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Directed by Stéphane Aubier & Vincent Patar. Belgium/Luxembourg/France, 75 mins, Animation, Cert PG.

DVD and blu-ray release date: 15 October 2010.

Cowboy and Indian live in a state of perpetually arrested childhood with gruff paternal Horse. Mortified to realize they have forgotten Horse's birthday they plan to build him a barbecue as a surprise. They lure him away from the internet by playing on Horse’s unrequited love for music teacher Madame Longreé a fine red headed filly. However catastrophe befalls them when Cowboy carelessly places a coffee mug on the computer keyboard and they accidentally order 50,000,000 bricks, precisely 49,999,950 more bricks than they need. Their attempt to hide the surplus bricks on top of their house results in it sinking through the earth much to Horse’s displeasure.

No sooner have our plastic heroes decided to use the plentiful supply of building materials to rebuild than their new walls are stolen by strange creatures from inside the earth (who look like a cross between frogmen and Silurians from early DR. WHO). Cowboy, Indian and Horse take off in pursuit, starting an adventure that takes them from the centre of the earth, to frozen tundra, and on to a strange parallel aquatic world under the earth's crust. Each episode more bizarre than the last

I fear words can't quite get over to you how completely demented this is. A wild fantasy told at neck breaking pace with scant regard for logic. The film is like watching a very imaginative child playing with toys in a sandpit for an hour and a bit. Then THIS happens, boom! And, and, then... then Horse fires a cow at the alien. WOW. Ack, ack, ack, ack! Then… ALIENS capture them with Mr. Pig. BRRRRAAAAAAA, Indian escapes in a helicopter. Nnnnnnnnyyyyyaaaaoooooohhhh!!!

That kind of thing.

At feature length.

Performed by plastic toys.

It's ace actually. Well titled A Town Called Panic is voiced in French in breathless tones nearly always verging on, or tipping over into, complete hysteria. The animation fizzes and pops with a barely contained energy that sends the deceptively crudely animated characters careering across the screen like water poured on a hot plate. The energy and imagination does not let up for the film's length. This is not without its issues, and some viewers will find this level of manic zaniness wearisome.

Like many animated films A Town Called Panic may have worked even better as another series of the Belgian TV show from which it has been developed. Then again as a TV project this would likely have ended up on a kid's channel playing to an audience of children and stoned students. As a film it may find an alternative wider audience. It’s a brave move for Optimum to release this in the original French (Aardman handled the voice translation of the TV show), but the flavor of chocolate, frites and mussels is so strong it’s hard to imagine the film in English. And it may not prove such a problem to younger viewers, after all it never seemed to matter that kids could understand THE CLANGERS (or maybe only kids could understand The Clangers)?

Released as a presentation of "Hammer & Tongs" it's not hard to see elements of the playful whimsy and lo-fi but imaginative visuals that feature in Garth Jenning's and Nick goldsmith’s best video promo work and films. For viewers of a certain age this will plunge them into a fugue of nostalgia for the classic TV animations of their youth, it's like Jeunet & Caro working with Oliver Postgate.

Obviously this is far from normal FrightFest fare, but horror trivia fans will be amused to see MAN BITES DOG star Benoît Poelvoorde among the voice cast.

Extras: Interview with the directors and the trailer.

Stuart Barr.

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