'Butt Birth' Rhino From 'Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls' Is Up For Auction And It's Practically A Car

Not to beat a mechanical horse, but have you seen car prices lately? Jeez. The average new car price is hitting $50,000 right now! Surely there is a better way to get around. Well friends, I bring you good news — the mechanical "butt birth" rhino from the 1995 film "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls" is going up for auction this month, and with a front grille, doors, a seat, a dashboard and even a cooling fan, it's got almost all the components needed to make up a basic car. At a projected auction price of $4,000-$8,000, it's the perfect budget option for all your urban safari needs.

Just check out the fun details and photos from this auction listing, which might be my favorite of all time: 

Ace Ventura's (Jim Carrey) screen-matched, oversized mechanical "butt birth" rhino from Steve Oedekerk's Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. During his investigation into Burton Quinn's (Bob Gunton) role in the disappearance of the sacred white bat, legendary pet detective Ace hid inside a mechanical rhinoceros.

In a now-classic moment, Ace was forced to crawl out through its backside in the style of a baby's birth after the cooling fan inside it broke, shocking tourists on safari. Distinctive patterning on the bolts, as well as the placement of holes drilled into the top of the door hatch on this rhino's side, screen-match to when Ace climbed out of the rhino's butt, though this rhino's neck and legs appear slightly differently today as a result of sympathetic restoration and repainting conducted after filming.

After the massive success of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, When Nature Calls proved an even bigger hit, earning more than $212 million at the global box office as well as an MTV Movie Award® for Best Comedic Performance for Carrey. As a result, the film was widely influential in popular culture of the 1990s, with this specific butt birth rhinoceros serving as the central prop in what is today considered its showcase sequence. While shots of Ventura inside his mechanized rhino were completed on a soundstage, this full-size example measuring more than 10 feet from tip-to-tail was built solely for exterior shots of the giant mammal. It originates from Planet Hollywood.

There is some wear and tear on the fiberglass creature, with the rhino "[exhibiting] chipped paint and a buildup of grime throughout." Unfortunately, the once-movable legs and head are now made of rigid styrofoam, fixed in place after extensive restoration efforts to save the prop's crumbling latex parts, but what once moved can move again with the right attitude and plenty of WD-40. Add an LS engine and suddenly you've got a rhino butt car fit for the world's greatest pet detective, that's still cheaper than anything the auto industry is pumping out at the moment. But Erin, I hear you say, what about things like axles and transmission and brakes? To which I say, how the hell did you even manage to get in my house with all your quitter talk? 

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What you really have to look out for is keeping your ventilation and side door working, as these were the components that failed and forced Jim Carrey's titular Ace Ventura to escape via the back end of the mechanical rhino. Naturally, this occurred in the film in front of a stunned family who thought they were witnessing the miracle of birth, only to see a naked, sweaty Carrey flop out. The good news is, the latex "butt skin" has been replaced since filming because the original tore, so if you do need to escape via the back door, it'll be just as hilarious. 

I know you may be thinking "sure, that scene was funny in 1995, but thirty years later, my tastes in comedy have evolved. It can't possibly still be funny." And I am here to tell you: you are so wrong.
"When Nature Calls" was a huge hit back in 1995 for a good reason. I remember being a kid and literally rolling on the floor laughing with my Dad and siblings when we rented the VHS one Friday night night. (Yep, I'm old.) And you know what? After revisiting the film via this auction listing, it still holds up. Jim Carrey is hilarious as Ace Ventura, and only an actor with his physicality and mastery of facial expressions could make this gag work. We're just lucky it came out way before the days of the internet could ruin it via overcooked memes. Could you imagine what Elon Musk would have done if this movie came out today? The horror.