After a month of middling to crap Youtube efforts, I’m thinking that finally this is more like it as I settle in to watch some a load of Netflix holiday films, starting with2019 animated Netflix original Klaus. This is a beautiful, affecting work of art from animation stalwart Sergio Pablos and the film confounded expectations by enchanting critics all over the world.
As I enter month eleven of this foolhardy mission it’s fantastic to encounter something that feels fresh, original and inspired but also really well made in all departments. Klaus looks and feels like a real labour of love made by people who really love the holiday season, have a respect for audiences and really know how to tell a good story.
'Lush' is an overused word when describing animated films like this but it sure feels apt to describe the quality of the hand drawn, soulful visuals on show here. It’s easy to forget how good 'old school' animation can be after decades of flashy, CGI-heavy stuff. This one uses a very eye-catching, distinctive 'angular' character design that you don't really see anymore ever since Disney stopped using it, helping the film really stand out as something special.
Klaus is, essentially, 'Santa Claus: Origins' and also explains how the whole 'write a letter to Santa and get a gift if you're good' thing got started. This all happens in an unexpected yet perfectly logical way that feels organic and fun. Jason Schwartzman is fantastic voice casting for Jesper, the arrogant, lazy, big-mouthed postman exiled to an unwelcoming arctic town by his postmaster dad as punishment for being a privileged, ungrateful little git. Jesper's tasked with the seemingly impossible task of setting up a postal service in a town where everyone hates each other and where festive spirit is in very short supply.
Once there, he comes across bearded, grumpy, familiar looking but menacing toymaker Klaus (J.K. Simmons) with whom he hatches a cynical scheme to get those letters and parcels flowing - to encourage the local kids to write letters to sad old Klaus, he'll promise them each a toy. It's a fun angle, asking the audience to side with sneaky Jesper, a self-interested hustler, but this is a Christmas movie, so we all know where this is headed.
Simmons makes Klaus' story arc very moving and believable, his gravelly voice deal for a character who, in this carnation, is sad, sullen and quiet before gradually transitioning into the kind-hearted, jolly old soul we know and love. More than just a two-dimensional ho-ho-ho-ing stereotype, here he's a lonely, tortured artist, yearning for lost love.
The island itself is a visual joy in that it's not the standard, candy-coloured winter wonderland you might expect but a grey, forbidding place, all jagged mountains and frosty, treacherous terrain. As things progress the landscape becomes gradually more welcoming as our heroes - and their toys and letters - start to brighten the mood of the place.
There's plenty of entertaining, painstakingly animated set-pieces, including a thrilling, high-speed sleigh ride. We also get an original spin on 'Santa's helpers' - here presented as the island's indigenous tribe who prove themselves useful, loving and more than willing to integrate with the cranky, warring immigrants. It's a nice nod to modern day inclusivity in a thoroughly old-fashioned tale that knows how to push all the right buttons. Yeah, I really like this one.
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