Panique au village

Imagine a world not unlike Terry Gilliam's Monty Python animations mixed with a dash of Robot Chicken, The Mighty Boosh and finish with the wonder of the mind of a child at its most innocent imaginative play and you are close to the beauty that is 'A Town Called Panic'. Made using stop/start animation using only existing toys it mixes humour and surrealist notions in equal measure. In this world talking horses play piano and fall in love, pigs swim underwater with octopuses and scientists are mental and super strong. The main story centres on the characters Indian, Cowboy and Horse who share not just a house but adventure and after a simple present buying goes bizarrely wrong they embark on a multicoloured toy road trip that will see them visit the centre of the earth, the depths of the ocean and the icy cold of the tundra. Along the way they will meet all manner of beings and get into all manner of situations that are as funny as they are weird. Like a strange mix of Morph, South Park (although for kids it is a PG) and Laurel and Hardy its appeal should reach all age levels and keep young and old thoroughly amused and entertained throughout. An animated classic that's bold, different and magical 'A Town Called Panic' is one crazy place to visit just remember to leave the serious you at the door.

I do remember a while back reading an article somewhere about this film, and then I ended up seeing it this week. After watching it, I can tell you that this film is a fantastic piece of art. The stop motion is incredible, and displays a professional and unique quality throughout. The character development is surprisingly great. Horse serves as your typical father/leader figure, while Cowboy and Indian are his somewhat cocky sidekicks, which leads to a great plot. Steven is especially my favorite secondary character for his often times violent and hilarious outbursts, which is great comic relief. Sure, there are some plot holes here and there, but this movie isn't very plot based. However, it is a great slapstick comedy in every way. I've never seen anything quite like it before. And to also note, this movie is perfect in French. I had no problem at all reading the subtitles, and made the movie seem that much more sophisticated. Dubbing this film in English would really destroy most of the dialog, which is also great. In a nutshell, this was a pleasant surprise, and I would recommend it to anyone who basks in the strange and ordinary.

Saw this on a plane back from Canada and didn't expect much - just struggling to find something to occupy the time.

How wrong I was. Hilarious, totally surreal, laugh out loud funny (hate to think what the other passengers thought of me). Other reviews link this with the Wallace and Gromit series and in many ways, the inventiveness and off the wall humour are along similar lines. The gloriously cheap stop motion animation is a world away, however - Cowboy and Indian, for instance, even have the little flat stand to hold them up like regular children's toys.

Don't take that as a criticism, however- it just makes the whole thing more endearing. This isn't Avatar - this is more like Morph: forget the budget, it's all in the skill of the film maker to tell a great story that's a laugh a minute and keeps you watching. You may struggle to understand what's going on at times, but who cares?

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.

In a cinematic world to often populated by cynicism and anti-heroes, it's good to see that some things can just be fun and good natured for the sake of entertainment. In an age where comedy is declared funny by how much a person yells or acts like a petulant child; and the idea of a solid script and story are thrown out in favor of improvisation, it's refreshing to see a movie that's crafted with care from beginning to end. Trying to explain the plot of this film would only take away from the fun of seeing it unfold before your very eyes. The crudely animated adventures of Horse, Cowboy, Indian and the rest of the town of Panic are full of life and excitement, much more than many of the so called animated masterworks that come out of the USA. It's nearly impossible to view this movie without a smile on your face. Taking elements from classic comedy entertainment such as Bugs Bunny and Warner Bros. cartoons, the Marx Brothers, and a little Three Stooges thrown in for good measure, A Town Called Panic should be viewed and enjoyed by the whole family. Do yourself a favor and see it for yourself.