Snowshoeing Cartoonist Chad Carpenter: “MOOSE” the Live-Action Movie

Snowshoeing among many other adventures in Alaska, the ever-popular cartoonist Chad Carpenter’s “Tundra” in newspapers everywhere now reveals “Moose” a live-action feature-length film. Set naturally enough in Alaska, the movie has elements of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks though from a much, much different angle. For example, there is not a lot of pie that I saw on the website, but outhouses are plentiful. The October 25, 2014 premier chose not to be in Hollywood but rather Wasilla at the Valley Cinema whose location is identified as “Next to Wal-Mart” if you get lost. Dress is “Alaska Formal” that I interpret as pretty much how most snowshoers dress after a long trek . . . or during for that matter.

smoky the bear in Moose Life movie by Tundra chad carpenterThe screenplay found its origins in the brains of Chad and Darin Carpenter. “Moose” mixes comedy and suspense in a tale about an ancient beast that is part moose, part man. I think the creature passed me at the USSSA National Championships, but I digress. Essentially, two park rangers and a coroner’s assistant–what’s a movie without someone from the coroner’s office?–find themselves facing the beastly moose.

Chad Carpenters park Ranger Gangrene GulchWhere does all this take place? Gangrene Gulch, Alaska, a candidate for the 2016 International Snowshoe Federation’s World racing championship, where woodsy-type folk live . . . at least that’s what the website indicates. Searching further one learns that a narcoleptic dispatcher, “a herd of hippies,” insane truck drivers–wait, I see those all the time; car drivers, too–and the mayor who is a chicken, really, a chicken. Can one egg the honorable mayor on?

chad carpenter snowshoe hypothermia cartoonSee a trailer plus much more craziness at the website. Quick, book your flight and get your tickets. With the cast and crew from Wasilla, tickets will be hot items in this cold terrain. Otherwise, make note when this soon-to-be-hit comes to a cinema near you whether or not a Wal-Mart is involved.

Chad Carpenter generously allowed one of the great snowshoeing cartoons of all times to be reprinted for my book HARMONZING: Keys to Living in the Song of Life. The above example is terrific, but not it. I admit, privately most times, to reading his cartoons on a daily basis . . . and I’m still, mostly, somewhat normal about one week a month or two. Merchandise from the movie is available; I expect to see the Gangrene Gulch patches displayed on the arms of a number of snowshoers in the upcoming USSSA Nationals in Eau Claire, WI, and the ISSF World Championships in Quebec City, Canada.

phillip@ultrasuperior.com

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