Brats is a 1930 Laurel and Hardy

Laurel and Hardy

Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...

 comedy short. The film was directed by James Parrott

James Parrott

James Parrott , was an American actor and film director; and the younger brother of film comedian Charley Chase.-Early years:...

. Laurel and Hardy play dual roles as their own children.

Brats was one of four Laurel and Hardy sound shorts reissued in 1937 with new background music scores by Leroy Shield

Leroy Shield

Leroy Shield was an American film score and radio composer.-Career:A native of Waseca, Minnesota, Shield was an employee of RCA Victor's National Broadcasting Company, for which he composed and conducted on-air musical pieces...

. The others were Blotto, County Hospital and Perfect Day.

Plot

Laurel and Hardy are spending a night in with the kids. The fathers are playing checkers and snooker

Snooker

Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...

, but are constantly distracted by their own incompetence and by their children, constantly bullying each other and trying to stay up late.
The film begins with Stan and Ollie playing a game of checkers, and Stan Jr. and Ollie Jr. playing a game of hide and seek. They smash a vase and are sent to bed. Ollie Jr. goes into the bath and chases Stan Jr. out (leaving the taps on), but slips on the soap causing part of the ceiling to crash onto the pool table. Stan and Ollie are furious and rush upstairs. When Oliver opens the door the water from the bathroom gushes out.

Cast

• Stan Laurel
  Stan Laurel
  Arthur Stanley "Stan" Jefferson , better known as Stan Laurel, was an English comic actor, writer and film director, famous as the first half of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy. His film acting career stretched between 1917 and 1951 and included a starring role in the Academy Award winning film...
  
  
• Oliver Hardy
  Oliver Hardy
  Oliver Hardy was an American comic actor famous as one half of Laurel and Hardy, the classic double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted nearly 30 years, from 1927 to 1955.-Early life:...
  
  

Note: This is one of just two shorts to feature only Stan and Ollie in the cast; the other is the 1928 silent Early to Bed

Early to Bed

Early to Bed is a 1928 short comedy silent film starring Laurel and Hardy. When the homeless pair learn that Hardy has inherited a fortune, they move into a mansion...

. It is also the only film in which they play natural fathers.

Special effects

• The illusion of Laurel and Hardy as children was achieved using over-sized furniture. Each room of the house was re-created in large scale to achieve the effect of both duos being in the same house. Even doors and staircases had to be duplicated to appear as though the "children" were child-size.
• The mouse that Stan Jr. nearly shoots with a pellet gun was animated.