The Painting

The Painting (Le Tableau) 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 (Allduns), who are entirely painted, the Pafinis (Halfies), who lack a few colors and the Reufs (Sketchies), 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, embark on a quest to find the artist so that he can finish the piece and hopefully unite the people.

Production
The film was coproduced 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. Preproduction took 15 months and production took 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.

Accolades

 * In June 2013, the film was given the award for Best Feature Film at the 8th Festival of European Animated Feature Films and TV Specials.