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Questions of social stratification, class injustice, racism, and existential uncertainty abound in Jean-Francois Laguionie’s animated feature  Le tableau (The Painting),a children’s film – yes, that’s right – whose plain, unadorned  title belies  the artistic  beauty that saturates each and every one of its 76 minutes.

While not exactly perfect, Le tableau is practically overflowing with charm and personality, more than enough to ensnare the hearts of adults and kids alike. The film  is set  within  the world of an idyllic, but incomplete painting, whose painter has long since abandoned his hapless creations. In his absence, a power structure emerges, dominated by the fully colored,  finished characters (the “All-Dones”)  who subjugate the  near-complete characters (the “Halfies”), and the bare-bones, near-invisible ones (the “Sketchies”), relegating  them to a segregated and  hopeless existence.

However, when a Halfie, a Sketchie and an altruistic All-Done  unwittingly find a way to leave their painting,  they undertake a journey to meet their version of God, and along the way,  learn the value of equality and acceptance, all told in a story that is as colourful as it is warm and fuzzy.

And make no mistake about it.  Le tableau is one of those rare pieces of work that  is truly  experienced as both film and painting.  Laguionie embraces  the influences of Fauvism  and  its pioneers, such as Henri Matisse, in a successful attempt to recapture the artistic movements that defined his youth in 1940s  France.

But regardless of your background in art history,  it is  so easy to fall in love with this lovingly depicted world that’s  filled with soft, vibrant colours that vary from scene to scene. Lush greens fill the Halfies’ forest home, while  deep, vivid oranges suffuse one  of the film’s best moments in a  painting of Venetian Carnival.

And yet  one would be remiss  to  single out  any one aspect of the animation because it’s really  the  entire  thing at once –  every flower  petal, every  gust of wind –  that makes this film such a joy to behold.  A few minutes  into watching Le tableau, one feels as though they are  expriencing a world  that is  being drawn to  life to life before their very eyes  by the painter that helps give the film its name.

Indeed, the scenery is so breathtaking that it is easy to  miss the story  flaws that mar this otherwise  excellent experience. The main problem is that at times  it is unclear  what exactly this film wants to be, oscillating uncomfortably between a  meditation on class divisions, a  Romeo-and-Juliet-esque love story, and an existential quest to meet one’s maker.  Though each plotline contains some individually poignant moments (a  Sketchie’s devotion to his lost  friend  skillfully  walks the fine line between heartbreaking  and heartwarming), none of them  are given enough screen time to gather steam and develop, thus depriving the  film of much of its narrative thrust. Indeed, all three  stories  resolve themselves  without  much help from the protagonists, instead resorting to good old deus ex machina to help give the film a friendly push towards its conclusion.

All that being said, the  story  does raise some  poignant questions about the nature of existence, including the difficulty in confronting a God who has condemned his creations to a life of squalor, and whether or not its truly possible to transcend class barriers.  While these themes will provide plenty of food for thought for older viewers and parents, children will derive joy from simply rooting for the lovable characters who populate the world of its story.

This film may indeed incite a classic style-versus-substance debate, but the fact is that the world of Le tableau  is simply a joy to behold and experience. In this writer’s humble opinion, the greatest achievement that a  children’s film can lay claim to is the ability to make kids of its entire  audience. In this regard, the film succeeds with flying colours.

Le tableau screens on Saturday, April 14, 2012 and Wednesday, April 18, 2012 as part of the TIFF Kids International Film Festival.

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Noam Kaufman

Noam Kaufman is a cinephile by day, concert-goer by night. He cherishes doumentaries and foreign films, which enable him to indulge his dual love of reading and watching simultaneously. If he isn’t at a concert hall or movie theater, you might be able to find him at York University, where he occasionally moonlights as a student.

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