
Klaus (film)

Klaus is a 2019 English-language Spanish animated Christmas film written and directed by Sergio Pablos in his directorial debut, produced by his company Sergio Pablos Animation Studios and distributed by Netflix. Co-written by Zach Lewis and Jim Mahoney, and co-directed by Carlos Martinez Lopez, the traditionally animated film stars the voices of Jason Schwartzman, J. K. Simmons, