One of the best comedies I have seen for ages. A slapstick comedy that blends an old-school feeling of cartoonish fun while also finding a creative track. Hundreds of Beavers is the directorial debut by Mike Cheslik.  It was filmed with a budget of just six digits with 5 digits just for the costumes. Although it may be a limited budget film, it kills with loads of laughs and is a surreal good time. The film takes place in the 19th century with a story of intentional misdirection where situations of trial and error keep its audience keen to the tunes of the cleverness. A masterpiece that I admire, and it is unforgettable.

Hundreds of Beavers takes place in a winter forest. The cinematography is black-and-white and the film has very little to no dialogue. It focuses on Jean Kayak (played by Ryland Brickson Cole Tews). Jean is an applejack salesman and a drunk, yet he maintains a representation of class and popularity. This all changes though, when he finds himself on a detrimental course of peril in the winter forest with his biggest nemesis being beavers. In addition to that, he has to deal with the harsh and extremely cold temperatures. These beavers are the size of humans. As his journey deepens, Hundreds of Beavers becomesan experience of reverse effects—special effects are added throughout the entirety of the film. This is what makes Hundreds of Beavers hysterical. It takes the Man vs. Nature theme to the most harmonious and creative level I ever seen in an independent project.

Along with Jean, there are others in the winter forest. There is the Lady Furrier (played by Olivia Graves), the Master Fur Trapper (played by Wes Tank), The Merchant (played by Doug Manchewski), and The Indian Fur Trapper (played by Luis Rico), all of whom are puzzled by the stupidity of Jean. He is represented as the one that is faulty, however all of them are in some way. The lack of dialogue and use of facial expressions makes character interaction and development all the more intriguing.  Jean must prove himself to become one of the fur trappers against the beavers. The fact that no one will help him is where his struggle lies. The whole group in the woods is presented as a bunch of nut and Hundreds of Beavers knows how to make “nut” characters hilarious and wacky in not being so smart about nature and forests in the era of the 19th century.

The film opens with a blend of classic cartoon wonders—ones where the audience will think of icons like The Flintstones or Charlie Brown. On top of that, it has that type of cinematography that brings to mind the work of George Melies and Karl Zeman—auteur and historic film pioneers from back in the day. On top of that, the film also feels like a Charlie Chaplin classic—a character who is clumsy in an environment where there is more emphasis of meaning to his surroundings. The audacity of the film is the frequent slapstick moments with the layers of trial and error—the forest and the beavers are smarterthan their human counterparts. The special effects for the comedic moments are truly unforgettable in bringing all of these layers together.

In this winter and forest setup the miracles may not come so easily. The poetics of Hundreds of Beavers is the lack of common sense in the wilderness of the forest.  The animals have the advantage here. With that being said, I found myself thinking continuously about how often Jean is going to fall apart. What does he lack to survive in the outdoors? Why is nature smarter than him? Regardless, the bonker moments in the forest just kept making me gasp to the point where my chest was hurting from so many of the giggles that keep delivering throughout this film. There is no stopping the laughter in Hundreds of Beavers, especially when Jean has conflicts with navigating a map. His drunkenness comes back to haunt him when he must face reality. The old-cartoonish cinematography keeps on the track of an aching and fun comedy in a forestry setting.

Its setup is like Monty Python and the Holy Grail with its use of effects, In Monty Python and the Holy Grail, coconuts were banged together to sound like its characters were riding horsesbecause production did not have enough money for horses; in Hundreds of Beavers, actors were dressed as animals due to the limited budget. The lack of funds is where creativity stepped in achieving the unforgettable laughter that develops in Hundreds of Beavers. Four out of four stars for Hundreds of Beavers.