French filmmaker denies AI use in Dior animated film narrated by Robert Pattinson

Sylvain Chomet says seven-minute Dior film was created using traditional 2D animation

French filmmaker Sylvain Chomet has denied accusations that generative artificial intelligence was used to create his animated short film for Dior, Christian Dior’s Night in Color, which features narration by Robert Pattinson.

The six-minute film attracted criticism online after viewers highlighted apparent visual inconsistencies, including characters with six fingers. Some suggested these details indicated that AI-generated animation had been used.

However, Chomet and producer Aton Soumache told Variety that the project was made using traditional 2D animation techniques, with artists drawing the characters, backgrounds and key poses. The production took seven months and involved approximately 20 people, including six animators.

Soumache said: “Some people are claiming Sylvain was contacted two weeks ago and that the entire film was made with generative AI, without a single drawing, but the reality is that this film took seven months to make and it was entirely drawn by artists.”

The team acknowledged using an automated interpolation system to generate some intermediate frames, helping create smoother movement. Chomet explained that the technology handled repetitive tasks rather than the creative work.

“It’s a way of automating the repetitive, mechanical part of animation, not the creative work,” he said.

Addressing the six-fingered hands highlighted by viewers, Chomet explained that the drawings were intended to convey movement.

“In that kind of drawing, you might see six or seven fingers because you’re trying to convey movement,” he said.

The filmmaker also stressed that the production remained rooted in hand-drawn animation, although artists used digital tablets rather than traditional paper and pencils.

Narrated by Pattinson, the film features Louis Garrel as Christian Dior, Camille Cottin as Marlene Dietrich, Josh O’Connor as a talking chair, Rihanna as Dior’s lucky star and LaKeith Stanfield as a Hollywood director.