Moxie Flix: Animal Crackers (1930)
Mayhem and zaniness ensue when a valuable painting goes missing during a party in honor of famed African explorer Captain Spaulding. (G, 97 min.)
Showtimes
Saturday, October 10, 2026
12:00 PM
These FREE screenings are part of MOXIE FLIX, a monthly series focusing on essential films for kids to see before they turn 13. This series was made possible by a grant from the Missouri Arts Council and the Springfield Regional Arts Council. A thorough, spoiler-filled Parent’s Guide can be found here.
“Hooray for Captain Spaulding!” as Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and fourth wheel Zeppo rampage through a High Deco Long Island mansion, while Lillian Roth pines, “Why am I so romantic?” A priceless record of their Broadway smash, filmed at Paramount’s Astoria Studios. Long available in versions with poor image and sound, this restoration includes newly-recovered once-censored footage that was long thought lost. Some of the missing footage Universal was able to recover includes a previously missing line from “Hooray for Captain Spaulding,” Groucho’s song and dance number upon returning from Africa; a Harpo gag where he unexpectedly pulls Mrs. Whitehead’s slip out from under her dress; Groucho telling a joke about a “shotgun wedding”; and Zeppo taking dictation from Groucho for a letter to Groucho’s lawyers.
Starring: 4 Marx Brothers (Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Zeppo), Lillian Roth
Director: Victor Heerman
Genre: Comedy
"The first Marx Brothers movie that really captures their unique approach to comedy."
— Dan Lybarger, Nitrate Online
"The Marx Brothers second film was a box office smash that wowed the Depression audience with their zany brand of humor."
— Dennis Schwartz, Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
"One laughs with this movie as much as one did twenty years ago. The extraordinary sequences of the bridge party and Harpo’s arrival are as irresistible as they used to be."
— Francois Truffaut, Arts (France)
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