A Town Called Panic
Encyclopedia
A Town Called Panic is a 2000 puppetoon
series distributed by Aardman Animations
and produced in Belgium
by Vincent Patar and Stéphane Aubier for La Parti & Pic Pic André. It follows the everyday events of Cowboy, Indian and Horse in a small rural
town as they go about their lives. Each episode is roughly 5 minutes long and is crudely animated: the characters are meant to resemble cheap toy figurines
. Some stations broadcast several episodes in a 15 or 30-minute block.
A spinoff animated feature film called A Town Called Panic was completed in Spring 2009 and debuted at Cannes in May of the same year.
A Town Called Panic is seen worldwide on channels such as ABC Rollercoaster
in Australia
, Nicktoons Network
in the United States
, EBS
in South Korea
, and Teletoon in Canada
, and is available online at Atom Films
.
In the UK, A Town called Panic played on Nickelodeon
. The Cravendale Milk
adverts (2007–2010) use the same style of animation using a Pirate, a Cow and a bicyclist as the characters.
Cowboy (Coboy)
Cowboy is a toy figurine of a cowboy in a blue shirt and brown leather pants, with a hat and, most of the time, a rifle. Cowboy is rather cowardly and not really bright, often getting himself into bad situations through his recklessness and childish behaviour. He has something of a sibling rivalry with Indian (though they most likely aren't really related), and is intimidated by Horse.
Indian (Indien)
Indian is a toy figurine of a stereotypical Native American tribal chief or elder, in a yellow shirt and brown leather pants, with an elaborate and large feather headdress. He carries a ceremonial staff. Besides the usual standing position he is often seen in a Native American-style meditative pose. Other times he carries a bow and arrow. Indian is a little more "grown up" than Cowboy, but still pursues foolhardy quests almost as much as his counterpart. He is also somewhat fearful of Horse.
Horse (Cheval)
Horse is a toy figurine of a brown horse. Although an animal, Horse is easily as intelligent as Cowboy and Indian (put together) and is the leader of the "family" he, Cowboy and Indian are part of. Even though he walks on all fours, he does most of the chores around their house, as both his charges are domestically useless. He maintains a cool head, doesn't engage in the foolish pursuits of Cowboy and Indian and keeps a semblance of normality in the house. When Cowboy and/or Indian infuriate him, he kicks them (presumably with his hind legs) all over the house and usually into one of the walls, which is sufficient to keep the two in line most of the time.
Steven
A farmer who owns the only other house in the village. Constantly yells, even when not angry, and is very possessive of his tractor.
Jeanine
Steven's loving wife.
Policeman (Gendarme)
Lives in a guard shack by the side of the road that passes through the village.
Farm animals (Animaux)
The animals on Steven's farm.
The bear (L'ours)
This is a figurine of a black bear on its hind legs that chases many of the characters quite frequently, usually after having been disturbed by them from his sleep. It is never made clear if it is the same bear or a different one every time, though they all look the same.
Robin Hood
A hunter obviously parodied from the original Robin Hood stories. His only appearance is in the episode called "Robin." He is a peckish and sometimes extremely careless hunter who lives in a caravan in the woods. He can be recognised by his long blond hair, his green hunting clothes and his posh British accent, he carries an archery kit around with him.
Main Article: List of Episodes of A Town Called Panic
Puppetoon
Puppetoon animation is a type of replacement animation, which is itself a type of stop-motion animation. In traditional stop-motion, the puppets are made with movable parts which are repositioned between frames to create the illusion of motion when the frames are played in rapid sequence...
series distributed by Aardman Animations
Aardman Animations
Aardman Animations, Ltd., also known as Aardman Studios, or simply as Aardman, is a British animation studio based in Bristol, United Kingdom. The studio is known for films made using stop-motion clay animation techniques, particularly those featuring Plasticine characters Wallace and Gromit...
and produced in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
by Vincent Patar and Stéphane Aubier for La Parti & Pic Pic André. It follows the everyday events of Cowboy, Indian and Horse in a small rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
town as they go about their lives. Each episode is roughly 5 minutes long and is crudely animated: the characters are meant to resemble cheap toy figurines
Figurines
Figurines is an indie rock band from Denmark, formed in the mid-1990s. The band released their first EP, The Detour, in 2001 and their first full-length album, Shake a Mountain, in 2004. The band began to receive national attention in Denmark around the time of the full-length release, and began...
