Hundreds of Beavers is a new American independent film that begins with a musical sequence combining impressive animation with live-action that’s hilarious. That’s when it shifts gears going into unexpected territory. Directed by Mike Cheslik its filmed in Black and White using minimal dialogue as a man named Jean Kayak survives the wilderness in the 19th century alone while becoming a fur trapper. It’s a nice homage to silent films. As the plot progresses what little dialogue there is gets shown on title cards.

He tries starting a fire and hunting before finding the titular dam building mammals accompanied by cartoonish silly orchestral music after it immediately shifts to live-action presumably with green screens on a sound stage when not filming on location in Wisconsin. The violence is so over the top that it’s hilarious too. It’s uniquely filmed in such a way it has movie magic moments. It looks and sounds like he’s in cartoon but he’s not. I wondered how they accomplished some of the shots they got like the scenes inside the beaver dam.

Written by Ryland Brickson Cole Tews and Mike Cheslik, the film relies solely on visual sight gags and slapstick. It’s interesting for the first half hour or so but the gimmick got old fast. At times I laughed out loud because of unexpected slapstick punchlines and other times I rolled my eyes because of the obvious repetitive sight gags. The Beavers are seen towards the beginning but they don’t become relevant to the plot until 45 minutes in, almost halfway through. I love cartoons but the secret to their success is brevity. They’re shorts for a reason, to stay sharp. After a while it gets dull until the climax. I love when they say the name of the movie in the movie I’m watching so the way they wrote the title into it, how it comes into play, is very clever.

Ryland Brickson Cole Tews plays Jean Kayak. He doesn’t say much aside from the occasional laugh or scream depending on the outcome of the situation. He has a good storyline as he learns from his mistakes and upgrades his arsenal to become a better hunter to achieve his goal much like video game characters. His motivation is clear. It’s practically a one-man show. He does a good job carrying the film with his facial expressions and other body language.

The rest of the cast is small. Doug Mancheski is The Merchant. Olivia Graves is The Merchant’s Daughter/The Furrier. Wes Tank is The Master Trapper. Luis Rico is The Native American Trapper. They all have great comedic timing. Aside from cast members there are people wearing dog, rabbit, raccoon, wolf, and beaver costumes. Out of context, it may sound bizarre but somehow they made it fit into the world they created. The Sherlock Holmes and Watson Beavers steal the show with their pantomime style acting as they try to crack the case of who murdered their Beaver brethren.

Overall, Hundreds of Beavers is a genuinely original, although unconventional, film because the way it’s shot and edited. The writing is where the film gets redundant. It plays out like a video game until the conclusion which both helps and hinders the film. He traps animals, gets upgrades, and hunts some more. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. It feels like unnecessary filler until the Beavers become relevant. It’s full of silly, irreverent situations reminiscent of Looney Tunes and Benny Hill. Sometimes I laughed because of the sheer absurdity of it all. If the humour wasn’t so hit and miss I probably wouldn’t have felt the nearly two-hour runtime. I still enjoy cartoons in my late 30s, however, this would have been perceived better as a short film. I’d recommend it because it needs to be seen to be believed but its not for everyone. And remember, if you plan on hunting, beavers give a dam.