Insane Retro Slapstick Mania! ‘Hundreds of Beavers’ is a Divine Comedy Blast!

The live-action cartoon “Hundreds of Beavers,” brought to life by Milwaukee-based filmmakers Mike Cheslik and Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, is bursting with whimsical eccentricity. This wilderness comedy, filled to the brim with amusing gags, pits a smitten fur trapper against an army of beavers. Having created waves in the underground festival circuit, this film’s lunatic creativity is unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

While the film’s inspirations are clear — from classic silent two-reel shorts and vintage animations to films like “Caddyshack” — its unique brand of madness stands apart. The film draws on contemporary comedy, incorporating elements of video game worlds and TikTok filters, resulting in an intoxicating mix of inventive humor and awe-inspiring visual effects (of which there are more than 1500).

In essence, this film is a cocktail of unhinged cinema, borrowing from the comedic traditions of greats like Buster Keaton, Tex Avery, Mel Brooks, and George Miller. Despite being a feature-length film, it maintains a steady stream of outlandish visual jokes that will keep you entertained throughout.

Presented as an old-fashioned, black-and-white film complete with title cards, sound effects, accelerated action, and upbeat music, “Hundreds of Beavers” does tell a story. However, the narrative is secondary to the comedic spectacle, serving mainly to frame the hilarity. The film introduces us to the absurdly bearded Jean Kayak (played by the brilliantly ridiculous Tews, who also co-wrote the film). Jean, an applejack maker, suffers a catastrophic failure when a pair of beavers wreak havoc on his operation.

Left destitute and starving, Jean struggles to hunt game, much like a certain infamous coyote we know. His luck turns when he becomes smitten with the knife-wielding daughter (Olivia Graves) of a burly furrier (Doug Mancheski). Inspired by a mountain man (Wes Tank) with a knack for trapping animals, Jean sets out to become a legendary fur trapper. But to do so, he must outwit a clever legion of beavers who have their own strategies for survival.

The film is a surreal blend of animated physics and comedic drama, resembling a fever dream of wilderness survival recorded on a home-movie camera. Among the film’s oddities are human-sized animal costumes, arcade-style graphics, slapstick humor, pole dancing, cute maggot puppets, intricate Rube Goldberg machines, expressionistic sequences, and even a rodent bar fight. Tews, with his elastic facial expressions, delivers a masterclass in silent film comedy.

Is it overwhelming? Absolutely. But Cheslik, Tews, and their creative collaborators are such film enthusiasts that they’d rather serve up a banquet than a balanced meal. The result is a joyously chaotic mix of laughter, wonder, and confusion. It’s as if the filmmakers took the cold setting of the film to heart — in their world, stopping would mean death. So, if you’re missing out on the soon-to-be-removed “Coyote vs. Acme,” consider quenching your thirst for wild comedy with “Hundreds of Beavers.” This indie gem is as visionary as they come, and a hell of a lot more fun.