. Some stations broadcast several episodes in a 15 or 30-minute block.
A spinoff animated feature film called A Town Called Panic was completed in Spring 2009 and debuted at Cannes in May of the same year.
A Town Called Panic is seen worldwide on channels such as ABC Rollercoaster
ABC Rollercoaster
RollerCoaster is a children's television show broadcasted from 2005 to 2010 on the Australian Broadcasting Company in Australia. Hosted by Elliot Spencer, it was aimed at an older audience than ABC For Kids....
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Nicktoons Network
NickToons Network
Nicktoons is an American digital cable and satellite television network owned by Viacom. It is a sister service of the Nickelodeon cable channel...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, EBS
EBS
-Education:* Educational Broadcasting System is a Korea educational broadcasting-company* Edinburgh Business School, is the Graduate School of Business of Heriot-Watt University...
in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, and Teletoon in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and is available online at Atom Films
Atom Films
Atom.com is a broadband entertainment network offering original short subject films, animations, and series by independent creators...
.
In the UK, A Town called Panic played on Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon UK
Nickelodeon is a children's television channel available on Sky, Virgin Media, Smallworld Cable, TalkTalk TV and UPC Ireland in the United Kingdom and Ireland, including on demand on BT Vision. The channel was launched on 1 September 1993...
. The Cravendale Milk
Cravendale
-Product Characteristics:Cravendale milk is filtered before high temperature pasteurization to remove pathogens. This process gives the product an extended shelf life for which a premium is charged...
adverts (2007–2010) use the same style of animation using a Pirate, a Cow and a bicyclist as the characters.
Characters
This is the list of major characters in the original 20-episode run, with short descriptions.Cowboy (Coboy)
Cowboy is a toy figurine of a cowboy in a blue shirt and brown leather pants, with a hat and, most of the time, a rifle. Cowboy is rather cowardly and not really bright, often getting himself into bad situations through his recklessness and childish behaviour. He has something of a sibling rivalry with Indian (though they most likely aren't really related), and is intimidated by Horse.
Indian (Indien)
Indian is a toy figurine of a stereotypical Native American tribal chief or elder, in a yellow shirt and brown leather pants, with an elaborate and large feather headdress. He carries a ceremonial staff. Besides the usual standing position he is often seen in a Native American-style meditative pose. Other times he carries a bow and arrow. Indian is a little more "grown up" than Cowboy, but still pursues foolhardy quests almost as much as his counterpart. He is also somewhat fearful of Horse.
Horse (Cheval)
Horse is a toy figurine of a brown horse. Although an animal, Horse is easily as intelligent as Cowboy and Indian (put together) and is the leader of the "family" he, Cowboy and Indian are part of. Even though he walks on all fours, he does most of the chores around their house, as both his charges are domestically useless. He maintains a cool head, doesn't engage in the foolish pursuits of Cowboy and Indian and keeps a semblance of normality in the house. When Cowboy and/or Indian infuriate him, he kicks them (presumably with his hind legs) all over the house and usually into one of the walls, which is sufficient to keep the two in line most of the time.
Steven
A farmer who owns the only other house in the village. Constantly yells, even when not angry, and is very possessive of his tractor.
Jeanine
Steven's loving wife.
Policeman (Gendarme)
Lives in a guard shack by the side of the road that passes through the village.
Farm animals (Animaux)
The animals on Steven's farm.
The bear (L'ours)
This is a figurine of a black bear on its hind legs that chases many of the characters quite frequently, usually after having been disturbed by them from his sleep. It is never made clear if it is the same bear or a different one every time, though they all look the same.
Robin Hood
A hunter obviously parodied from the original Robin Hood stories. His only appearance is in the episode called "Robin." He is a peckish and sometimes extremely careless hunter who lives in a caravan in the woods. He can be recognised by his long blond hair, his green hunting clothes and his posh British accent, he carries an archery kit around with him.
Episodes
Up to Nov 24th 2011 20 episodes of A Town Called Panic had been made.Main Article: List of Episodes of A Town Called Panic
External links
- Panique au Village - Official Website
- A Town Called Panic - Official Website
- La parti - Production company website
- Pic Pic Andre - Production company website
- Watch the Entire Episodes of A Town Called Panic Series Online at Atom.com
- AWN: Aardman Draws Buyers To A Town Called Panic
- A Town Called Panic Movie - Variety Review from Canne May, 2009