We really don't have enough pro-trapper movies. I think the last one was 1972's “Jeremiah Johnson.” So, the trapper community was due for some representation.
“Hundreds of Beavers” is a zany, slapstick comedy in the vein of Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton. It's a mostly-silent film about an apple cider brewer in the 1800's who loses his orchard and has to learn to survive in the harsh, northern winter. He becomes a trapper, going up against rabbits, raccoons, wolves, and, well, hundreds of beavers, all of whom are played by actors in full-size mascot suits. The film was written by a couple of Midwestern buddies: Mike Cheslik, who also directs, and Ryland Tews, who also plays the trapper. Made for around $150,000, it's like a live-action Looney Tunes crossed with a video game.
The film is like nothing else you will see this year, and it's an absolute delight! The gags combine the surreal with the practical. (Our first look at the wildlife is when the trapper is drinking from a stream, then looks up to see a guy in a raccoon suit peeing into the water 20 yards upstream.) LOADS of fur-suit animals are harmed in the film, and yet this dialogue-free film has a lot of heart. There is real pathos in the trapper's early isolation, as he learns his trade through painful trial-and-error and crafts snow-companions to ease his loneliness. Later, the relationships among the beavers made me question whether I still wanted to root for the trapper. But, of course, you keep rooting for that goofball, because you want him to wind up with the beautiful trader's daughter!
4 stars out of 5
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