Panique au village

(In French, 75 min.) This feature-length stop-motion animation that appeared at Cannes is based on the Belgian TV series by Stephane Auber and Vincent Patar. It's a film all made up using tiny figurines to tell the story of a journey to the center of the earth whre a parallel society of pointy-headed and dishonest creatures reigns. Voices of French actors Jeanne Balibar (The Duchess of Langeais) and Benoît Poelvoorde (of Man Bites Dog) are heard. The filmmakers revel in the jerkiness of the figures in (stop) motion.

You might not know this is the same stop-motion technique used in Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox. Auber and Patar have collaborated ( and voice two main characters) in a film that's not only simpler and more primitive in effect (figures even have little stands on the bottom like plaster toys) but more truly uniquely for children. Clearly this cast and crew had more modest means and objectives and motives. They didn't get glamorous superstars to voice the parts and they worked visibly from scratch, bringing to life recreations of kids' little Plasticine toys, a typically mismatched collection including a horse, an Indian, a cowboy, mechanical tractors, a piano lesson, and moving them around on surfaces that could be a village, or could be a train set or a display under a Christmas tree.

These are actually spin-offs from a TV series that Belgian, French, and maybe French Canadian kids would know. They were featured in five-minute films on the arty but widely watched French TV outlet Canal Plus and later dubbed by "Wallace and Gromit" producer Aardman Animations for export to other outlets such as Nicktoons in the U.S.; they can be found on YouTube.

The Town Called Panic effect is much more boldly artificial and crude than the stuffed but charming furry creatures in Wes Anderson's film. This is a thing of slapstick and chases, upended figures and screeches and scrambles. "An antic little joy ride," the Variety reviewer has called it, and that's about right. Shown November 13 at the San Francisco Film Society's 4th Annual Animation Festivial as one of three animated features (the others: Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox and Tarik Saleh's Metropia), it enjoyed a preview at Film Forum in New York the following week, and begins a limited US theatrical release at Film Forum December 16. The feature is not dubbed like the Aardman Animations shorts, which is better to capture the flavor of the original, of course.

This film is unlike the coherent, polished style of other animated films. The stop-motion and narrative are deliberately quite crude, reminding me of a child's improvised play session, and this quality makes the film absolutely unique and memorable. The three characters (Cowboy, Indian and Horse) are quirky, childlike, energetic figures who get tied up in many surreal adventures. You know this film is going to be strange when ordering fifty million bricks is just the introduction!

A Town Called Panic is simply brilliant! It is very simple, and the film consists of Indian, Cowboy, and Horse's misadventures, but the screenplay is clever and very funny. The biggest worry one has when watching a film like this is that maybe after a while the animation style or loose story- telling technique may get one overwhelmed, I know that was my biggest worry. But There was no need! This film was entertaining from the first second to the last, and it is a very energetic film that never once stops. It the equivalent of a child bouncing up and down because he is on a sugar high. If you expect a theme or very story oriented animated film, look elsewhere. This film is all about the one-liners and the wacky situations, but it was still really amazing for a film like this to be this entertaining. Brilliantly well done, and I think it is better than two other similar animated films, Coraline and Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Hilarious, bizarre, entertaining. The sense of humor is quirky and fresh. However, some of the characters and plot elements are a bit simplistic and it's not a particularly "polished" work. These could easily be conscious choices, as the simple characters and plot are easily twisted to create the film's comedic wackiness, and the choppy animation adds to this atmosphere. But overall the work could appear somewhat amateurish, so I'm not sure it's "good enough cinema" to get more than 8 stars... but on the whole, I was thoroughly entertained! This is a fast-paced animated adventure story not specifically for kids nor specifically for adults, but simply for anyone ready to suspend belief and laugh for an hour and a half. NB: The humor definitely comes off even better if the viewer speaks the original French, and does not have to read the subtitles, but even my friends who don't speak French thought this was very funny.

Well deserved award-winning directors Stéphane Aubier & Vincent Patar are to be forever commended for ingeniously and painstakingly creating what can easily be considered one of the top animation films of all time. An adventure/comedy/romance/drama with simple yet detailed & inspired stop-motion animation much like Gumby, Pingu or Henry Selick's work for Burton. So much spirit, charm, wit & creativity culminate into a unique explosion of joy that overwhelms the senses. Every frame is a roller-coaster of activity so packed with inspiration that I wonder what was left out to meet the time limit and when it ended I wanted more. This is destined to become a cult classic for all ages and I eagerly await the multi-talented, award-winning team's next project. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!