On the must see list for sure is A Town Called Panic (Panique Au Village), the stop-animation film currently playing at limited engagements across the country. I saw a screening at AFI in LA (which gave out all their tickets for free for all their films. Here’s hoping they do the same next time.) An official selection at Cannes, the film is the creation of Belgian animators Stephane Aubier and Vincent Patar. Aubier and Patar created a painstakingly detailed world of the delightfully absurd. Using what appears to be a collection of old-fashioned small plastic toys as inspiration, Aubier and Patar’s main characters are a cowboy, a horse, and an Indian, and a farmer, his wife, and their farm animals.
Quirky and hilarious, the film follows the antics of Cheval (Horse), Cowboy, and Indien as they attempt to defeat the devious sea creatures that have begun to rob their bucolic, if bizarre, village (most notably of brick walls). For a taste, check out some of the episodes (4-5 minutes each) from the series on Daily Motion. Unlike the film, these episodes have no subtitles, but they are really unnecessary because the action on screen carries everything. I picked some of my favorites, but there are 20 in all, scattered across the web on various video aggregator sites.
Quirky and hilarious, the film follows the antics of Cheval (Horse), Cowboy, and Indien as they attempt to defeat the devious sea creatures that have begun to rob their bucolic, if bizarre, village (most notably of brick walls). For a taste, check out some of the episodes (4-5 minutes each) from the series on Daily Motion. Unlike the film, these episodes have no subtitles, but they are really unnecessary because the action on screen carries everything. I picked some of my favorites, but there are 20 in all, scattered across the web on various video aggregator sites. 
Episode 13: “Le Grand Sommeil” (The Big Sleep)
Episode 15: Dejeuner sur l’herbe (The Picnic)
NY Times Magazine interview of the creators:
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