65
Metascore
8 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Film ThreatAlan NgFilm ThreatAlan NgAs a documentary, Rodents of Usual Size makes good use of animation illustrating how Louisiana got itself into this environmental disaster. The filmmakers interview a wide variety of citizens who come at the problem from their own unique perspective. They also capture some of the most once beautiful and now devastating images of Louisiana itself.
- 75San Francisco ChronicleDavid LewisSan Francisco ChronicleDavid LewisA bit icky yet full of charm, the engaging documentary Rodents of Unusual Size introduces us to the nutria, a furry antihero that’s a cross between a huge rat and a beaver — and that has been damaging Louisiana’s delicate wetlands for decades. The film serves as both an environmental cautionary tale for other states (including California) and an interesting slice of Cajun life.
- 75Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreIf the carnage of “nutria skinning contests” doesn’t turn you off, the sheer waste just might.
- 70Film Journal InternationalEric MonderFilm Journal InternationalEric MonderDirector-producers Quinn Costello, Chris Metzler and Jeff Springer, along with narrator Wendell Pierce (of TV’s “Treme”) keep the tone light, but the underlying message is both timely and worth remembering: You can mess with Mother Nature, but she will mess back.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckRodents of Unusual Size proves enjoyably quirky and informative.
- 70L.A. WeeklyKaren HanL.A. WeeklyKaren HanThe documentary, directed by Chris Metzler, Jeff Springer and Quinn Costello, and narrated by Wendell Pierce, uses cartoon diagrams and a cheerful score by the Lost Bayou Ramblers to make its tale of inherited destruction and trauma as charming as possible. The way that initial ease peels back is the film’s greatest asset.
- 60New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottNew Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottWhile the film is ostensibly about nutria, the real stars are the locals who help tell the story -- and who, by displaying their grit, their smiles, their dialect, their pride -- transform the film as much into a South Louisiana ethnography as an environmental call to arms.
- 50Los Angeles TimesKevin CrustLos Angeles TimesKevin CrustThe film’s initial non-judgmental perspective eventually sounds more like a public service announcement for Louisiana’s nutria control program.