Paint World

Paint World is a 1999 American animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Gingo Animation and Universal Feature Animation. It is the first animated feature in the Universal Animated Features canon. The film was directed by Audel LaRoque (in his directorial debut) from a screenplay by LaRoque and Irene Mecchi and a story by Geo G., LaRoque, and Michael Wildshill, and stars the voices of Haley Joel Osment, Patricia Arquette, Beverley Mitchell, David Gallagher, Rachel Dratch, Maya Rudolph, Cheri Oteri, Molly Shannon, and Dennis Hopper in a dual role. Set in a world based on paint and colors, the film centers on a young boy named Deon Splatt (Osment), who uses an oversized paintbrush to defend the world's liveliness against Gerry Disgill (Hopper), a demented, colorblind elder and the owner of the B&W Squad who intends to desaturate the world in order to satisfy his "nostalgic taste".

Paint World was originally conceived by Geo and Wildshill in the 1980s while working at Hanna-Barbera. Gingo was approached by Universal Studios to produce an animated feature film in 1988. With its original draft completely different from its final version, Paint World initially began pre-production in May 1989 for release in Thanksgiving 1991, being intended to be the first feature-length animated film directed by Geo, who designed the characters for the film. It was later abandoned by Gingo in early 1990, but restarted production on the film for a 1999 release, with the script being rewritten. However, because of Geo being busy with other projects, co-writer Audel LaRoque was chosen to direct the film.

Paint World was originally released on December 25, 1999 to positive reviews from critics, who praised its animation, characters, music, and voice acting. It was a success at the box office, earning over $452 million worldwide on its $48 million budget, making it the second highest-grossing animated film of 1999, as well as the fifth highest-grossing film of the year overall. A television series based on the film aired from September 2000 to March 2001, and a direct-to-video sequel is scheduled for release on DVD and Blu-ray in 2019. Deon Splatt released as a figurine for Universal Studios Legendary Heroes on January 28, 2019.