Brats (1930) User Reviews

Laurel and Hardy as their own kids

[didi-5 · 7/10 · 6 January 2005]

The 'Brats' of the title are mini-Laurel and mini-Hardy, working with over-sized props to give the impression of kids into everything from a bathtub to a wooden chest of drawers.

We find their dads playing a game of draughts (with suitable cheating) while the sons cause havoc and noise. After they are banished upstairs, the kids manage to half-wreck the place and set up a predictable, but still funny, pay-off.

For the facial reactions, the clever set-ups, and Mr Hardy's singing (trying in vain to get the tots to sleep), 'Brats' scores high on the comedy list. There's genuinely good stuff in this short.

Laurel & Hardy as REAL kids this time!

[Boba_Fett1138 · 8/10 · 16 December 2006]

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were of course already big kids in their movies but this time they also play kids.

Beside the roles of the two young children, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, of course also portray the two fathers. This guarantees some hilarious sequences between the two kids and the two fathers. Most of the time Laurel & Hardy are playing against, well, Laurel & Hardy. It makes some of the sequences work out all the more hilarious.

For the sequences with the children the sets are made to look larger. So large toys, a large bed and a large bathroom, among other things. It makes the movie good looking and above all also very original.

Of course Laurel & Hardy look nothing like children, after all they both were close to 40 years old at the time of this movie. Yet it becomes very believable because of the acting of the two with each other. They both help each other out in this movie to make their performances work out as both good and hilarious.

The movie features some really great and funny sequences, such as Oliver going done a staircase on a roller-skate and Laurel & Hardy being washed away by a large flood wave. The movie has some truly unique and hilarious comical moments in it that makes "Brats" an original as well as an hilarious comedy short. It also features plenty of enough slapstick to please the fans but it above all is a movie that should entertain just basically everybody.

Not just your typical average Laurel & Hardy comedy short!

8/10

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Very good comedy short

[rbverhoef · 8/10 · 1 May 2004]

One of the better Laurel & Hardy comedy short movies I have seen, 'Brats' stars only Stanley Laurel and Oliver Hardy. They play Stan and Ollie and their sons. Both wives are out and now they have to take care of the children. While the children play the two adults play a game of checkers, with Laurel easily winning. After the children fight over and over again the kids are send to bed, but there their arguments continue. The fathers play a game of pool in the meanwhile.

This is a very creative short, with lots of big laughs. The scenes with the children have some very large furniture so the actors look smaller. For that reason alone this short is recommended, but fortunately there are more reasons, including those big laughs I mentioned. A very good comedy short, highly recommended.

Enjoyable routines and the gimmick of them playing two roles pays off

[bob the moo · 5 July 2003]

With their wives out for the night, Laurel and Hardy are left to look after their sons. However, not having enough trouble simply trying to enjoy their games of draughts and pool, the two children are just as much of a handful as their dads.

As with many of their best shorts, the plot here is simple and allows for several extended sequences around the same theme. Here we have several good sequences – none of which would make the short it itself but together they work. The gimmick (for that is what it is) of Laurel and Hardy also playing their sons works quite well – although in the scenes where the adults and children are separate it doesn't really matter who is who as it's very much a case of `like father like son'.

The sequences are nothing you haven't seen before but the delivery of them is good and the short doesn't really dip more than once. That `once' is where Hardy sings. I enjoy his voice and always liked the features where he got more of a chance to sing a proper song, however here it goes on for a little longer than it should. The punch line is good but I really had hoped for more. Because it had been built up for about 3 minutes before it actually arrives I had been pumped up and then was a bit deflated by the actual delivery – but this was a minor flaw as I found the majority to be of their usual standard.

As adults or kids Laurel and Hardy are great. In all honesty there is no significant difference between their delivery as kids or adults but this doesn't matter. This is a fine example of their abilities as the two of them are the only people in the film – they carry the film and hold 100% of screen time. I know this must sound easy in a 20 minutes short but I feel that it only appears easy because they make it all look so effortless.

