I loved this movie. One of the best Christmas movie on my list :christmas_tree:
There are multiple themes and I loved the way all of them are presented. The friendship between Jesper and Klaus, the father/son relationship, the spirituality around Klaus’s wife and his way of dealing with the passing of his wife,...
All the little details that makes this movie a Santa Klaus origin story is gold.
The animation style and the drawings are a bit old school but as soon as you are used to them, you are taken in a wonderful journey.
This is one of the best Christmas movies I've watched in a long time! :christmas_tree:
A funny and touching adventure that you must watch during the holiday season! Whether it's with your kids or your significant other, one thing is for sure: You will love it! :two_hearts:
Outstanding movie. One of the best Christmas movies I've watched. It has everything it needs to become a Christmas classic.
The last time I had such a good feel for an animation was COCO.Netflix actually made a origin for Santa.And it's awesome.Enjoyed every bit of it
This movie is about a lot of things. The viewer is invited to take whatever gifts they find along the way.
I was struck by the message that one person can bring light and warmth into others' lives, even if that person doesn't know they're doing so.
As someone who struggles with low self-worth sometimes, receiving this message through this movie tonight was a powerful holiday gift. I needed to hear that I have something to offer the world.
Thank you, Klaus and Jesper.
The best Christmas movie I've ever seen. It was funny, heartwarming, very well animated, and enough to keep you interested. Really highly recommended.
A great animation about the origins of Christmas. It also shows how far one good deed goes. As Mr Klaus says: “A true selfless act always sparks another”
Klaus is quite ambitious for a made for Netflix Christmas movie. It’s a bit better than Christmas films actually released in theaters.
Absolutely one of the best Christmas movies ever.
Personally it's for me and my whole family a classic for the holidays and Christmas.
Makes your little ones, and Youself too, understand a lot of things about Klaus. Everything in the movie fits all that we know about our Christmas character.
Why we think that he fly on the reindeers?! It is explained and showed!
The movie doesn't steal anything from the magic of Christmas but it gives even more.
3D and animations are really well made, it feels a little bit strange initially but the color palette and the smoothness of the sequences makes it feels like a 2D.
It can be passed for a Disney movie.
It start slow but after the meeting with Klaus it is impossible to get bored!
If You are a parent watch it and choose by Yourself, I watched it two consecutive nights without getting bored or distracted.
one of the best animated movie I've seen, and by far the best Christmas themed movie I've seen.
A year later and it’s still just as beautiful. Thank you so much Netflix for this beautiful movie!
Klaus (2019)
Dir: Sergio Pablos
Klaus a Spanish animated Christmas comedy film written and directed by Sergio Pablos, with this being his directorial debut. The story follows the son of a prominent figure who intentionally squanders any given opportunity in order to stay at home, living a life of luxury and after proving himself to be the worst postman at the Royal Postal Academy, his father ships him off to Smeerensberg, a frozen town in the north where he finds that Santa is hiding out.
This is a Christmas movie with a very wholesome message, that one small act of kindness always sparks another - which is demonstrated throughout the movie's entirety.
I didn't know much about this movie when I went into it, I hadn't watched any trailers or done any research, I'd just seen and heard passing comments online stating how much people were enjoying it; so I had to give it a watch for myself. Klaus exceeded every expectation that I had set in my mind, the animation was absolutely lovely and so cute to look at, with a 1 hour 36-minute running time there was the perfect amount of time for this story to be told. There was always something happening in this story to keep you hooked, with adorable characters, wholesome relationships and so much more.
The voice cast for this film was also incredible, with stars including Jason Schwartzman, J. K. Simmons, Rashida Jones and Joan Cusack in starring roles.
I wouldn't change a single thing about this film from a production point of view, and this might become a movie that I watch every year at Christmas time because I really have become a fan of this movie after just one watch, and I can see plenty of rewatches in future for myself and many other individuals and families around the festive season.
