NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The microbudget movie "Hundreds of Beavers鈥� has Mike Cheslik鈥檚 film, made for just $150,000 and self-distributed in theaters, has managed to gnaw its way into a movie culture largely dominated by big-budget sequels.
鈥淗undreds of Beavers鈥� is a wordless black-and-white bonanza of slapstick antics about a stranded 19th century applejack salesman, played by his friend Ryland Tews, at war with a bevy of beavers, all of whom are played by actors in mascot costumes. It's played in at least one theater a week since opening in January. On Dec. 5, it will play in more theaters than any point before.
It's no overnight sensation. It's been two years since Cheslik first premiered
Here's how it happened:
Like all great ideas, 鈥淗undreds of Beavers鈥� started at a bar. In October 2018, Cheslik and Tews 鈥� friends since they were 15 growing up in Wisconsin 鈥� were talking over how they could expand from their last film, an antic, even lower budgeted B-movie about the hunt for a Great Lakes sea monster. It culminated in an elaborate animation sequence by Cheslik, a trial run for 鈥淗undreds of Beavers.鈥�
For their next movie, Cheslik imagined something reminiscent of childhood, with snowball fights and sled chases. Oh, and mascot costumes. 鈥淏ecause mascots falling down is a universal language,鈥� Tews says. 鈥淓veryone thinks that鈥檚 funny.鈥�
鈥淚 love slapstick and I don鈥檛 know why it was a dormant genre for so long,鈥� adds Cheslik. 鈥淢y guess is that when a country shifts from having more physical jobs to more of a service economy then the sense of humor becomes more verbal. The alligator in a pit is an HR referral instead of getting hurt at your job.鈥�
They made 鈥淗undreds of Beavers鈥� over two winters during the pandemic, with pick-up shoots in between. It wasn鈥檛 particularly fun work 鈥� they were outside in negative degree weather schlepping gear through the snow. But they were making exactly the movie they wanted, without compromise. And it didn鈥檛 resemble anything at the multiplex.
鈥淩yland and I complained about movies a lot during the making of 鈥楬undreds of Beavers,鈥欌�� Cheslik says. 鈥淚 think we just complained for six years straight.鈥�
Cheslik and Tews are not proponents of high-priced gear. Making a movie, they say, doesn鈥檛 have be an 8K camera and a rented location.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not camera nerds,鈥� says Cheslik. 鈥淲e just like images with strong shapes. We like to say: Shapes are free.鈥�
In editing, Cheslik brought those shapes into greater relief. 鈥淗undreds of Beavers鈥� plays out as a surreal ballet of chiaroscuro pratfalls, with cartoonish figures set against a white winter expanse. The beavers, themselves, never totaled more than six, with Tews, Cheslik or friends variously acting inside the costumes. Almost every shot in the movie required at least some effects work.
鈥淲hat you can do is go on your computer and take those six and duplicate them. I鈥檓 talkin鈥� 12 beavers. I鈥檓 talkin鈥�, imagine a number, 18,鈥� deadpans Cheslik. 鈥淚t鈥檚 technical stuff.鈥�
Once it was finally done, they excitedly hit the festival circuit. After debuting 鈥淗undreds of Beavers鈥� at the Fantastic Fest, they played more festivals. And then some more. The crowd reaction was great and they won an audience award at the Fantasia Film Festival in 2023. But a decent offer never came. The old way of shopping a movie at a festival, they found, didn鈥檛 really exist anymore.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not enough just to make a movie,鈥� says Tews. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 just the very beginning.鈥�
Producer Kurt Ravenwood decided to explore a self release. They sold streaming rights to Cineverse, the company that recently distributed But they kept theatrical, merchandising and Blu-ray rights.
鈥淚t was a calculated risk to keep theatrical rights to ourselves,鈥� Ravenwood says. 鈥淲e had never, ever in our lives put on a theatrical run. But we knew that if we were able to get it booked, it would do well.鈥�
They hired a distribution veteran to help book theaters and a publicist to spread the word. And they crossed their fingers.
鈥淲e believe that indie movies that go into the digital nothingness of streaming don鈥檛 get into the culture,鈥� says Ravenwood. 鈥淪o we kicked it off with this roadshow. At first, we needed to prove to theaters that people would show up. Besides just the movie, we鈥檇 bring the circus to town.鈥�
Calling it the 鈥淕reat Lakes Roadshow,鈥� they rented out theaters and played 鈥淗undreds of Beavers鈥� to mostly sold-out screenings in the Midwest. They didn鈥檛 just play the movie, but created a vaudeville act to go along with it. The beaver mascot costumes came out of the closet.
鈥淚f anything, this is what Instagram creators and TikTok creators are used to every day,鈥� says Ravenwood. 鈥淭hey both make the content and distribute the content via platform. If filmmakers want to reach an audience, they have to treat it like online creators treat it.鈥�
Their quixotic gambit worked. People and media started taking notice. 鈥淏eaver fever,鈥� as they say, took hold. None of it happened quickly, or easily. Ravenwood shipped a lot of posters and digital versions of the film. Cheslik and Tews spent two years just releasing their movie. Six years had passed since they had started. Making looked, comparatively, like a piece of cake. But they did it.
鈥淚t was a life goal that was achieved,鈥� Cheslik says. 鈥淲hich is just a horrible thing to have happen.鈥�
They are already pondering their next movie; notecards hung on the wall behind Cheslik. For now, he鈥檚 only saying that it will, like 鈥淗undreds of Beavers,鈥� feature precise physical comedy.
The beaver suits? Cheslik imagines they must now be filled with black mold that after being torn and repaired countless times, going through two Wisconsin winters, dozens of festivals and some 20 roadshows.
Next time, he and Tews hope is a little easier 鈥� a little easier to make a living from, and a little easier to find their way into theaters.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 love when people say, 鈥極ur goal with this film just to get it out there. I don鈥檛 care if I make money,鈥欌�� Cheslik says. 鈥淎re these films vanity projects for trust fund hobbyists, or is this an industry?鈥�
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
