A Town Called Panic

A Town Called Panic (2009) is a Belgian–French–Luxembourgish stop-motion animated adventure-comedy written and directed by Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar. Based on their quirky TV shorts, the film follows three toy figurines—Cowboy, Indian, and Horse—whose well-meaning attempt to build a surprise barbecue for Horse’s birthday goes hilariously awry when they accidentally order fifty million bricks. Their misadventures spiral into a surreal odyssey involving subterranean excursions, eccentric scientists, penguin robots, and underwater escapades, all driven by absurd humor and inventive visual gags. Visually, A Town Called Panic embraces a deliberately crude aesthetic, animating molded toy figures with minimal articulation against vividly colorful, hand-crafted sets. This deliberately low-fi approach amplifies its surreal and frenetic energy—each frame bursts with playful chaos, making rigidity feel expressive rather than restrictive. Its visual slapstick is perfectly matched by a whimsical soundtrack that underscores the film’s offbeat charm. Produced on an estimated budget of around €0.5 million, the film grossed approximately $14.8 million worldwide, performing especially well in art-house theaters across Europe and North America. It debuted at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first stop-motion feature screened there, and later won the Audience Award at Fantastic Fest, along with multiple Magritte Awards for Best Sound and Production Design. Critically, the film earned an 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with a 70/100 Metacritic score, praised as “a raucous, endlessly creative animated romp.” Reviewers commended its breakneck pacing, surreal whimsy, and bold departure from conventional animation. While some found the narrative disjointed, many celebrated its joyous celebration of absurdity and creativity. The legacy of A Town Called Panic lies in its role as a cult favorite and trailblazer in stop-motion indie animation. It demonstrated how low-budget craft and imaginative storytelling could rival big-studio productions. Though modest in scale, the film’s influence is evident in its enduring cult status, inspiring animators and filmmakers to embrace unconventional aesthetics and unabashed creativity.