Once again, this Marx Brothers film is different from most comedies in that is features a mile-a-minute gags, either verbal or sight, constant silliness and some music thrown in the mix. All of it runs the gamut from very clever to stupid. However, if it gets stupid hang around another minute or so and you'll find something to laugh at.

One problem, especially with this film, is that some of the humor is dated and/or topical, meaning what was funny back then isn't necessarily now or the subject Groucho or Chico is talking about was big news back then but unknown now.

Nonetheless, I still enjoyed this and found a lot of funny material. I enjoy the Marx Brothers clever stuff and their slapstick. I particularly appreciated Groucho apparently ad-libbing one scene. In a few others he acted like he was ad- libbing, turning his head and talking to the camera. You don't see much of that stuff, and it's funny.

Two of the three songs were instrumentals, and they seemed to take away from the pace of the story. Groucho's song, "Hooray For Captain Spaulding," is a classic.

Some consider this to be the best Marx Brothers movie but I found several others I liked a lot more, such as "Horse Feathers" and "Duck Soup," just to name two.

"Animal Crackers" is far from a perfect Marx Brothers film, though it is a heck of a lot more fun and watchable than their first full-length film which was made the previous year, "The Cocoanuts". When you try to watch "The Cocoanuts" today, you marvel at how poor the sound is as well as how incredibly stagy it all looked. And, the brothers weren't quite as relaxed in front of the camera as they would become later. Here in their second film it still is a bit stagy but this is NOT a bad thing necessarily. Sure, the entire film is set in just a few rooms in a mansion BUT I also liked how the film kept its many references to the fact that is IS a play. This sort of self-parody was quite welcome. However, because sound systems were still pretty crude in 1930, there are some noticeable problems--such as how some of the singers (in particular Zeppo) are drowned out by the chorus behind him. It was not perfect, but was a major step in the right direction.

The film begins with a song and dance number "Hooray for Captain Spaulding". Apparently the rich socially-conscious Mrs. Rittenhouse (Margaret Dumont) was thrilled to have the famous African explorer (Groucho) stay with her for a few days--as she wanted to show him off to her society friends. Why ANYONE would want to show off Groucho (other than at a psychiatric conference) is beyond me! In addition, another famous member of the idle rich is there at the party to show off a valuable painting. For no reason in particular, Chico and Harpo show up and behave like the usual riff-raff that they are--and no one seemed to take all that much notice of their shenanigans--especially when the valuable painting disappears! None of this plot particularly makes sense--meaning, it is prime Marx Brothers entertainment--zany and silly throughout. This makes it a lot like some of their best and earliest films like "Horse Feathers" and "Monkey Business"--though not quite up to the standards of either film (particularly "Horse Feathers", which in my opinion is their best and most underrated film). Again, it isn't quite as good mostly due to sound issues--not the humor itself--as there are plenty of laughs as well as many jokes that fall very flat. But, because they come so rapid-fire you aren't waiting long for a good one to land.

While straightforward in its story structure, Animal Crackers is nothing less than a sheer delight. Some of the early sound recording may feel static, but with such hilarity and entertainment on show, you forget about any minor flaws Animal Crackers might have. The film does look good, the cinematography is nice and the sets are good. The film skips by, while the script is witty and sharp with some hilarious lines such "Did somebody call me schnorrer"(one of my favourite ever entrances in a Marx film) and the sight gags are clever and brilliantly timed, the part when Groucho shoots an elephant in his pyjamas is just hysterical. The direction and acting are top notch once again, Groucho is just great fun here, and Margaret Dumont matches him perfectly. Overall, a sheer delight, not the Marx Brothers very best(Duck Soup in my opinion with A Night at the Opera a close second) but it is my top 10 of Marx Brothers flicks. 9/10 Bethany Cox