Dior's 'hand-drawn' holiday ad gets called out for six-fingered hands; director admits software filled in frames
Viewers spotted extra fingers and a shape-shifting dog collar in the luxury brand's 7-minute animated film. The director denies using generative AI.
- Film length: 7 minutes
- Released: 4 November
- Team: 20 artists over 7 months (Dior)
The ad
Dior released Christian Dior's Night in Color, a seven-minute animated holiday film, on 4 November. It was directed by four-time Oscar nominee Sylvain Chomet and narrated by Robert Pattinson. Dior's creative director Jonathan Anderson had said the film was drawn entirely by hand.
What viewers found
Animation fans then posted clips showing characters with six fingers, fingers that appear and disappear, and a dog collar that changes shape between shots. These are the kinds of glitches people associate with AI-generated video, and the claims spread quickly online.
The response
Chomet denied using generative AI but admitted to automated interpolation, where software draws the in-between frames that link artists' key drawings. The producer called it a very small part of the work. Dior says 20 artists spent seven months on the film.
Much of the backlash is less about the tools and more about transparency: when a luxury brand sells 'hand-made', audiences now check frame by frame. It is a lesson for every brand using AI in its ads.
