Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Beaver

  • 20112011
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 1h 31m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
49K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
10,582
1,146
Mel Gibson in The Beaver (2011)
A troubled husband and executive adopts a beaver hand-puppet as his sole means of communicating.
Play trailer2:26
2 Videos
39 Photos
Drama
A troubled husband and executive adopts a beaver hand-puppet as his sole means of communication.A troubled husband and executive adopts a beaver hand-puppet as his sole means of communication.A troubled husband and executive adopts a beaver hand-puppet as his sole means of communication.
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
49K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
10,582
1,146
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Jodie Foster
    • Writer
      • Kyle Killen
    • Stars
      • Mel Gibson
      • Jodie Foster
      • Anton Yelchin
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Jodie Foster
    • Writer
      • Kyle Killen
    • Stars
      • Mel Gibson
      • Jodie Foster
      • Anton Yelchin
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 170User reviews
    • 283Critic reviews
    • 60Metascore
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 12 nominations

    Videos2

    The Beaver: Trailer #1
    Trailer 2:26
    The Beaver: Trailer #1
    Jodie Foster: The IMDb Original Interview
    Interview 4:15
    Jodie Foster: The IMDb Original Interview

    Photos39

    Jodie Foster in The Beaver (2011)
    Mel Gibson in The Beaver (2011)
    Anton Yelchin and Jennifer Lawrence in The Beaver (2011)
    Jodie Foster and Mel Gibson in The Beaver (2011)
    Jodie Foster, Anton Yelchin, and Riley Thomas Stewart in The Beaver (2011)
    Mel Gibson and Riley Thomas Stewart in The Beaver (2011)
    Jodie Foster and Mel Gibson in The Beaver (2011)
    Jodie Foster in The Beaver (2011)
    Jodie Foster and Hagen Bogdanski in The Beaver (2011)
    Jodie Foster, Mel Gibson, Hagen Bogdanski, and Dianne Dreyer in The Beaver (2011)
    Jodie Foster and Anton Yelchin at an event for The Beaver (2011)
    Jodie Foster, Mel Gibson, Anton Yelchin, Jennifer Lawrence, and Riley Thomas Stewart in The Beaver (2011)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Mel Gibson
    Mel Gibson
    • Walter Black
    Jodie Foster
    Jodie Foster
    • Meredith Black
    Anton Yelchin
    Anton Yelchin
    • Porter Black
    Cherry Jones
    Cherry Jones
    • Vice President
    Riley Thomas Stewart
    Riley Thomas Stewart
    • Henry Black
    Zachary Booth
    Zachary Booth
    • Jared
    Jennifer Lawrence
    Jennifer Lawrence
    • Norah
    Jeff Corbett
    • Volunteer Dad
    Baylen Thomas
    Baylen Thomas
    • Skeptical Man
    Sam Breslin Wright
    Sam Breslin Wright
    • Man
    Kelly Coffield Park
    Kelly Coffield Park
    • Norah's Mom
    Michael Rivera
    Michael Rivera
    • Hector
    Kris Arnold
    Kris Arnold
    • Waiter
    Elizabeth Kaledin
    • Reporter
    Matt Lauer
    Matt Lauer
    • Matt Lauer
    Jon Stewart
    Jon Stewart
    • Jon Stewart
    Terry Gross
    • Terry Gross
    Folake Olowofoyeku
    Folake Olowofoyeku
    • Nurse
    • Director
      • Jodie Foster
    • Writer
      • Kyle Killen
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Get the Gringo
    6.9
    Get the Gringo
    Edge of Darkness
    6.6
    Edge of Darkness
    The Man Without a Face
    6.7
    The Man Without a Face
    Winter's Bone
    7.1
    Winter's Bone
    Blood Father
    6.4
    Blood Father
    The Poker House
    6.3
    The Poker House
    Conspiracy Theory
    6.7
    Conspiracy Theory
    Payback
    7.1
    Payback
    The Devil You Know
    3.2
    The Devil You Know
    Ransom
    6.7
    Ransom
    Like Crazy
    6.6
    Like Crazy
    The Burning Plain
    6.8
    The Burning Plain

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Before Summit Entertainment settled for a release date in Spring 2011, this film had been shelved, due to Mel Gibson allegedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva.
    • Goofs
      When Anton Yelchin's character bangs his head into the wall and it goes through the side of the house, that's impossible as shown. The cedar shake siding is not shown as held to the side of the house with anything, whereas in reality is has to be nailed down. The house would have some cladding such as plywood to nail the shakes to, and then a barrier such as asphalt or homewrap, at the very least. It is not possible to make a small hole in the interior wall and push one shake off the outside of the house in the same location.
    • Quotes

