Klaus Movie Review

“A true act of goodwill always sparks another.” - Jesper

Klaus is an animated Christmas movie directed by Sergio Pablos, and stars the voices of J.K. Simmons, Jason Schwartzman, and Rashida Jones.  It was given a limited release in theaters in early November, and was given a wide release on Netflix on November 15.  

The film tells the story of Jesper, a lazy postman who is shipped off to a town called Smeerensburg, where he must find a way to mail 6,000 letters in a year’s time.  Otherwise, he’ll be cut off from the family estate, and be forced to kiss his luxurious life goodbye.  At first, Jesper is shocked when he discovers that Smeerensburg is in the midst of a gang war that has gone on since the beginning of time, between the Ellingboe family, and the Krum family.  But when Jesper meets toymaker Klaus, the two of them find a way to spread cheer and positivity to the feuding families, making Smeerensburg a peaceful place to live, while also trying to reach Jesper’s mailing quota.

Klaus is a very unconventional telling of the origin story of Santa Claus.  It doesn’t feel like a Christmas movie at first, but as things start to fall into place, you see that it is indeed a Christmas film, and it just so happens that Klaus is one of the best original Christmas movies I’ve seen in a very long time.

I am confident in saying that Klaus is my favorite animated film of 2019, (although I doubt that it’ll be recognized by the Academy this year.)  The movie features only 2-D animation, which is something that is very rare nowadays for a feature length film.  However, it has a 3-D effect due to the use of lighting and coloring tools that were applied to the characters and locations.  The style of the animation feels like it came straight out of a children’s picture book, and is easily the most gorgeous animation I have seen this year.  

The voice work is incredible, especially on the part of Schwartzman and Simmons.  Both of them give humorous, wide-ranging, and diverse performances that fit their characters well.  Both Simmons and Schwartzman are incredible actors who have given great performances in live-action films.  But their voice work here is just as good, and as emotion-filled as their live action performances.

The script is ultimately very well written, and succeeds at putting a fresh, new twist on the story of Santa Claus.  The story is timeless, and will always be relevant.  Most of the characters are incredibly well developed, and feel very real, and the morals and themes of selflessness are conveyed subtly, without coming across as preachy or tacky.  There is also a lot of visual humor in the film, and there are lots of sight gags that I found surprisingly very funny.

In terms of issues I found with Klaus, I thought that there were just a few too many scenes towards the beginning involving Jesper running around, bumping into things, and screaming.  This got slightly annoying after a couple times, but fixed itself later on.  I also thought that the villain’s motives were a little pointless, and they seemed to be evil for no reason.

Despite that, Klaus is a beautiful movie that can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike.  I had a blast with it, and it’s a perfect movie to watch this holiday season.  If you want a Christmas movie that is new, innovative, and wholly original, give Klaus a watch.

Rating: PG

Grade: A-