough to see this.

Getting back to the review, after watching the trailer, that is really what you get for 108 minutes. It is an oldschool, looney-tooney slapstick film about a guy hunting beavers in the woods. The humor is very ridiculous and for me it worked most of the time. The only issue is IMO the runtime. The opening part is about Jean in the woods trying to get food and clothes. By the time he gets to the fur-merchant I was thinking that the movie must be nearing it's end when in fact the opening credits came on and I've realized, that about 3/4 of the movie are still left.

What follows it a somewhat aimless middle section. When I think about it, binging a 108 minutes of roadrunner might be simpler than watching this for the first time, because at this point of the movie there isn't a clear goal as to where things are headed, which makes it a bit exhausting to watch.

The merchant has a Sign with Items and their price, so it is quite apparent that Jean will go down the list. Indeed what follows feels a bit like a flash game where Jean hunts animals and gets new items which let him change and improve his tactics to make use of each new item. I'd be fun to play this as a game, but watching a movie without an endgame or goal is a bit tiring in this middle section.

Finally, Jean tries to ask to marry the Merchants daughter at which point he exclaims he wants "HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS!" cue title card at which point I thought OMG how much longer is this movie? Fortunately, not much longer. Also the last act doesn't drag nearly as much.

Throughout the movie there are small bits and pieces of plot beats mentioned. There is a Sherlock Holmes detective beaver, There is the missing first Barrel and the beavers seem to be building something big. It all comes together in the last act which is again far better paced and engaging.

When the movie finished, I left if pretty entertained and glad I have seen it. I can tell that I will watch it a couple more times and I can recommend it to you as well. They don't quite make them like this anymore. If it weren't for the dragging middle, I'd give full marks. As It is I rate the movie 83/100 beavers.

I really enjoyed seeing this on their tour. It was a really fun film to watch in theaters with so many other excited people. The lead actor and director were there to introduce the film and field questions at the end. And some Beavers and a Rabbit were hanging out in the audience before the film started.

It was a great story for a silent film, it just keeps on giving. It really pulls you in to the drama, and you get really attached to the main character through the stages their journey. There was a really great blending of artistic styles, that made the world feel very deep and enveloping. There were puppet characters, stop motion, CGI, and of course the actors in animal suits. The props and sets were all great, too! It felt like Super Mario aesthetics meets Ikea aesthetics.

It was great to hear everyone laughing the whole way through. I couldn't believe how many people were total gag fiends. It seemed like almost everyone was laughing through the whole film.

It was a great movie experience and I don't think I will forget about it anytime soon. I wish I could watch the movie again already, and it's only been a couple days! It was a really high caliber independent film.