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Hundreds of Beavers film image; man in raccoon costume surrounded by people in beaver costumes

Hundreds of Beavers: A Northwoods Christmas

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The funniest, and certainly the furriest movie you will see this year, Hundreds of Beavers channels the zany slapstick shtick of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Bugs Bunny through a videogame quest narrative to retell the eternal saga of Man vs Nature. Man, in this case, is an inebriate applejack distiller, Jean Kayak (Ryland Brickson Cole Tews) who takes up fur trapping to survive a harsh winter. As for nature, the local fauna — beavers, raccoons, horses, skunks — stand tall in mascot costumes with zippers up the back, and they are as plentiful as the title suggests. Unimpressed with Jean’s antics, the critters put up stout resistance.

A marvel of slapstick invention […] puts most big-screen comedies to shame.

Nick Schager, Daily Beast

Soulful silliness… gleefully inventive lo-fi madness… a gag-stuffed wilderness comedy… Gonzo cinema moonshine, distilled from the corny legacy of every loopy genius from Buster Keaton and Tex Avery to Mel Brooks and George Miller. You haven’t experienced anything remotely like it.

Robert Abele, LA Times

This is richly imagined escapist entertainment, a fun machine that opens up rarely used neural pathways and gets you thinking about what cinema could be, in addition to all of the things it already is. Future generations of low-budget filmmakers will derive inspiration and comfort from it. It’s one for the ages: a dam fine movie.

Matt Zoller Seitz, rogerebert.com

Director

Mike Cheslik

Cast

Ryland Brickson Cole Tews

Credits
Country of Origin

USA

Year

2022

Language

English

19+
102 min

Book Tickets

Sunday December 21

3:00 pm
Hearing Assistance
VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema
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Credits

Producer

Ryland Brickson Cole Tews

Screenwriter

Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, Mike Cheslik

Editor

Mike Cheslik

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