A 'toon that's manic and nutty

If Fantastic Mr. Fox is stop-motion animation at its most refined and meticulously crafted best, then A Town Called Panic is stop-motion at its messiest and nuttiest. Aesthetically, it's a whole other kettle of fish, but this manic Belgian 'toon is nonetheless, like Mr. Fox, splendid, smile-inducing fun.

Using tiny plastic toy figures - the film's housemate heroes are Cowboy, Indian, and Horse - animators Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar are like crazed kids engaged in an epic make-believe adventure. The voices are fast and goofy, and the action is breakneck: when Cowboy and Indian try to surprise Horse by ordering bricks to build a barbecue for his birthday, things go insanely awry. Instead of 50 bricks, five million are delivered, literally shaking the foundations of their home and wreaking havoc on the village.

Before long, A Town Called Panic's intrepid trio has journeyed to the center of the Earth (there's a lot of lava down there), traipsed across a frozen tundra where a giant penguin robot hurls perfect snowballs, and discovered an underwater world populated by mischievous baddies in flippers and pointy hats.

The props and papier-mâché landscapes are primitive but inspired (morning ritual: coffee for Cowboy, Indian, and Horse, poured into mugs straight from a tri-spouted pot), and the supporting cast - an equine music teacher for whom Horse has the hots, a farmer, a postman, a policeman - lend a Mister Rogers sense of community to the proceedings.

And just because the characters look like cheapo toys propelled by ancient animation techniques, don't call A Town Called Panic low-tech. Cowboy, Indian, and Horse are equipped with all the latest gadgetry. Never mind that their cell phones and PCs are laughably out of scale - they work, isn't that enough?

Contact movie critic Steven Rea at 215-854-5629 or srea@phillynews.com. Read his blog, "On Movies Online," at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/onmovies/.