Animal Crackers

1930 "The maddest comics of them all!"
7.4| 1h37m| G| en| More Info
Released: 08 August 1930 Released
Producted By: Paramount
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

The well-known explorer and hunter Captain Spaulding has just returned from Africa, and is being welcomed home with a lavish party at the estate of influential society matron Mrs. Rittenhouse when a valuable painting goes missing. The intrepid Captain Spaulding attempts to solve the crime with the help of his silly secretary Horatio Jamison, while sparring with the anarchic Signor Emanuel Ravelli and his nutty sidekick The Professor.

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Reviews

KnotMissPriceless Why so much hype?
Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.
Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%
Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
framptonhollis The Marx Brothers were responsible for crafting some of the greatest and funniest comedies of the 20th century, and "Animal Crackers" ranks high among the list of their finest work. "animal Crackers" embodies the absurd and occasionally nonsensical wit of the Marx Brothers' routine with near flawlessness.This is a masterpiece of the weird and wacky, an anarchic comedy spectacle in which rules are practically non existent; anything can happen in the maniacal comic landscape that the Marx Brothers inhabit. The fourth wall is constantly being broken, puns are being made left and right, insults and one liners are shot from Groucho's mouth at the speed of a bullet, Harpo's physical routines borderline complete madness, and it all culminates together to create one of the greatest and funniest movies of the 1930's. As always, Groucho's fearlessly witty sense of humor is the comedic highlight, while Harpo further proves that physical comedy CAN be done well, and Chico balances both physical and verbal humor in his own charming way (and Zeppo works well as a straight man that his manic brothers can play off of). Chico and Harpo also show off their mind boggling musical talent on the piano and harp. Although these performances do not match those in the cinematic masterwork "A Night at the Opera", they are still extraordinary and make me wish with all of my heart that I had a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of their relentless musical talent.The "plot" surrounding the Marx Brothers' often surreal chaos is hardly even utilized, and when it is the film remains quite entertaining. As always, the mere fragments of a storyline only work as set ups to more comic insanity, and there is nothing wrong with that!
weezeralfalfa The second Marx Brothers talkie film shares quite a few features with their first film: "Cocoanuts". Both were adaptations of recent Broadway shows starring the Marx Brothers. Both were filmed in Paramount's Astoria Studios, in Astoria, Queens, N.Y.. Subsequent films of the series would be filmed in Hollywood. Margaret Dumont plays a wealthy socialite in both films, and something very valuable is stolen either from her or in her house, and the remainder of the film is mostly about finding and recovering this item. In both, Harpo comes up with the missing valuable. In both, there is a young romantic couple, who sing at least one song, and are awaiting an opportunity for the man to prove himself in his profession before they can get married. To me, "Cocoanuts" is the more interesting film of these two and has a more coherent plot. Next to "Room Service", this is my least favorite of the brothers films. The disappearance and reappearance of the various copies of the painting gets very confused and highly contrived after a while. Also, a lot of the humor is rather lame.The new musical numbers were composed by the team of Harry Ruby and Bert Kalmar, who composed the new music for several others of the brother's films. They were honored in the 1950 film "Three Little Words", starring Fred Astaire and Red Skelton.
MisterWhiplash This was the second Marx brothers film and still on the cusp of when sound was being implemented in cinematic technique. So of course it's a little "creaky" or "stagey", as this was originally a musical for the stage and the technology didn't allow for much in the way of innovation. And yet it speaks to how fabulously insane the Marx's were that they make as good an argument for sound being introduced to the movies as any other.It's got a threadbare plot, as might be expected - Captain Spaulding comes in from being away in Africa to Margaret Dumont's mansion, and a "Professor" (good ol' Harpo) and Signor Ravelli (Chico) follow along, and there's a missing/stolen painting plot point - but who needs a plot with these guys? The joy is seeing what Spaulding will say to Dumont next, or how quickly Harpo will chase after the woman and then get into a rather bizarre series of card-shuffling (or not shuffling really), or how Chico can twist words and meaning around through his interactions. Zeppo is... also there too! I think that you either tap into this old-school madness or you don't. I feel sorry for those who don't but can sort of understand how some of this may seem uh 'dated' or even borderline "un-PC" (there may be some jokes at the expense of girls getting hit, but it's from Harpo so I find myself laughing anyway, I mean, look at the guy!) Not every moment is always sparking on comedic cylinders, and there's one point where the movie kind of stops for a romantic song (though it is genuinely, sweetly romantic) and Harpo playing the, well, the harp (is that where he gets the name?!)And of course there's Groucho throwing insult after insult in such a flow that it comes close to something like poetry or iambic pentameter for comic insults (peppered with an occasionally 4th wall break so that we know what's what). But all of the gags work off each other since there's dialog zingers, visual gags, and timing from the 'straight' players that makes it all come flying. So I can't fault it from being "dated" because, for me, this can never truly be dated so long as irrational behavior by the likes of these self-knowing, practically post-modern clowns hits hard.
hayst1 Although I am slightly conflicted between this or a Night At the Opera this one wins every time. Its not restricted by plot or musical numbers or even having a conclusion. No instead the Marx brothers are exactly where they don't belong, high society, which is why it's the best place for them to be funny. The film beginnings with what later became Groucho Marx's anthem (Hooray for Captain Spaulding) and the Craziness goes from there. Whether it's Groucho insulting everyone in sight or whether its Harpo chasing every woman in close perimeter. No lovers leading the story, just the Marx Brothers doing what they do best, upsetting the high society establishment. The musical is even funny and is only contained to Chico playing two songs. The best scene I think that can sum up not only this movie but the great mix of wit and physical comedy can be found in the card playing scene with Margaret Dumont, Chico, and Harpo. At first, the scene is entirely physical comedy almost mimicking that of three stooges, but when they sit down to play cards the quick wit of the Marx Brothers is quickly shown and if you're not paying attention you will have to watch the scene several times to understand everything that's going on.