Via Zeitgeist Films, Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar's stop-motion animated feature A Town Called Panic will open in New York City on Dec. 16 (at Film Forum) and in Los Angeles (at the Nuart in West LA) on Jan. 29. Other US markets will follow. (The film will have a Los Angeles Oscar qualifying run in Dec., but the "official" opening date is Jan. 29, 2010.)
Based on the Belgian animated cult TV series Panique au village, released by Wallace & Gromit’s Aardman Studios, the French-language (with English subtitles) A Town Called Panic features three plastic toys — Cowboy (voice by Stéphane Aubier), Indian (voice by Bruce Ellison) and Horse (voice by Vincent Patar) — who live together in a rambling house in a rural town where weird stuff keeps happening all the time.
For instance, Cowboy and Indian’s plan to give Horse a homemade barbeque goes up in smoke when they accidentally buy 50 million bricks. This heavy mistake sets off a chain of bizarre events, forcing the trio to travel to the center of the earth, trek across frozen tundra, and discover a parallel underwater universe of scheming, pointy-headed creatures.
But the big question is: will Horse and his paramour — flame-tressed music teacher Madame Longray (voice by Jeanne Balibar) — ever find a quiet moment alone?
A Town Called Panic also features the voices of Benoît Poelvoorde, Franco Piscopo, Véronique Dumont, and Nicolas Buysse.
Curiously, all characters are both voiced and animated as if they've been filled with laughing gas.
Photos: Zeitgeist Films
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I have not seen Gumby art since I was a kid looks neat.