Overall this may be a little gimmicky but it works very well. I am probably a little jaded seeing adults playing kids etc in one form or another in recent movies but here the film moves past the gimmick and delivers classic Laurel and Hardy – just in two separate strands which come together in a flood of chuckles by the end.

Oliver Hardy: "I'll get the water. You might spill it," before the avalanche of water...

[Doylenf · 7/10 · 12 January 2011]

Especially interesting for the miniatures of STAN LAUREL and OLIVER HARDY, since they play dual roles of father and son. The "brats" in the title are the kids who distract their fathers from playing a game of chess and are told to quiet down.

All of the sight gags are fun to watch and the trick photography with the "kids" appearing to cope with over-sized furniture and props is another point of interest.

For the finale, the "kids" forget to turn the water in the tub off after Hardy gets cooled off by the ever thoughtful Stan. The cooling process backfires when the lads forget to turn the water off. The movie concludes with Oliver promising to get the kids a glass of water if they promise to go to sleep.

As Stan starts for the bathroom door, Oliver stops him. "I'll get the water. You might spill it." And then the avalanche of water for the final shot.

Good gags and plotting make this one of the duos more enjoyable shorts, all of it benefiting from the performances of Laurel and Hardy.

A great short!

[naseby · 9/10 · 27 July 2008]

The technical ability of this short from the boys, although early, is one reason alone worth watching the comedy for! It is funny, though as the boys are playing 'themselves' as their children. With grown-up Stan still being dumb, but his 'son', Stanley looking smarter, outsmarting 'little Oliver'. This is where the distinction in names lies, the little ones taking on their full first names, as if they are naughty - how many times did parents mention your full names when chastising you! The props had to be built up for the 'child scenes' in the correct scale, sometimes it wasn't achieved, but this was the 1930's and it was about 30 mins long. The grown ups are playing games, checkers, pool etc, where Stan is giving Ollie a bad time, destroying his furniture, bashing Ollie's nut, (As usual!) with interruptions from the kids fighting, having their dads rush up to sort it out.

One of my favourite 'special effects moments' of all time is where Ollie trips on one of the kids' rollerskates, and falls down the stairs - well, he bumps his butt down the stairs, and his 'legs' are splayed out as he does this. But check this stunt out. You can clearly see it's speeded up, and the so called 'legs' are dummy ones being held out! It's an absolutely absurd but laughable stunt that had me in stitches for the way it was done, and not the actual slapstick it purports to be! It's worth checking out the short for this reason alone! As it goes on, the kids in their antics have filled their en-suite bathroom with water (That's the bathroom, not just the bath - very watertight door holds this water back for the finale!). Oblivious to this, the grown ups have come upstairs to check out the noise, the kids ask if Ollie will sing to them to get them off to sleep. The kids ask for a glass of water when this doesn't go to plan. As Stan goes to get the water, Ollie, hauls him back by his tail, stating: "Just a moment, you might spill it!" leaving Ollie to 'spill it' as he opens the bathroom door in spectacular 'niagara falls' style! It ends here, and as I've said it's a must to check out the stunt of Ollie going down the stairs! It has to be seen to be believed!

Boys will be boys

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 11 September 2015]

"Brats" is a Laurel/Hardy 20-minute comedy short film from 85 years ago. It has sound already, but is still black-and-white. This film could also have the title of my review here (actually a quote out of the film) and one would wonder who are the brats in this video, who are the boys? At least the mini versions of Stan and Ollie have the excuse that their age somewhat allows them to be chaotic and immature, but the big ones are at least as bad. This is certainly a fairly unique plot here with the grown-ups taking care of their young selves. Other than that, it's the usual Laurel & Hardy. i think they are always very funny and entertaining to watch with all the chaos they cause. And obviously, a billiard queue in the hands of Ollie is absolutely not a good idea. A bit surprising to see that there are 5 writers listed here for a 20.minute movie. But it's not a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth and it's one of these rare films with the legendary comedy duo that has no other actors in the cast. Good watch, I recommend it.

Vintage American comedy from the funniest comedy team!

