A Town Called Panic

Between the matted fur that coats Fantastic Mr. Foxand the various grotesqueries populating Adult Swim, "ugly animation" is experiencing something of a renaissance. That renaissance could cross over ifA Town Called Panic—a low-budget puppetoon by demented Belgian stop-motion artists Vincent Patar and Stéphane Aubier—adds an Oscar nomination to its 2009 Fantastic Fest Audience Award. Should the usually spectacle-minded Academy look past Panic's dime-store stars—most carrying self-explanatory names such as Horse, Cowboy, and Indian—they'll find a genuinely lovable (if a touch episodic and manic) filmgoing experience. Even for their amateurish looks, you've got to love the way these characters move—and devour foodstuffs 10 times their size.  

Updated 12/21/2009