Hundreds of Beavers-Pure Live-action Cartoon Insanity

Hundreds of Beavers is the closest anyone has ever gotten to making a genuine live-action cartoon, especially at this relatively small scale. The sheer variety of silent visual gags the filmmakers manage to capture with this relatively small budget is awe-inspiring. It makes Hundreds of Beavers into a fantastic showcase of pure creative filmmaking with as few resources as possible, with the filmmakers delivering such a phenomenal comedic film experience through nothing but goofy costumes, green screens, and after-effects. 

What makes it all work is that the filmmakers seem entirely aware of the scrappiness of their production. Though the film features countless phenomenal visual and physical comedic gags, there are also many moments where the film lingers on a low-budget effect or an odd-looking costume for comedic purposes. It makes the intentionally low-budget feel work when it's clear everyone involved in the movie is entirely in on the joke. 

I also can't help but appreciate just how far this film escalates throughout its runtime. The movie starts with the simple "Man vs. Nature" comedic premise typical in many slapstick comedies, only to continue to build and build until the character's contraptions and comedic gags are at their most heightened and insane. By the film's third act, the protagonist enters a Beaver society that's somewhere between the Industrial Revolution and the current modern age, thrust into a courtroom trial that makes his overly elaborate slapstick antics into acts of brutality, only to transform himself into a mix between Popeye and Bugs Bunny. The escalating insanity described here only scratches the surface of the kinds of heightened gags and set pieces throughout the film, as the film contains plenty more insanity that has to be seen to be believed.

The film's indie, low-budget feel hinders its pacing. It sometimes feels like it's struggling to fill its feature length by dragging out and repeating gags. While some repetition works for comedic effect, much of it, especially early on, feels overly dragged out, as if it's only there to fill the runtime.

But I can't fault the film too much, as I haven't laughed this hard with a movie in quite a long time. The film is complete live-action cartoon insanity, and it all works incredibly well, providing moments of heightened comedic gags and slapstick at such a rapid pace that it's hard not to find a joke that doesn't work. The film also becomes a joyous showcase of creative, low-budget filmmaking. And in a world where low-budget indie productions like this are getting increasingly more challenging to make and distribute, I can't help but appreciate Hundreds of Beavers for simply existing, let alone the fact that it's also incredibly hilarious and entertaining.

Now Available to Rent or Buy on Prime Video in the U.S