[alexanderdavies-99382 · 10/10 · 30 July 2017]

As with most Laurel and Hardy shorts, "Brats" is an uproariously funny film with many classic gags. Stan and Ollie are babysitting their own sons at home for the evening. You can imagine what happens! Absolute bloody chaos! Little Ollie initiates the trouble by squeezing little Stan's arm and the anarchy immediately results. There follows the attempts of the adult Stan and Ollie in trying to enjoy a game of chequers and then snooker before the damage occurs. The two children are sent to bed early, little Ollie blames Stan and smacks his head. The latter retaliates by poking Ollie in his eye! I can never stop laughing at "Brats," just as with Laurel and Hardy in general.

With today being both Stan Laurel's birthday and Father's Day, I thought I'd watch his and Hardy's Brats for the occasion

[tavm · 7/10 · 16 June 2013]

With today being both Stan Laurel's birthday (he would have been 123 on this day!) and Father's Day, I thought I'd rewatch this short he made with Oliver Hardy since it's the only time they play dads. Specifically, both the parental units and their spitting image offspring (sans mustache on the Hardy son) with giant props to emphasize the Laurel & Hardy children being "actual" kids. There's not much split-screen images in having the two play both roles which is just as well as that might have been too distracting. Not completely hilarious but there are many moments of genuine humor that kept me amused throughout. Oh, and it was nice to hear Mr. Hardy sing another song for the occasion, this time being "Go to Sleep, My Baby". In summary, Brats is well worth it for any Laurel & Hardy fan.

Kid Trouble With Mr. Laurel & Mr. Hardy

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 14 May 2000]

A LAUREL & HARDY Comedy Short.

Stan & Ollie each have a look-alike young son and they're both a couple of BRATS. While the men are trying to have a quiet evening of checkers & billiards, upstairs the two tots are into every sort of infantile mischief - destroying furniture & inflecting bodily injury upon each other...

A hilarious little film, with the Boys each playing a dual role. Good use of oversized props. Ollie (who looks odd without his mustache) sings ‘Go To Sleep, My Baby.'

Politically Incorrect Viewed Today

[Theo Robertson · 7/10 · 19 April 2004]

This is certainly the best of the shorts where Stan and Oliver play dual roles . Fair enough Stan plays Stan the child in much the same way as he plays Stan the adult but Oliver plays his child role in a slightly different way ( Almost like the kid at school who loves getting his fellow pupils into trouble off the teacher ) and it`s a memorable change to see him without his moustache

It`s easy to work out that the primative technical challange of having Stan and Oliver appear was children was simply done by building an oversize set and having the duo dress up as children and it`s interesting to note that apart from one short sequence ( Where the children are in bed so you don`t get to see their faces in close up ) the adults and children never appear in the same shot . It`s painfully obvious however that the mouse that appears is a badly animated effect

Watching this in 2004 there`s a lot of politically incorrect material which would have the do gooder brigade up in arms if it was made today . Children with airguns shooting at mice , a cat getting hit with a roller skate and worse of all an adult threatning to break childrens necks , but it is Stan and Ollie so we can forgive anything in one of the duo`s best remembered and funniest shorts

Kudos for being unique!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 10 October 2006]

This is one of those Laurel and Hardy shorts that you've just got to admire for its novel plot and amazing sets as opposed to how funny it is. This isn't to say the film isn't funny, but the reason most will enjoy it has more to do with the odd plot and cool sets.

Stan and Ollie play dual roles--as themselves and as their young sons! And to do this, some amazing sets needed to be constructed. Identical rooms and props needed to be made--one in normal size and the other about triple normal size to make them look like little kids (probably about four or five years-old). And the film seamlessly switches back and forth! You've just got to admire all the work and final product here.

As far as the humor goes, the film is a bit thinner than the usual film for the duo. While there are gags, most of the time it just consists of the child versions slapping each other around, though occasionally the adult Stan and particular Ollie, get their lumps as well. The very end of the movie is a terrific gag where adult Ollie gets his! Overall, this is a very unique and watchable film that most should enjoy. While not my favorite short, it is still well worth seeing and packs a lot of entertainment.

