Sylvain Chomet Pushes Back Against AI Claims About Dior Animation

Sylvain Chomet is rejecting online claims that generative artificial intelligence created his animated short for Dior, saying the film was made through traditional 2D animation. The filmmaker, a four-time Oscar nominee known for The Triplets of Belleville and The Illusionist, discussed the controversy with Variety alongside producer Aton Soumache. The six-minute film, Christian Dior’s Night in Color, features a voice cast led by Robert Pattinson, Rihanna, Josh O’Connor, LaKeith Stanfield, Louis Garrel and Camille Cottin. Dior presented it as a celebration of traditional craftsmanship tied to the launch of its 2026 holiday season. But viewers online pointed to apparent visual oddities, including a character with six fingers, and questioned whether AI had been involved. Chomet and Soumache told Variety that artists drew the characters, backgrounds and key poses. They acknowledged using an automated interpolation system for a limited number of in-between frames, a step intended to smooth movement, but said generative AI was not used to produce the artwork. Soumache said the project took seven months and involved about 20 people, including animators, storyboard artists, designers, background artists, compositors and editors. Chomet described interpolation as a way to automate repetitive work rather than creative decisions. He also said the accusations felt ironic given his long commitment to hand-drawn animation, even when the industry was embracing computer-generated films. He recalled continuing with traditional techniques after the success of Toy Story and said he found the latest criticism difficult to understand in light of that history. The dispute has drawn added attention because the film’s promotion emphasized the value of painstaking creative work. Chomet and Soumache’s account, as reported by Variety, distinguishes the limited automated assistance used for motion from the artists’ work creating the film’s imagery.