What Did I Just Watch?

Hundreds of Beavers (2022) – When his applejack distillery burns down, Jean Kayak has to survive as a trapper. With those new-found skills, he may find the way to be with his new found love.

Directed by Mike Cheslik

Starring Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, Olivia Graves, Doug Mancheski

Why I Liked It: A wonderfully chaotic mix of live action, animation, puppets and slapstick

I’m struggling to find any comparable movie for comparison. The honest answer is that the title was the only reason I picked this one. Once it was going, it became one moment after another of “What did I just see?” Start with a format taken from the classic silent movie age. Add in classic slapstick style comic moments. Then include costumed mascot characters filling roles like the beavers. All of it interwoven with some minimalist animations. Plus, a love story between our hero and the young woman who skins and butchers his catches. Is your head spinning yet? “Hundreds of Beavers” is an amazing, low budget romp of a movie.

Jean makes applejack, a distilled alcoholic version of apple cider. Sadly, he is also a major consumer. His lack of attention to details results in a disaster at the distillery, leaving him on his own with no home or income. Slowly, he learns a new way to live. The challenges are many, from wild animals to a cantankerous merchant with a beautiful daughter. Beyond that, I’m not sure how to even attempt to describe the rest. It’s insane. And funny. And like nothing you’ve likely to have ever seen before.

It’s easy to spend our time as movie consumers to stay with the classics and the blockbusters. As I’ve discovered over the last several decades, that means you will miss brilliant, quirky little movies like this. Yes, sometimes you’ll give one a try and it’s just a bomb. Other times you’ll find one that closes the circle of being so bad it’s good. Scattered among them all will be movies that the gold nuggets of movie fandom. Little glittering moments of joy amidst the debris. I wouldn’t call “Hundreds of Beavers” a large nugget, but it’s more than gold dust.

If there’s a drawback on this one, it’s the length. The movie runs just over 100 minutes, and I think it could be better between 80 and 90 minutes. I hit an overload on the humor and animation. At that point, I wanted the story to move forward with a bit more speed. Once I got through that zone, I enjoyed the movie to the end.

If the idea of something completely out of left field, that explores specific limits on the movie-making process, then this could be the movie you need. Not really child friendly, however.

You can stream “Hundreds of Beavers” on Tubi, Pluto, Amazon Prime, Sling, YouTube, Apple TV, Roku, Philo, and Fandango.

Rating – *** Worth A Look