PS--a continuity problem exists in the film. Stan turns on the water to the tub and the tub seems to fill itself in just a few seconds AND the water turns itself off! While hardly a major mistake, it is rather striking.

"If you must make noise, make it quietly!"

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 29 May 2021]

"Brats" finds the comedy team playing miniature versions of themselves in kids sailor outfits, and getting into every bit of trouble as much as their respective fathers. The twenty minute short goes back and forth between the senior and junior versions of the boys, with little Ollie minus mustache as a result of Hardy shaving it off for those sequences in a rare departure from his normal look. Minor vignettes are offered leading up to the big payoff at the finale when a bathtub that's filled to overflowing concludes the story in a torrent of water. You have to give the Hal Roach studio credit for putting together the oversize sets that complement the scenes with the junior Stan and Ollie, it really makes the effort pay off. It was a tough call which movie quote to place in my summary line above, though the one by Ollie I selected better represents the story. But I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of Stan's little bit of wisdom when he said - "Remember the old adage: You can lead a horse to water, but a candle must be lit!"

Cleverly Devised Sets For A Silly Short.

[rsoonsa · 4/10 · 16 August 2005]

The original 1930 print of this Laurel and Hardy short feature opens with the screen scroll - "Mr. Laurel and Mister Hardy remained home to take care of the children....Their wives are gone out to target practice." This proves to be one of the most humorous segments of the comic pair's highly popular two-reeler wherein they play dual roles, as themselves and as young miniatures Stan Jr. and Oliver Jr., the latter two dwarfed by cleverly constructed oversize sets. In spite of excellent sound quality for the period and an artfully sung lullaby by Hardy, the piece is overly reliant upon trite sight gags that are merely unimaginative slapstick. Although we do not see the wives, a framed photograph of Jean Harlow is upon the mantle, a wittily incongruous hint that she may be one of the absent spouses. Elsewise, this is a gimmick propelled movie, and although one will risk incurring the displeasure of the duo's legion of rabid fans by saying so, the fact remains supreme that when a viewer is consistently aware of what is about to happen before the characters do, any intended interest in them tends to flag.

Very Creative

[Snow Leopard · 27 June 2001]

One of Laurel & Hardy's most creative short features, "Brats" has both comedians playing a dual role. Stanley and Oliver are baby-sitting for little Stanley and Little Oliver, played by themselves, with very imaginative use of over-sized props and settings. The adults try to play checkers and play pool, not always without comic difficulties, while meanwhile the children get into one problem after another, requiring occasional correction from the adults. This short feature has a lot of creative material, clever settings, good cross-cutting, and several very good laughs.

Any fan of these two great entertainers should find this movie to be very amusing.

Laurel and Hardy tangle with clones of themselves

[weezeralfalfa · 7/10 · 23 October 2018]

See the colorized version (or B&W) at YouTube. The boys play themselves as well as small fry clones of themselves. The focus is mainly on the clones, which I will designate as L-Ollie and L-Stan., which have bodies and personalities just like their child-like fathers. In no case do we see the fathers and clones in the same frame. Notice that L-Ollie lacks the moustache of his father: one of the few times Ollie agreed to shave his moustache. Also, the sets for the clones are appropriately oversized........The fathers spend their evening playing checkers and billiards, or admonishing the clones when they get too rambunctious. Finally, the fathers have had enough and order them to bed........ Although they go upstairs, it takes quite a while for them to get in bed. L-Stan gets to the bedroom first, and shuts the door on L-Ollie. L-Stan then pulls the loose doorknob on L-Ollie's side off the shank, the knob falling on L-Ollie's foot. L-Ollie peeks through the hole for the shank. When L-Stan pushes the shank back in, it pokes L-Ollie in the eye. L-Stan climbs onto the bureau from the open bottom drawer. L-Ollie does the same, but he is heavier, and the drawer bottom gives way, causing L-Ollie to knock various things off. Then, L-Ollie spies a poorly-animated mouse on the floor. It goes under the bed and L-Ollie looks under the bed. The mouse hops on Ollie's rump. L-Stan mans the air rifle aiming for the mouse, which hops away, and hits L-Ollie in the rump, causing him to howl. When some liniment L-Stan knocks over pours down L-Ollie's pajamas, he howls even louder. So, L-Stan fills the bathtub and has L-Ollie sit on the edge. Soon, he stops crying, but L-Stan accidentally knocks him in the full tub. L-Ollie is mad as a wet hen........When he leaves the bathroom, L-Ollie accidentally turns on the shower and somehow doesn't notice it. He closes the door behind him. This will haunt them and their fathers at film's end , when Ollie opens the door to get the boys a drink of water. He's greeted with a flood that sweeps him and others away........I consider this to be an average L&H short in terms of interest.

