A Town Called Panic

PG

Released Dec 16, 2009

1 hr. 15 min.

Kids & Family

Adventure

Comedy

Fantasy

Animation

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List

81%

74 Reviews

Tomatometer

86%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

In this animated film, Cowboy (Stéphane Aubier) and Indian (Bruce Ellison) plan to construct a barbecue pit for the birthday of their friend, Horse (Vincent Patar). The delivery of an accidental purchase of 50 million bricks rather than the intended 50 destroys their house, and attempts to rebuild are foiled when their walls are continually stolen. Determined to track down the thieves, the trio travels to the center of the earth, where they discover the culprits are a group of mad scientists.

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Critics Consensus

A Town Called Panic is a raucous, endlessly creative animated romp with a quirky, adult sense of humor.

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Aidan S

The funniest movie I've seen in a while. A great time!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/11/22

Full Review

spencer p

One of the most gloriously random animated comedies of all time, with hilariously rapid-fire gags erupting all over the place while maintaining a surprisingly strong theme of community.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Horse, Cowboy and Indian live on one hill. Horse is the brains of the household, Cowboy and Indian the adolescent creators of chaos. Steve, his wife, his cows and his precious tractor live on the other hill and Steve is permanently pissed off. Whether you ring his doorbell or touch his studio, I mean tractor, you're gonna get yelled at. Imagine all of this as a French stop-frame animation using little plastic toys that live in a town called Panic! In a nutshell It is Horse's birthday. Cowboy and Indian decide to build him a "braai". (I kid you not.) For this purpose they need fifty bricks, but as fate would have it, they accidentally order fifty million bricks! On horse's account! The bigger problem is not how to hide the bill for fifty million bricks from Horse, but the actual fifty million bricks! Mood of the film Panicky! Raucous! Over the top. Best performance Cowboy wins the Oscar. He carries a gun and lasso, wears cowboy hat and boots, but he still screeches like a banshee at the mere sight of trouble. (Or dons flip-flops, shorts and a Hawaiian-style shirt and books a flight to Miami!) Stand-out scene The whole film is one crazy, over-the-top scene after the other. In fact, the scenes follow one another so fast, I had to pause and rewind a few. One I watched three times is Horse coming home late at night. He drives "through" the new braai. The centre strip of the car, including the engine, gets stuck behind the braai. The two sides of the car end up in front of the braai. Horse goes straight over it. It is funnier when you watch it, I promise. Negatives? I love any type of animation. The Triplets of Belleville is one of my favourite films ever. Even though it is French, it does not need one subtitle, because there is no spoken dialogue in the film. Animation is not everybody's cup of tea. Is the film relevant today? Brilliance such as A Town called Panic is sorely needed in an ocean of mediocre film. If we all strive towards brilliance in life we'd live in an awesome society. The film is also a good laugh!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Magnificent just a perfect movie verry funny and the story is verry good i love it

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It isn't much in the way of character development or themes, but A Town Called Panic's charming animation style, brisk pacing, and amazing sense of humor make it a joy to watch from start to finish. It is bizarre and strange, but if you are willing to give into its strangeness, it'll be hard to wipe the smile off your face. If you're looking for something different, definitely check it out.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Surrealistic storytelling, characterization and visuals? Check! A fresh, original story with plenty of fun? Double check! Be ready for quite the ride in this small French stop-animation comedy about three friends -- an Indian, a horse and a cowboy living together and trying to live their strange, manic lives! Just as inthe movie UP, Panique au Village is a lot more entertaining than its simple premise would lead you believe and definitely worth the watch if you want something a tad different in presentation and plot. Check it out!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

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Stéphane Aubier

Director

Vincent Patar

Director

Stéphane Aubier

Coboy

Jeanne Balibar

Madame Longrée

Nicolas Buysse

Mouton

Véronique Dumont

Janine

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A Town Called Panic: Double Fun: US Release Trailer

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Nicolas Rapold

Film Comment Magazine

The frenetic scenarios should play fairly well as energizing for kids and ridiculous for adults.

Sep 24, 2014

Full Review

Hank Sartin

Time Out

Rated: 1/5

Nov 18, 2011

Full Review

Joshua Rothkopf

Time Out

Rated: 2/5

Nov 17, 2011

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Mattie Lucas

From the Front Row

Aubier and Patar aren't trying to make any profound statements about life or create any existential conundrums, they're just looking to entertain, and in A Town Called Panic, they have found a gloriously wacky avenue to do just that.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 5, 2019

Full Review

Rachel Wagner

Rachel's Reviews (YouTube)

This is film is so hard to describe but it's just absurdist and ridiculous and...funny.

Rated: 8/10

Feb 13, 2019

Full Review

Daniel Green

CineVue

A Town Called Panic's frenetic pace and bizarre set pieces are truly refreshing and a joy to behold.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 5, 2018

Full Review

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Synopsis

In this animated film, Cowboy (Stéphane Aubier) and Indian (Bruce Ellison) plan to construct a barbecue pit for the birthday of their friend, Horse (Vincent Patar). The delivery of an accidental purchase of 50 million bricks rather than the intended 50 destroys their house, and attempts to rebuild are foiled when their walls are continually stolen. Determined to track down the thieves, the trio travels to the center of the earth, where they discover the culprits are a group of mad scientists.

Director: Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar
Screenwriter: Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar
Distributor: Zeitgeist
Production Co: Mélusine Productions, RTBF, Canal+
Rating: PG
Genre: Kids & Family, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Animation
Original Language: French (Canada)
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 16, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 12, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $165.3K