Christmas with Klaus

Advertisements undersell this surprisingly well-crafted animated film.

By Jacob Schermerhorn

When I first saw the advertisements for Klaus, I was hesitant. On the one hand, it was packed to the brim with acting talent like Jason Schwartzman, J.K. Simmons, Rashida Jones, Joan Cusack and Norm McDonald. On the other hand, the plot looked hackneyed plus I hate the Panic at the Disco song High Hopes. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Klaus is more impactful and insightful than typical holiday children’s films this time of year. While it might not achieve Christmas classic status, it does represent a significant step up for the genre.

The plot of the film is a successful recipe of The Emperor’s New Groove mixed with Terry Pratchett’s book Going Postal with a dash of The Grinch. Jesper Johannsson (Schwartzman) is the spoiled son of a Scandinavian postmaster general who purposely fails out of postman academy. Believing he will be able to return to his easy life after failing, Jesper’s scheme backfires and his father instead sends him to the distant and hostile island of Smeerensburg. Amid a Hatfield’s and McCoy’s style family feud, Jesper hatches a plot to return home by exploiting the village children’s desire for toys and a burgeoning friendship with the stoic and hermitic woodsman Klaus (Simmons). From that point on, you can see the story’s plot coming a mile away, but that fact does not detract from enjoying the movie.

What is remarkable is how Klaus blends current computer technology such as organic, volumetric, and texturing lighting with traditional hand drawn animation to create smooth and energetic action that also feels weighty and realistic. Additionally, 2D animation can pack a stronger emotional punch than 3D animation (Cough, cough, The Lion King remake) and it was kind of a treat to see this older style again. Director Sergio Pablos and cult-favorite animator James Baxter both worked on Disney renaissance movies such as Aladdin and The Hunchback of Notre Dame and tapped into that experience when creating this movie.

“We are picking up traditional animation where it was left off which was sometime in the nineties,” Pablos said in an interview this year, “Like, in a world where CGI hadn’t been invented, where would traditional animation be today?”

Klaus also represents another milestone by being the first original fully featured animated movie released on Netflix. With a limited theatrical run, it seems the streaming service has high hopes (ugh) for the project, possibly eyeing a best animated nomination come this awards season. Quite honestly, when put against the probable competition of sequels (Frozen II, The Lego Movie 2, The Secret Life of Pets 2, How to Train Your Dragon 3,and Toy Story 4), or remakes (The Lion King and The Addams Family), its inventiveness and originality shines brighter still.