Beer Parade: A Weird Little Trip Through Prohibition History

Is this worth a watch?

If you're a fan of animation history or just enjoy feeling deeply confused for five minutes, then sure, fire it up. If you're looking for a coherent story or something that hasn't aged like a block of questionable cheese, maybe skip it. It's definitely not for the easily unsettled.

There is something inherently wrong about watching two little cartoon boys—Scrappy and Oopie—cheering for the return of alcohol. It’s like a weird, unintended PSA from the 1930s. The whole thing plays out with this frantic, disjointed energy that makes you wonder what was going on in the room when this was storyboarded.

Then there are the gnomes. These guys look like they’ve been dragged straight out of Rip Van Winkle and dumped into a vat of yeast. They aren't just background characters; they are the entire engine of this strange little parade. Watching them guzzle beer with such intense, cartoonish glee is… well, it’s certainly something you don’t see in The Declaration of Independence.

The villain is this dusty old guy in a stovepipe hat, representing Prohibition. He’s essentially a walking, talking sourpuss. Watching him get stripped and chased off by a bunch of magical forest dwellers is the kind of surreal payoff that only old-school animation could provide. It’s mean-spirited in a way that feels almost charmingly blunt.

Some random notes:

• The pacing is frantic, like the animator had a train to catch.
• The gnome designs are actually surprisingly creepy when you look at them for too long.
• It reminds me of the chaotic energy in See America Thirst, though that's a different kind of mess.
• I spent most of the runtime wondering why these kids have access to a gnome-run brewery.

You can tell Dick Huemer was just having a laugh with this one. It’s not a masterpiece, and it’s not trying to be. It’s just a weird, specific, and slightly drunken slice of history that feels like it shouldn't exist. Kind of like how I feel after watching West of Zanzibar—you just sit there blinking at the screen once the credits roll. 🍻