Overall, I absolutely adored Klaus, and I'm looking forward to watching it all over again, I'd definitely recommend it to fans of Christmas films and those looking to get into the Christmas spirit, and even to those who don't celebrate Christmas or have no interest in Christmas films as this was an incredibly well crafted masterpiece that shouldn't be missed.
We need more movies like this. It is really fun and heartwarming, animation is really good too.
A new christmas classic. I will watch it every christmas. I promise.
Klaus has all the best elements of Disney, Laika & even some Burton, all rolled into one. It's firmly planted within the tradition of animation (slapstick humor, bouncy score that matches visuals, broad but heartfelt themes) but pushes it into the future. It's so rare nowadays to watch a children's movie that's this original, where you can't immediately tell where it's going or how it's going to get there. A wonderful origin story that honors the importance of legends as much as the truth behind them.
Enjoyed it even more on the rewatch. Call me sentimental, but I teared up so many times. It finds magic in the mundane, in simple selfless acts, and the animation is simply gorgeous. I can forgive even the third act misunderstanding when the rest of it is so good. Easily my favorite Santa movie, and a holiday standard.
Clearly I'm in the minority, but I really didn't like this movie. The backgrounds are pretty, but the weird 2D as 3D animation style just rubbed me the wrong way at times, plus it was too full of Looney Tunes type characters/knocks offs which I didn't really like at all. Plus the story was too boringly predictable and I really, really hated the main character.
What a great animated christmas movie I've ever seen!
This movie is wonderful in every sense of the word. Graphics, animation, atmosphere, voice acting and story all add up to what's probably one of the best Christmas movies ever made.
Outstanding. One of the best Christmas movies ever made
I loved it, it was so beautiful and funny
One of the best animated movies in so much time! I miss 2D animation, in some ways more beautiful than 3D, this is the perfect story for 2D! All the magic of christmas and what this season should bring, way more than toys. And the ending, it's perfect! I got emotional in some parts and leaves you with a great feeling of joy.
Everyone should watch it, not only for the animation, but for the masterpiece that it's! Be open minded and leave the cinic mode off and you have a great time with this movie.
[8.6/10] Selflessness is the overriding theme of the holiday season, to the point of being trite. Not since the days of Charlie Brown have the vaunted notions of peace on earth and goodwill toward men been translated into a yuletide special in a way that doesn’t feel at least a little overfamiliar and even saccharine. The beats of these stories are familiar, their messages simple, however sweet or pleasant they may be.
And yet, that’s the soft brilliance of Klaus. It gives that timeless idea -- that one good deed spurs more and eventually prompts a better community with better people -- new life amid a gorgeous realization.
That realization takes root in the story of Jesper, the layabout spoiled kid of an apparent postal delivery magnate. As punishment for his indolence, and as a final ultimatum to shape up or be cut off, Jesper’s father ships him off to Smeerensburg, a grim town north of the Arctic Circle that he has one year to turn into a postal success without going postal himself.
The setup is familiar. A grumbling kid from the big city is sent to a podunk area and has a stirring realization about life and love. But Klaus has a few wrinkles in store. For one, Smeerensberg is the charming vision of quaintness. Instead, it is a grim, rundown village, divided into a Hatfields vs. McCoys-like feud between a pair of opposing clans called the Krums and the Ellingboes, led by grizzled mater and paterfamilias who like things the way they are.
For another, while Jesper undergoes the expected growth and maturation into becoming a better, kinder person here, it emerges organically out of a combination of happenstance and self-interest. Jesper’s father demands that he process six thousand letters within a year to escape this frozen hole and return home to his warm bed with silk sheets. After having no luck, Jesper accidentally leaves an enclosed children’s drawing to the reclusive old toymaker in the cold recesses of the town and then finds himself cajoled into delivering a small toy in return.
That’s right, Klaus isn’t just the story of one hapless mailman who ends up finding his better self in the chill of the frozen tundra. It’s a low-key Santa Begins-style origin story. Jesper’s scheme is a mercenary one -- he convinces local kids to send letters to the benevolent badass of a toymaker in the hopes of receiving playthings in return, and convinces the carpenter to give away his collection of dolls and wind-ups for the good of the children, thereby working to fulfill his quota and get the hell out of there.