      Walter Black: We reach a point where, in order to go on, we have to wipe the slate clean. We start to see ourselves as a box that we're trapped inside and no matter how we try and escape, self help, therapy, drugs, we just sink further and further down. The only way to truly break out of the box is to get rid of it all together... I mean, you built it in the first place. If the people around you are breaking your spirit, who needs them? Your wife who pretends to love you, your son who can't even stand you. I mean, put them out of their misery. Starting over isn't crazy. Crazy is being miserable and walking around half asleep, numb, day after day after day. Crazy is pretending to be happy. Pretending that the way things are is the way they have to be for the rest of your bleeding life. All the potential, hope, all that joy, feeling, all that passion that life has sucked out of you. Reach out, grab a hold of it and snatch it back from that bloodsucking rabble.

    • Crazy credits
      A letter or two from each cast/crew member remains and forms part of the next credit.
    • Connections
      Featured in Trailer Failure: Bieber Meets Beaver (2010)
    • Soundtracks
      Kung Fu Underscore
      Composed by Jim Helms

    User reviews170

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    A heavy handed drama which showcases sincere performances
    The phrase "I'm depressed" is a phrase we hear people lamenting a lot these days. Heck, we are guilty of whining about how depressed we are too. Work woes? Relationship problems? Uncertain future? Depression is more indeed a convenient state to live with, until a solution comes along. But how serious can depression get? How affected can one get to entirely lose interest in activities that dictate normalcy? While we are no medical experts, we are guessing that if one's feelings of sadness, anxiety, emptiness, worthlessness and restlessness lead to difficulties concentrating, remembering and making simple decisions, he should be duly concerned. We are also guessing that if one can only communicate through a hand puppet like the protagonist of this film, he is in need of medical attention too. After a 16 years hiatus (Home for the Holidays) as director, Jodie Foster casts good friend Mel Gibson (Edge of Darkness) as the CEO of a toy company who becomes depressed after being kicked out by his wife. A series of incidents leads to him taking on a new persona in which he speaks through a beaver hand puppet. His wife and elder son are unconvinced that he is serious about this, but as a favour to his younger son who loves the beaver, they try to play along with the depressed man. Anyone with some common sense would think that this setup is a joke, wouldn't he? We, too, would be cynical if someone comes up to us one day to say that he can only converse through a hand puppet. However, we wouldn't mind playing along if the puppet was cute. And in this case, the beaver is one adorable creation that you'd want to cuddle. But wait till you see how serious our protagonist is with his newfound identity. That is also probably when you realise that this 91 minute film written by Kyle Killen has got a somber message to tell. Things get heavy handed as Gibson's character plunges deeper into this absurd game, and as a concerned fellow human being, you begin to wonder how severe one's depression can get. Gibson seems to be the perfect actor to play the troubled protagonist. The Australian actor has been in the news recently for accusations of anti-Semitism, misogyny and racism – could the Academy Award winning filmmaker be facing some personal problems himself? His sunken eyes and sullen emotions in the film seem to be cry out for help, and you can't resist reading a little deeper into this role. Besides directing the film, his Maverick (1994) co star Foster takes on the role of the skeptical wife. The two have a comfortable on screen chemistry, probably due to their long time friendship. The film also features outstanding performances by up and coming young actor Anton Yelchin (Terminator Salvation) as the couple's elder son and Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone) as his girlfriend hiding a secret. Audiences expecting a smart comedy (who wouldn't when the protagonist talks through a beaver puppet almost throughout the movie?) will be left cold by the production's serious tone. There is a unsettling feeling that the film tries a little too hard at times to shed light on depression as a medical condition, but we are assuming that its intentions are good – you wouldn't want yourself to resort to conversing via a hand puppet one day, would you?
    helpful•16
    11
    • moviexclusive
    • Jun 23, 2011

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 19, 2011 (Germany)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • United Arab Emirates
    • Official site
      • Vidio (Indonesia)
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Hải Ly
    • Filming locations
      • 1125 Grand Concourse, Bronx, New York City, New York, USA
    • Production companies
      • Summit Entertainment
      • Participant
      • Imagenation Abu Dhabi FZ
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $21,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $970,816
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $107,577
      • May 8, 2011
    • Gross worldwide
      • $7,294,800
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 31 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Mel Gibson in The Beaver (2011)
    Top Gap
    By what name was The Beaver (2011) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    New & Upcoming Superhero Movies and Series
    See the full list
    View list
    List
    Fall TV Guide: The Best Shows Coming This Year
    See the full list
    View image
    Photos
    These Stars Are on the Rise
    See the gallery

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more access
    Sign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.