Wacky Weasels, similar to Bad Weasels, features two weasels, Slim and Glutton, trying tirelessly to catch three chickens, Free Range, Uncle Waddles, and Small Fry, and eat them for dinner. As the film moves through numerous but sequential storylines, viewers witness Slim and Glutton’s comedic attempts to catch the chickens.
Unlike in Bad Weasels, each story in Wacky Weasels seems to focus on one or two characters as opposed to the whole cast. The first story is centered on the weasels trying to get Small Fry as she tries to retrieve a package that is delayed. The second is about a fishing rod the weasels found. In the third, the chickens need a nanny; in the fourth Uncle Waddles teaches Free Range how to hula-hoop; and in the fifth, as Slim tries to cook Small Fry, Small Fry tricks him into thinking he’s sick and pretends to try and “heal” him. There are other stories interwoven with these main five stories.
The chickens don’t seem to fear the weasels—if anything they find their endeavors funny. It is clear that the focus of the film is more comedy than anything else—as many of the things the weasels try to do will clearly not work as planned. As in most cartoons with this storyline, the good guys (the chickens) are never captured or injured while the bad guys (the weasels) sustain tons of injuries throughout different unfortunate circumstances.
WackyWeasels is a funny cartoon with a storyline that favors classic cartoons like Tom & Jerry, the Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries, and Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. Slim’s character even resembles Swiper from Dora the Explorer in some scenes.
The plot of Wacky Weasels leaves little room for the incorporation of Christianity; its plot is just too generic and straightforward. It includes some mild name-calling and references to the weasels cooking the chickens in different ways.There are some lines that could be offensive to some: for example, the role of a nanny is explained as someone who “cook[s] food and do[es] all the house work for lazy people.” In one scene, while Free Range is learning to hula-hoop, he makes a few comments that could be taken sexually (but only if the viewer listens for them in that way), and, towards the end, Small Fry diagnoses Slim with the H1N1, a.k.a. the swine flu. Mild violence is present, but only in ways that are funny and pertinent to the plot. In addition, no blood or gore is shown on screen, and even instances that should have been deadly—like being placed in an oven—are not. The characters are able to bounce right back from all of their mishaps.
Wacky Weasels is a funny, family-friendly movie. It does not require much attention to understand the plot, so it is also really great for some comic relief after a long day of work. The authors did a great job mixing humor with appropriate material, which is why we award this film Dove-approval for All Ages.
The Dove Review:
Wacky Weasels comically relays the classic cartoon storyline of predator and prey as they go after one another.