And yet, in the process, a funny thing happens. For one thing, the myth of santa emerges. Jesper has to sneak into people’s homes to deliver the presents so as to avoid the booby traps and angry residents who assume any intruder must be a member of the rival clan up to no good. From there, the game of telephone of local children takes over from there and rumors and speculation turn into a full-fledged mythology.
The magic, the chimney drops, the “ho ho ho,” and even the flying reindeer are given a mundane but adorable exploration from the eyes of kids. Most importantly, Jesper leaves a lump of coal for a local brat who was rude to him, and when the grumpy moppet complains that his letter didn’t result in a toy, the mailman comes up with a self-serving tale about the toymaker watching the town’s kids and only rewarding the ones who are good and noble.
What follows lives up to the mantra that the titular bearded old gentleman tells Jesper -- that one selfless act begets another. The children seek to do good deeds in order to win their unseen, seemingly magical gift-provider’s favor. Their kindness cuts across the centuries-long bitterness that’s long divided the town. Warring neighbors turn into caring friends. Walls are literally torn down. Discord becomes harmony. Anger becomes joy. Antagonism becomes altruism.
This town-wide transformation is done up in wondrous tones. Even if it didn’t have such a heartening story at its core, Klaus would be worth watching for the extraordinary animation alone. Writer-director Sergio Pablos and his team create the best blend of 3D and 2D animation styles I’ve ever seen. There’s such an expressiveness to the characters’ gesture, such character in the look and feel of the town, and such sharp visual choices in how scenes are blocked and framed, that you could pause at any moment and still be left with a stunning image.
The aesthetics blend beautifully with the larger tale of revitalization and, in a way, rebirth that characterizes the film. When Jesper arrives in Smeerensburg, it is a gray, bleak vista of rundown desolation. The only pop of color comes in the form of Klaus’s little toy frog, the first small gift that starts something much larger. Slowly but surely, as Jesper and Klaus’s plan comes to fruition and the town erupts in kindness and consideration, the color returns to the place, soon rife with warm lights and lifting hues. The film is a visual triumph, particularly for how those aesthetic choices compliment the type of changes this place and its denizens experience over the course of the film.
Those changes are the cinch of Klaus. The central, animating message of the film is that acts of kindness, the steps we take to brighten other people’s days and lives, can be the thing that turns a vicious cycle into a virtuous one. The simple act of giving toys to children slowly but surely reverses generations of enmity among neighbors and transfigures the town into a vibrant, caring place that anyone would want to call home, even Santa Claus himself.
The film’s best achievement may be making the famed Father Christmas feel like a real person, one worthy of the adulation and imagination he receives from children around the world, but also like a flesh and blood human being rather than just a holly jolly icon in a red hat. This Klaus has experienced loss. He’s without his wife. He’s without the children he dreamed of raising with her. He’s without purpose, self-admittedly lost, in a house full of toys meant for a family he’ll never see.
And yet, he too is transformed by this accidental revolution of the heart. Despite his initially taciturn nature, he eventually opens up to Jesper. He becomes the beneficent, steady yin to Jesper’s frantic, selfish yang, in a dynamic reminiscent of The Emperor’s New Groove. Eventually, he finds renewed purpose in the good that his emotionally difficult toy-making can do. He discovers a new family, finding fulfillment in spreading joy to more children than he’d ever thought possible.
Klaus doesn't just give Santa’s origin story as a series of explainers on how nighttime snacks and twilight gift deliveries came to be. It crafts a tale of a broken but compassionate man finding himself again through his acts of kindness.
That’s the spirit of the film. Despite opposition from local leaders invested in the way things have been, Jesper and Klaus’s efforts do more than make Smeerensburg a brighter place; they allow the people within it to flourish individually.
