THE PAINTING (2011)

This beautiful, thematically complex animated French film centers around a painting that holds characters who live and breathe as you and me: the Alldunns, who are finished characters who live in splendor and label themselves rulers of the land; the Halfies, whose colors were never fully painted in by the artist (the lower middle class, if you will); and the Sketchies, those who are but rough drawings never fully realized by their creator.  When an Alldunn falls for a Halfie, upsetting authority, an Alldunn, a Halfie and a Sketchie all go on a quest to find the painter, in the hopes he or she will finish them all, making everyone in their world equal.  But life beyond the painting is not all they expect, and neither is the painter ... in a colorful, wonderful, and deeply thoughtful film that touches on themes and values most American-made animation wouldn't (at least not at this level).  One of those films that, once you see it, you wish everyone else could, too. (not rated)  A-

THE PAINTING (LE TABLEAU) trailer