A Town Called Panic (2009)

Cowboy and Indian's only wish was to come up with a brilliant idea for Mr Horse's birthday, but when their plan ends up in utter disaster, they'll need to travel the world and back to make things right again.

Directors:

Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar

Writers:

Stéphane Aubier (screenplay), Vincent Patar (screenplay)

Stars:

Stéphane Aubier, Jeanne Balibar, Nicolas Buysse

5 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stéphane Aubier	...	Coboy / Max Briquenet / Mr. Ernotte (voice)
Jeanne Balibar	...	Madame Longrée (voice)
Nicolas Buysse	...	Mouton / Jean-Paul (voice)
François De Brigode	...	Journaliste sportif (voice)
Véronique Dumont	...	Janine (voice)
Bruce Ellison	...	Indien (voice)
Christine Grulois	...	Vache / Étudiante (voice)
Frédéric Jannin	...	Gendarme / Gérard / Livreur de briques (voice)
Bouli Lanners	...	Facteur / Simon / Vache (voice)
Christelle Mahy	...	Poule (voice)
Eric Muller	...	Rocky Gaufres / Étudiant chorale 1 (voice)
François Neycken	...	Cochon (voice) (as François Neyken)
Vincent Patar	...	Cheval / Maman atlante (voice)
Pipou	...	Rire de Michel (voice)
Franco Piscopo	...	Ours (voice)

Storyline

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. Surreal adventures take over as the trio travel to the center of the earth, trek across frozen tundra and discover a parallel underwater universe where pointy-headed (and dishonest!) creatures live. With panic a permanent feature of life in this papier mâché town, will Horse and his girlfriend ever be alone?

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Plot Keywords:

horse | cowboy | cowboy and indian | animal that acts human | surrealism | 

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Taglines:

They came... They saw... They panicked...

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [France]

Country:

Belgium Luxembourg France

Language:

French

Release Date:

17 June 2009 (Belgium)

Also Known As:

A Town Called Panic

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,850, 20 December 2009, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$165,349, 18 July 2010

Company Credits

Production Co:

La Parti Productions, Made in Productions, Mélusine Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shot in 260 days.

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Quotes

Steven: [eats two pieces of toast, each covering an entire table, while levitating upside down] Delicious toast!
[smashes through a giant coffee cup]
Steven: Excellent coffee!

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Connections

Featured in Maltin on Movies: Eat Pray Love (2010)

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Soundtracks

Sag Warum (Orig. Oh Why)
Written by Phil Spector
Performed by Camillo Felgen

User Reviews

Surrealist stop-motion joyride

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.