Alva, a local school teacher-turned-fishmonger who just wants to get out of this icy dump, changes her mind when scores of kids come to her schoolhouse looking for instruction on how to write, so as to be able to send letters to the kind man up north. Her amiable concordance with Jesper is a little easy, but the movie finds an organic way for her to discover her passion and belief in what her work could be.
That work helps educate these kids and bring them together. Alva helps translate the speech of a local Sami girl named Margu so that she too can take part in this budding tradition, something that forges a bond between her, Margu, and Jesper. Even the dim-witted, brutish offspring of the heads of the feuding clans find common ground with one another in the rush of all this kindness and understanding.
Klaus does have its flaws. However pleasant the execution, there’s something mildly uncomfortable about the foreign language-speaking Sami becoming Klaus’s “elves” and the way it leans into stereotypes about docile simplicity in those outside our usual spheres. Norm MacDonald feels a little miscast as a needling sea captain. And the beats are predictable to anyone who’s seen a good Xmas movie before.
But it's the execution of those familiar rhythms that puts Klaus a cut above. It’s not hard to guess that by the end of the movie, Jesper will have learned the spirit of giving and grow from these experiences. Despite that, the movie earns his change of heart, letting it happen slowly and almost accidentally.
The film’s third act features the inevitable near-miss, where Jepser is given the chance to return to his old life and it’s revealed to his new friends that all of this arose from his self-serving effort to get out of there. Instead, of course, he chooses to stay in this town he’s made into a better place, earns his father’s respect and, more importantly, vindicates and affirms his friendship with Klaus and Alva and Margu, while proving his altruistic bona fides in a thrilling action climax.
It’s all founded on that one deceptively simple but beautiful idea. Jesper’s metamorphosis is an inadvertent one. He stumbles into betterment, for Smeerensburg and for himself. And yet, it speaks to the transformational power of that idea -- that doing good for others, in ways big and small, can reshape a community at the same time it renews our souls. As many times as that lesson has been delivered amid falling snow and jingle bells, it’s rarely been as inspiring, as brilliant, or as an endearing, as this story of a mailman, a toymaker, and the selfless acts that spur them both toward something that heals this ailing place, and each other.
This might be one of the best Christmas movies. It's fun, beautifully animated and heartfelt. Sure, it's a typical Christmas story and it's nothing surprising. But still, super fun!
Superbly stylish and cosily heartwarming, Klaus is a strong contender for the contemporary entry in my Christmas movie rotation. I do think it gets a little lost in the sauce towards the end with everything kinda jumbling together to a coherent conclusion, but everything around that is as comfy, cosy, heartwarming and goodwilled as you need from a Christmas feature. Good stuff.
Went into this film knowing nothing and left it crying. Beautiful film and a great voice cast.
Was a stunning moment for myself when I realised where I knew Klaus' voice from considering I've been watching 'Invincible' lately :joy:
One of the sweetest, emotional and best animated films.
An Oscar contender in its year and a new Christmas favourite for some avid fans and those who’d rather dispense with magical flying reindeer, industrious elves or the real magic behind Christmas to see joy wrought in cynicism. I give this film an 8 (laboredly optimistic) out of 10. [21st Century Pessimistic Fantasy]
From Netflix comes the animated Christmas film Klaus. The story follows a postman who’s exiled to a remote island and comes up with a scheme to meet his mail quote and get off the island by getting the children to write letters to a reclusive toy maker named Klaus, but the plan soon developed a momentum of its own, sweeping up the whole town. Starring Jason Schwartzman, J.K. Simmons, Rashida Jones, and Joan Cusack, the film has a solid cast that delivers strong performances. However, the animation style is a little rough; mixing CG and traditional animation. But the comedy is well-done, and delivers some fun laughs. The music is also quite good and features the awards nominated song “Invisible.” Klaus has some weak spots, but proves to be a charming family film that’s sure to brighten up the holiday.
A heartwarming movie with beautiful animation, good humor, and a great soundtrack.
Fine movie, good art, and building story, but wait.... Santa's death, perishing, or just disappearing isn't to brutal for kids? ;>
A beauty.
