Wonderful character development!

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

A different way of telling a story

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

The Marx Brothers were masters of comedy who entertained audiences for four decades in vaudeville, radio, films and television. Five of their films are on the American Film Institute's list of America's Funniest Movies. "Duck Soup" of 1933 is fifth on the list. "A Night at the Opera" of 1935 is number 12, and "A Day at the Races" of 1937 is number 59. Those are my favorites, and all three have zany plots. "Animal Crackers" was the second feature film the brothers made, when Zeppo was part of the acting team. In place of a plot it has a thin line of a story used just to string together dozens of vaudeville skits and bits. Some are very dated and of interest only to see what people laughed at a century ago in entertainment theaters. The filming appears stagy, as if it was done during live vaudeville acts. The performers often speak to the audience off stage. And it has a stage feel even to the point of an echo and sound reverberations as from a sound stage with poor acoustics.Some of the lines still are funny today. But the long list of routines hardly resembles a movie. It's somewhat interesting and entertaining, but it can't hold a candle to the later great comedies the Marx Brothers gave us.

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.

I saw the re-opening in New York, in 1974, and was quite disappointed > after the first half hour, which contains some of the funniest stuff ever filmed for a feature > and a brilliant production number with a young Julius Marx kicking up his heels on HOORAY FOR CAPTAIN SPALDING > we sit slack jawed by long stretches which perhaps garnered a few guffaws at the Broadway opening > in a theatre, where formality is the key and adherence to the book is essential, Groucho's ad-libs must have been a hoot, offhand or not! But for an early "talkie", "left handed moths" and "hungerdungers" just won't fly.If a new fan wants to watch the best of Paramount Marx (they shifted to MGM and made "sensible" movies), they should look for DUCK SOUP, THE COCOANUTS, and HORSE FEATHERS. Along with MONKEY BUSINESS, CRACKERS simply does not stay fresh.

The greatest thing about the Marx Brothers was the diversity of their comedy. Groucho was ultimately a master of the one-liners, Chico alluded to ethnic stereotypes that were popular during his days doing vaudeville, and Harpo was the clown, pulling sight gags from every pocket he had in that huge overcoat he wore. Animal Crackers, their second film as The Marx Brothers, allows them free reign to indulge in their manic brand of comedy due to an absence of plot. What is immediately apparent upon viewing the film is just how postmodern it is. Groucho laments his inner thoughts to camera and a statue shoots back at a startled Harpo, all combining to make one truly insane 95 minutes, made all the more risqué with this being before the introduction of the Hays Code.Famour explorer Captain James T. Spaulding (Groucho) arrives at a house party hosted by the upper-class Mrs. Rittenhouse (Margaret Dumont). Whilst there, he manages to swindle, insult and charm the various guests who are in attendance, namely Roscoe Chandler (Louis Sorin), an art collector who has brought one his most prized paintings to display to the guests. Also there is musician Signor Ravelli (Chico) and his mad sidekick The Professor (Harpo), who are harbouring a plan to steal the painting and replace it with a forgery. Unfortunately for them, there are others who wish to pull off the same trick for different reasons.While the songs are nice and catchy (Groucho's intro song "Hooray for Captain Spaulding" was used in TV quiz show You Bet Your Life, which Groucho hosted), the technical aspects suffer the same way as many films did with the sudden introduction of sound. The screen is crammed with characters, much like a play would be, and this sense of disorganisation takes a little away from the film.But it is all about the comedy after all, and here all three of the brothers are on top form, with Groucho providing the killer lines "one day I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I don't know" and "we took some pictures of the native girls, but they weren't developed. But we're going back again in a couple of weeks!" (Zeppo also appears, but only briefly). When the plot becomes too ridiculous or the action moves away from the Marx Brothers, stick around for another 30 seconds and they'll be something else to laugh at - it's just that funny.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com