Great movie... I just wanted to point out a couple things

[fredseaborne · 8/10 · 19 August 2009]

I loved this movie... it was really funny and clever. Mostly I am writing this because I had noticed a couple of possible errors in others' comments here, and so I wanted to respectfully point them out: In reply to the comment from "planktonrules" about the tub faucet's turning itself off: I don't think the water was supposed to look/sound as if it actually shut off --- I think it merely stopped making its rushing noise of coming out of the spout because the water level had become as high as the spout. In reply to the comment from "Theo Robertson" about the grownup men and their boys only once appearing in the same shot together: actually, there was a scene in the very beginning of all four people in the same room, but they are far enough away that you can't see their faces all that well. Maybe in that shot, the two children were just young actors made up to look enough like Stan and Ollie to pass as their kids for just that one brief sequence?

It's said that "The child is father to . . . "

[oscaralbert · 7/10 · 18 January 2019]

" . . . Uncle Ben," but I suspect this only applies to nephews of BENJAMIN BUTTON. Most infamous for its RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER finale (that is, "Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink"), BRATS seems to be 90 years ahead of its time. Nowadays the hapless "Stan" and "Ollie" surely would be typecast as insurance commercial shills (and literary researchers would have to delve down to discover whether the word "mayhem" is solely singular in nature, or if it would be possible for this pair of snake eyes to say "Mayhem, like US"). A century ago country bumpkins were so unsophisticated that they'd mistake a "yellow brick road" for a street paved with gold. Similarly, the predominant theme of the BRATS test audience screening cards was "the casting of Stan and Ollie Juniors is remarkably spot-on!" (Of course, these folks' descendants elevated a bankrupt KGB-owned game show host burnt orange buffoon into the Oval Office, and are currently torn between a Colorform, Gumby Bear, and Cracker Jack Tattoo to be our next POTUS!)

Chips of the old blocks

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 17 January 2017]

Brats is unusual a short for Laurel&Hardy because the boys have no supporting players. No Jimmy Finlayson, no Mae Busch to bounce some of the laughs. They are on their own in Brats, times two.

With a little bit of trick photography Hal Roach had both an adult version and a junior version of the boys. It's a father and sons night and they are watching the kids as the wives are apparently having a girl's night out.

No doubt physically, no doubt mentally that these are indeed their father's sons. Both the adults and the Brats get into the same monkey shine situations.

The kids with special oversize sets built by Hal Roach have some wonderful bits. They're offered a nice nickel to whoever gets ready for bed first. Little Ollie steals the nickel, but little Stan gets even so Ollie will have a bit of discomfort before he can spend that nickel.

My other favorite is them trying to catch an animated mouse and little Stan shooting little Ollie with an air rifle at his widest portion.

This one is the boys and Hal Roach at their best.

Hilarious...

[paul_haakonsen · 7/10 · 5 August 2022]

The 1930 comedy short film titled "Brats" is definitely a Laurel and Hardy classic. And this particular film gives you double up on the shenanigans as you have Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy playing two roles each.

The storyline in "Brats" is straight forward and fun, and it is filled with lots of witty banter and slapstick comedy, the stuff that Laurel and Hardy did so well. So it was quite enjoyable to watch this 1930 comedy short film.

The slapstick comedy and physical comedy in "Brats" is well-choreographed and executed on the screen. And I just love the physical mimic of both Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy on the screen.