What a lovely, charming and clever film. 'Klaus' took my interest and then some, I was locked in from the start. It's terrific, with some excellent hand-drawn animation. The cast, led by Jason Schwartzman, do very good jobs, also.
I loved seeing it connect all the dots of Santa, Christmas et al. If you think about it, it's actually rather simple but it's done in a smart and pleasant way. The ending is particularly sweet. Away from the heart, it also has humour and the pacing is absolutely spot on.
Schwartzman is entertaining as Jesper, with J. K. Simmons doing a very solid job as Klaus. I also enjoyed Joan Cusack as Tammy. The cast are probably down the pecking order of this film's pluses, but that's only due to its other, more noticeable positives.
Always pleasing to see a great animated film away from Disney, if only to create important competition for the latter.
That art style is something else. A feel good movie to watch during holiday season. It wont get you disappointed.
The film that is definitely perfect for kids and family. This is something that you'd want to let your kids watch because the lessons are good. The plot is good. It's funny too. A film that will definitely make the kids smile at the end and give hope to the adults haha if that makes sense.
Most of my commentary is regarding the animation.. It's so, SO nice to see traditional hand-drawn 2D animation in this world of 3D CGI. The lighting really made the drawings (for lack of a better word) pop! and it's fascinating that even the lighting choices have huge impacts on the ambience and story-telling. There's this quote from Movies Insider: "In the end, the characters looked much more 3D and a part of their environment, as opposed to looking like stickers on top of an elaborate painting." They brought depth and volume to their characters and the environment.
Story-wise, I actually walked into this one without much expectation, thinking it'd be a typical family Christmas film, but was really pleasantly surprised. It's certainly deserving of the ratings it's received!
Good surprise.
Nice character design, nice 2D / 3D touch, nice lights and colors, nice story.
the graphics the story the arts everything is perfect
The art of story telling
I loved watching this movie so much. Made me tears on how the 2D Animation was fantastic well done and some characters designed so well and so interesting background stories. The story of Klaus is superb, and I wish to see it a second time during the year.
It is on the list of my favourite movies right now!
A great interpretation of Santa's origin story. All the attention to detail, from writing the letter to the list of the Naughty List , make this film one of the best for Christmas.
The best animated film of the year.
Gorgeous movie with an amazing art style.
I kept putting this movie off (watched it after Christmas, a day before New Year lol) because I thought it would be yet another cheesy cash grabbing badly made animated Christmas movie. Boy, I was wrong. The animation is awesome. The story is great. I legit had feels.
This movie is a must-watch for Christmas :D
«A true selfless act always sparks another»
—
«Un vero atto di bontà ne ispira sempre un altro».
Beautiful animation and a good unique Christmas story.
Klaus is as good as a Christmas cookie left on the table, as wholesome as the glass of milk beside it, and as merry as the spirit they were placed there for.
I think this might be my new favorite Christmas movie.
Possibly the best and cutest Christmas movie I’ve seen. So well done. Both funny and emotional.
"Beautiful hand-drawn animation and humorous, heartwarming narrative. An instant candidate for holiday classic status."
An enjoyable film; perhaps not a Christmas classic, but it does give a new spin on the origin of Santa.
so I can't believe that somehow a Netflix animated movie about Santa Claus kinda became one of my favourite animated features of the year? it's beautifully crafted, and I loved that the story wasn't the run of the mill Christmas thing. I LOVED how they created a backstory, loved the art and the message, really cute all family film!
Christmas movies all start to feel the same after a while. But this movie was different. It was an original spin on the story and was more about facing difficulties, about hope, and about being the best you can. And it was thoroughly enjoyable.
Perfect movie to watch on a cold winter night approaching/on Christmas alone/with friends or family. Perfection level is of Pixar caliber.
Shout by EricaBlockedParent2019-11-16T22:24:43Z
This was such a good movie that I'll probably watch it again when it gets closer to Christmas. Feels like an instant Christmas classic!