KLAUS: A Traditionally Animated Christmas Wonder

There’s a cozy appeal to look upon Klaus as a bit a throwback Christmas picture. The animation appears smooth and vibrant, a beautifully brushed illustrated book come to life. The direction has a snappy slapstick nature that harkens to the era of the Disney Renaissance, where expressive characters were bursting with energy and emotion that only animation could bring out so well. In an era of computer-animated mayhem and limited 2D animation, this is that refreshingly rare animated film the many cynics of the medium have been waiting for.

A Story of Snow and Letters

Staged as a Christmas origin story, the film follows the snobby smart-mouthed Jesper (Jason Schwartzman), the wealthy son of a father that runs a top-notch post service. Hoping to knock his lazy son off his high horse, dad shoves Jesper into the post office academy to inspire the lad to no avail. With few options left, his father makes one last-ditch effort to reform his son by forcing him to open a post office on the snowy island of Smeerensburg with a quota of letters to deliver. If Jesper fails, he’ll be kicked out of his lavish lifestyle.

Smeerensburg is a town at war with itself, literally. Divided into feuding families, the residents bicker and battle each other at every turn. With nobody really wanting to chat with anyone, a post-service is going to be a hard sell for such a community. Considering the bitter Alva (Rashida Jones) originally came to the town as a school teacher and ended up turning her classroom into a fish market, odds are not looking good. But perhaps the kindly carpenter Klaus (J.K. Simmons) may be just what the town needs to both renew interest in writing letters and put to rest their long-standing feuds.

A More Down-to-Earth Claus

The film has a lot of fun in trying to whip up a story of how Jesper and Klaus brought Christmas to Smeerenburg. Klaus is initially established as an intimidating and bitter soul, choosing to remain secluded in the woods with his workshop of toys gathering dust. Jesper is terrified at first but intrigued once Klaus silently attempts to do good by more or less forcing Jesper to deliver a toy to a child. This event warms Klaus’ heart and turns the wheels in Jesper’s head for a business model.

The duo has a great dynamic that will no doubt draw comparisons to The Emperor’s New Groove. Jesper is c*cky and smart-mouthed as a wealthy boy kicked out of the nest that needs to learn a lesson but still takes moments to gloat when he has the power to do so. Klaus is a warm soul who’s initial silence leads to him slowly opening up about his tragic past as the gentle giant awakens. Watching them slowly turn a town around by spinning a myth for children of Klaus being a magical gift-giver is charming, especially when a series of errors in secret deliveries and runaway sleighs make the magic seem all the more real to the kids.

The voice acting goes a long way in breathing that extra bit of personality into the stellar design of the characters. Jason Schwartzman is perfectly placed for the right mix of manic panic and snobbish c*ckiness. J.K. Simmons eases into the role of Klaus with such a deep gruff voice it took me a moment to realize that was his voice, which is saying something for an actor with a lot of voice work behind him. Rashida Jones also has that familiar presence of a woman with a weary view of the world that slowly warms her back into the position of teacher. And there’s a number of great supporting roles from the likes of Joan Cusack, Will Sasso, and Norm Macdonald, walking that fine line of being recognizable and melting into their roles.

An Animation Wonderland

It probably shouldn’t come as the biggest surprise that the film’s director, Sergio Pablos, was a Disney animator during the Disney Renaissance. This is his directorial debut and you can certainly see that vibrant Disney influence shining brightly. Characters are wonderfully exaggerated with angular artistry and gorgeous colors, even within an environment of mostly white snow. While I’ve seen variances of this kind of style in numerous animations over the years, rarely have I seen it as fully animated as I have here, where the world feels constantly alive and in motion.

Several scenes are also brilliantly staged to conceive the myth of Santa. Jesper sneaks into the houses of children to quietly deliver toys without being seen, sometimes using the chimney for entrance and taking cookies on his exit. All of this goes down while children spread the word with Jesper looking on with aggravation knowing he won’t get as much credit for his efforts. I also dug the horror movie staging of Klaus workshop where his silent movements make him out as a haunting hermit.

Klaus: Conclusion

Klaus captures the old fashioned wonder of Christmas within the old fashioned splendor of traditional animation. While not the most revolutionary of pictures narratively speaking, it is at the very least a brilliant showcase of how the medium can still engross an audience with the most classic of mediums, armed with a handful of technical bells and whistles. So if the family Netflix roster seems a little samey come Christmas screen time, make this picture a priority for the Christmas watch list. It may just have enough visual allure to make that aged uncle whisper that’s how animated films used to be and should be more often.

Have you streamed Klaus yet? Let us know in the comments below what you thought of the film.

Klaus is currently streaming on Netflix.