Panic in Toronto

Opens in Toronto (AMC Dundas Square) on Friday, February 19, 2010

“Oh non! Mon Dieu! The feature version of A Town Called Panic (Panique au village), the demented Belgian television animation sensation of the same name, has arrived in Canada! 

The first stop-motion animated feature selected to Cannes (Official Selection 2009), A Town Called Panic brings to life a topsy-turvy world populated by cheap plastic figurines of cowboys, Indians, farmers, police officers, horses, cows and pigs.

When an attempt to surprise their pal Horse with a homemade brick barbecue for his birthday goes terribly awry, Cowboy and Indian must find a way to deal with the fifty million bricks they mistakenly ordered. Unfortunately, their effort to hide the bricks results in their house being destroyed. Trying to rebuild it, the oddball trio contends with an avalanche of bizarre obstacles: a voyage to the centre of the Earth; a giant snowball-throwing mechanical penguin; parachuting cows; pointy-headed sea creatures from a parallel underwater world; giant waffles; and madcap music lessons for barnyard animals taught by the comely red-maned horse Madame Longray. Even Père Noël makes an appearance!

A Town Called Panic was originally a television series made up of frenetic short episodes. The creators and directors, Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar, employ a unique visual style that runs at a chaotic pace and is filled with profound silliness.