Stop-Motion Surreal Silliness
Rarely do the words “fun for the whole family” and “Arts and Education Council Independent Film Series” go together—but there’s always room for an exception. This week’s selection, A Town Called Panic, is a stop-motion animated film from Belgium based on a television show brought to the small screen by the same people responsible for Wallace and Gromit (whom you may have seen make an appearance at this year’s Oscars).
A Town Called Panic is a surreal adventure “for children from eight to eighty” starring three plastic toys: Cowboy, Indian, and Horse. The premise is simple: Cowboy and Indian plan to give horse a homemade barbeque pit for his birthday, but their plan backfires when they accidentally order 50 million bricks. This is just the first in many mishaps that take the trio to the frozen tundra, a parallel universe under the water, and even to the very center of the earth.
The cast of “Panic” first appeared in a popular series of short films that were eventually translated into English and aired on Nickelodeon (think Gumby crossed with Monty Python). The feature-length version more »












