Genre:Animation Media:Video On Demand Running Time:78 Minutes
Theatrical Release Date:December 16, 2009 Release Date:July 16, 2010 Availability:Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Synopsis:
Animated plastic toys like Cowboy, Indian and Horse have problems, too. Cowboy and Indian's plan to surprise Horse with a homemade birthday gift backfires when they destroy his house instead. Hilarious and delightfully wacky, the stop-motion extravaganza A Town Called Panic has endless charms and raucous laughs for children and adults alike. Based on the Belgian cult TV series (released by Wallace & Gromit's Aardman Studios), Panic stars three plastic toys named Cowboy, Indian and Horse who share a rambling house in a rural town that never fails to attract the craziest events. Cowboy and Indian's plan to surprise their pal Horse with a homemade barbeque pit goes awry when the 50 million bricks they accidentally ordered online show up on their doorstep. This sets off a raucous chain of events as the trio travels to the center of the earth, treks across frozen tundra (complete with a giant snowball-throwing robot penguin) and discovers a parallel underwater universe of treacherous, pointy-headed creatures. And with panic a permanent feature of life in this papier-mâché burg, will Horse and his equine girlfriend the flame-tressed music teacher Madame Longray (Jeanne Balibar) ever find a quiet moment alone? A Town Called Panic is zany, brainy and altogether insane-y!
A Town Called ComicalSeptember 5, 2010 Stella Carrier(Hyattsville Maryland) This playful and funny movie is created around some funny toylike characters that live in a town that is brought to life with their colorful personalities. Two of the characters named Cowboy and Indian want to suprise their roommate Horse with a memorable birthday. They definitely achieve that in a different way than what was originally imagined when too many bricks are accidently ordered. They had planned on using the bricks to create a barbecue maker for Horse, but they naturally have to use the bricks for other means when the delivery comes and it is then discovered that too many bricks were ordered. Luckily for Cowboy and Indian, they end up being able to get the help of other members of the town to keep Horse occupied while they try to fix the problem. Both Cowboy and Indian are a little scared of Horse, which adds a dimension to why they at first try to conceal the mistake from horse. Cowboy, Indian, and Horse also wind up on some unexpected adventures that end up involving other members of the town when it is discovered that someone is taking the bricks that they are constructing. This film is a great laugh out loud treat that one is going to enjoy if they especially like films such as Wallace and Gromit and family friendly entertainment.
great stop motion filmSeptember 3, 2010 Marilyn Abers(Berkeley, CA United States) wonderful goofy stop motion film for all ages. It's worth watching several times. I'm getting it for all my grandchildren.
An Alien InvasionAugust 31, 2010 G. Teslovich If you're a fan of claymation and stop-motion film then this one-of-a-kind weird and bizarre tale with toy figurine animals and people is right up your alley (or street in O.E.). It starts a bit slow as you try to figure out what the heck is going on but once that sorts itself out you find yourself entrapped in the fanciful world of "Panic's" alien creators. How else to explain the menagerie of characters; how they move, morph and communicate; and their somewhat Daliesque world. Whatever mind (s) this idea evolved from cannot be of this world. Très bien!
Again, très bien!
Serious weirdnessAugust 20, 2010 wiredweird(Earth, or somewhere nearby) 1 out of 2 found this review helpful
But I mean that in a good way. The animation style tends self-consciously towards the unpolished - but the stiff, jerky motions perfectly suit the sense that these characters could have been plastic toys, right down to the little stand beneath their feet, in my own childhood toybox. The main characters, Cowboy (a cowboy), Indian (an Indian), and Horse (you guessed it) have an equally self-conscious feel about their characters' names.
What really makes this strange little treat is its surreal meanderings from one improbable scene to another - the upside-down aquatic village, horses playing specially modified pianos, and even (spoiler) a battle fought using pigs and swordfish as projectiles. Of the little rational flow the creators left in this production, I probably missed a good portion. I watched without subtitles, but admit French to be among my many lacks. All the more reason to see it again!
-- wiredweird
Not really my cup of tea...August 18, 2010 Anaki 0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Okay so let me first say that I thought the lowbrow animation in the film was great. I'm a huge fan of stop motion so I watched it mainly for that reason. Kudos to the creators for concept and stellar set design. That being said I somehow just couldn't get into it.
Maybe for some the randomness of the plot was also its appeal but for me about halfway through the film the story lost cohesiveness and sort of fell apart. I also found some of the characters' voices irritating and the farmer's constant shouting got on my nerves. I did have to chuckle a few times though like when Cowboy goes Rambo on the underwater visitors trying to steal their walls, the pig conveyor belt followed by the Python-esque cow launching, and the barracuda chase.
In the end I sort of felt like I was watching an after school special gone awry or a drunken trip to the land of make believe. I was half expecting Mr. McFeely to jump out from behind a paper pine tree.
Overall I think it was a film with good visual appeal but a slightly less appealing plot which for me fell short. In my opinion it could have been better.