If you enjoy comedy, and have the chance to watch "Brats", then you definitely should do so, because even 92 years later it is still hilarious, enjoyable and watchable. Then quite simply don't make them like this anymore.

My rating of "Brats" lands on a seven out of ten stars.

Trouble With Kids

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 13 January 2017]

I have to give credit to the people who ran the Laurel and Hardy productions; they were quite creative. In one episode the guy's play their own sisters. In this one they play their children as well as the adults. This called for scenes to include furniture and props much bigger than normal. It comes off very well. Of course little Stannie is as big an idiot as his father and the same for the other "little" guy. Of course, they get into big trouble by doing exactly the kinds of things their adult halves would do. There are some really nice scenes of high slapstick. The ending is great. By the way, the wives are away. They are out doing target practice.

'Brats' is THE one here, for me..

[tim-764-291856 · 8/10 · 9 May 2012]

Whilst the quite well known 'Our Relations' is the main feature on DVD 5 in the Complete box set, I actually think that much shorter 'Brats' has more of the pair's classic slapstick than the others and is funnier.

'Brats' has Ollie & Stan creating havoc around and on a pool table, whilst the brats in question are two little boys (impish Stan & Ollie again) with everything, including the furniture made much bigger to make them appear small. At one point an animated mouse appears to have been drawn onto the film's negatives, the creature being on Ollie's back whilst Laurel gets a gun to shoot it off. The tiny pair then take a massive bath that overflows, disastrously (of course) then they undertake a boxing match - Stan flailing about with huge boxing gloves always looks funny. Adult Ollie then sings them a lullaby that goes on to sound more like an opera!

A mixed bag for me.

[brianberta · 5/10 · 25 May 2022]

Eh, it was okay. Slapstick comedy is fine and all, but I found the jokes in this one to be a mixed bag. Some of the gaps, like the ones where Hardy was hit in the head by various objects, for instance, were overused and stopped being funny fairly quickly, while some other gags were rather straightforward and had somewhat predictable punchlines. On the other hand, there were a couple of well-executed gags here and there, like the pool table and bathtub scenes, but I'd say the jokes missed more than they hit for me. I did enjoy the practical effects though. The oversized props were creative and I had a blast watching Laurel and Hardy interacting with them. That the props looked identical to the furniture they were based on further added to my enjoyment of them. This definitely made up for some of the jokes which fell flat for me. Unfortunately though, they only made up for so much and I'd still call the short average.

I laughed

[henrijpherbert · 25 May 2001]

(possible spoilers...)I consider this to be Laurel and Hardy`s funniest short. The dual roles gimmick is fantastic, as it the clever use of oversized furniture. Stan and Ollie effortlessly ooze hilarity and Ollie`s constant chastising of Stan seems to be more evident in this picture than in most others. The dual roles trick was often used by Stan and Ollie, but never with such a hilarious effect. Stan and Ollie are the only two cast members, so it`s up to them to keep the comedy coming. Though this is their funniest short, I did not find it as funny as some of their features, such as Way Out West.

Stan and Laurel take on two little rascals.

[mark.waltz · 9/10 · 4 December 2014]

With the mothers away, Stan and Laurel are child-like men who must take on two child-like children. The blind leading the blind, as they say, and it would be nice to see what the mother's reactions will be when they return home to find out what this terrible foursome has done to their castle. It's an effort to get the kids to play nice, or as Stan says, "If you must make a noise, make it quietly!". With the help of giant sets to make Laurel and Hardy look like children, this excellent comedy short ranks as one of the best of their films, short or feature length, and has enough verbal and visual gags to appeal to even the pickiest of audiences. A closet full of toys, a giant overflowing bathtub, a bee-bee gun and a sudden dose of pain creating medicine down the back of little Ollie's p.j.'s are amongst the plot devises used to create laughs. Mothers be warned; If you have a set of husbands like Stan and Oliver and two children even worse, do yourselves a favor. Hire two sets of baby sitters-one for the children and one for the grown-ups!