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    “Trunk Monkey” Turns Stork For Suburban

    By SHOOT StaffUpdated:No Comments1512 Views

    By Millie Takaki

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    The Trunk Monkey is back. The chimp who emerged from an automobile trunk to come to the defense of a driver under attack from a road-enraged motorist helped elevate the creative grade of automobile dealer advertising last year, its humor scoring in "The Best Work You May Never See" gallery (SHOOT, 2/14/03, p. 11) and then gaining recognition at the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) Show.

    That original "Trunk Monkey" spot for Suburban Auto Group, Portland, Ore., was conceived by Big Ads, Portland, the predecessor agency to what is now R/West, Portland. The director was Derek Barnes via Hidden City, which was Big Ads’ in-house production house. (Barnes is a creative at Wieden+Kennedy, Portland.)

    The chimp has since returned, compliments of R/West, helping to capture a car thief in a spot directed earlier this year by director Jeff Gordon of X-Ray Productions, Los Angeles. Now the latest "Trunk Monkey" episode, again helmed by Gordon, has a new creative wrinkle, as the chimp’s handiness translates into the medical field. We see a car racing to get somewhere. But once the camera takes us inside the vehicle, we know exactly where we’re headed—the hospital. A very pregnant woman in the backseat is about to give birth. Her husband, who’s driving, tries to reassure his spouse. "Honey, don’t worry," he says. "I think we’ll make it."

    "Oh god, I think it’s happening," she says, panicking.

    "Now?" asks the hubby.

    "Yes, right now!" she screams.

    The husband stops the car and pulls it off to the side of the road. He then presses the "trunk monkey" button on the dashboard. The trunk pops open and a chimp wearing scrubs and a stethoscope emerges, opens the driver’s side backdoor of the sedan and gazes at the woman.

    "Ooh, ooh, ooh," the chimp hoots softly, as if coaching her to breathe correctly.

    "Breathe with the monkey," the husband chimes in.

    Then the chimp holds the woman’s hand and clearly all will be well. A voiceover intervenes, extolling the trunk monkey option, "an innovative idea you’ll only find at Suburban Auto Group."

    Next, we see the monkey holding a swaddled newborn baby. But the proud parents get a bit nervous when the chimp runs off with the bundle of joy, providing an offbeat ending to a most offbeat commercial.

    Carole Hughes and Joseph Uliano executive produced for X-Ray, with Michael Kanter serving as producer. The DP was Rich Schaefer, who shot the job on location in Trabuco, Calif.

    The R/West creative ensemble consisted of creative director Hartley Rusen, art director Chris Sauer, copywriter Jen Laurino and producer Cassandra Powell.

    The :60 was edited by George Mitchell of Mission Control, Portland. Flame artist was Mission Control’s Mike Quinn. Colorist was Rob Sciarratta of Company 3, Santa Monica. Denise Brown produced for Company 3. Audio engineer/sound designer was Eric Stolberg of Digital One, Portland.

    The chimp, Ellie, was trained by Bob Dunn’s Animal Services, Sylmar, Calif.

    Category:The Best Work You May Never See



    Does “Hundreds of Beavers” Reflect A New Path Forward In Cinema?

    Monday, November 25, 2024

    Hard as it may be to believe, changing the future of cinema was not on Mike Cheslik's mind when he was making "Hundreds of Beavers." Cheslik was in the Northwoods of Wisconsin with a crew of four, sometimes six, standing in snow and making his friend, Ryland Tews, fall down funny.

    "When we were shooting, I kept thinking: It would be so stupid if this got mythologized," says Cheslik.

    And yet, "Hundreds of Beavers" has accrued the stuff of, if not quite myth, then certainly lo-fi legend. Cheslik's 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.

    "Hundreds of Beavers" is a wordless black-and-white bonanza of slapstick antics about a stranded 19th century applejack salesman (Tews) at war with a bevy of beavers, all of whom are played by actors in mascot costumes.

    No one would call "Hundreds of Beavers" expensive looking, but it's far more inventive than much of what Hollywood produces. With some 1,500 effects shots Cheslik slaved over on his home computer, he crafted something like the human version of Donald Duck's snowball fight, and a low-budget heir to the waning tradition of Buster Keaton and "Naked Gun."

    At a time when independent filmmaking is more challenged than ever, "Hundreds of Beavers" has, maybe, suggested a new path forward, albeit a particularly beaver-festooned path.

    After no major distributor stepped forward, the filmmakers opted to launch the movie themselves, beginning with carnivalesque roadshow screenings. Since opening in January, "Hundreds of Beavers" has played in at least one theater every week of the year, though never more than 33 at once. (Blockbusters typically play in around 4,000 locations.)... Read More

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