Parents' Guide to Hundreds of Beavers

Proof that not every movie is just recycled old ideas, this enjoyable but unusual silent, black-and-white comedy goes both high and low, broad and subtle, winding up someplace most unexpected. Co-written by star Ryland Brickson Cole Tews and director Mike Cheslik, Hundreds of Beavers feels like it might have been inspired by Looney Tunes cartoons, Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times, Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox, and even various John Waters, Terry Gilliam, or Tim Burton movies. But then again, maybe it's just the result of a weird dream or a fevered imagination. It's slapsticky, and the storytelling is somewhat simplistic, but it's also filled with tiny details that whiz by so quickly that you might need two or more viewings to catch them all. There are no spoken words of dialogue, but grunts and sounds effectively convey emotions.

Some of the humor is vulgar, gross, or juvenile, but other moments are rather brilliant. The movie effortlessly moves from silly to nightmarish and back again. And the visual treatment begins with humans running around in animal costumes, melded into an artificial backdrop that's so intricately designed it's hard to tell where real ends and fake begins. Perhaps the movie's most admirable achievement is that it keeps up its pace and keeps viewers' attention for what seems like an absurdly long running time for a movie of this type (108 minutes) without wearing out its welcome. Truthfully, it's difficult to describe Hundreds of Beavers in a way that captures its absurd nature; not everyone will be open to it, but it's a movie that demands to be seen.