The Painting


The Painting is a 2011 French animated film directed by Jean-François Laguionie.

Plot

For mysterious reasons, a Painter has left a work incomplete - causing conflict between the Toupins, who are entirely painted, the Pafinis, who lack a few colors, and the Reufs, who are only sketches. Toupins occupy the chateau, Pafinis are out in the gardens, and Reufs are treated as outcasts and hunted by the Toupins. Three friends, one of each class, go on a quest to find the artist so he can finish the piece and hopefully unite the people.

Cast

The film was co-produced by France's Blue Spirit and Belgium's Be-Films. It took two years to finance and had a budget of four million euro. Jean-François Laguionie designed every character himself. The designs include homages to painters such as Marc Chagall, Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. Pre-production took 15 months and production one year. The film was animated in digital 3D.

Release

The film was released in France by Gebeka Films on 23 November 2011. It competed at the 2012 Annecy International Animated Film Festival. Distribution rights for the United States have been acquired by GKIDS.

Reception

Accolades