The stop-motion feature A Town Called Panic a “hilarious and frequently surreal” stop-motion extravaganza based on the Belgian animated cult TV series, is due to open at the Film Forum in New York City on December 16 for two weeks only before opening around the country.
The film’s producer, Zeitgeist Films, says “As one of the rare full-length animated films ever to secure the honor of a coveted slot in the Official Selection at Cannes, Panic, is a highly unique and frenetic comedy with an arrestingly original visual style and memorably silly voices to match. Panic follows the offbeat adventures of a dozen characters who happen to be generic plastic toys. Cowboy and Indian’s plan to gift Horse with a homemade barbecue backfires when they accidentally buy 50 million bricks.
Whoops!
This sets off a perilously wacky chain of events as the trio travel to the center of the earth, trek across frozen tundra and discover a parallel underwater universe of pointy-headed (and dishonest!) creatures. Famed Belgian directors Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar — known as Pic Pic André — are responsible for this absurd brand of humor, putting over 1500 plastic toy figures through their mile-a-minute paces over the course of 260 days of production”.
With rave reviews from Cannes, Toronto, Fantastic Fest, and the recent AFI Film Festival, the trailer and some other clips from the film can now be viewed at the official A Town Called Panic website.
In addition, to celebrate Panic’s launch, Zeitgeist Films will be holding a Stop Motion Video Contest open to beginners and experts alike. Created around the theme of ‘panic’, videos should be a maximum of three minutes and will be judged mainly on creativity and content, but craft will certainly not be disregarded. Full details on entry requirements, prizes, and submission dates will be made available via the official website, the Facebook fan page or by following Panic on Twitter .
A Town Called Panic will open at Film Forum in New York on December 16 for two weeks only before opening around the country. See the official wesbite for other playdates and updates as more dates are announced.
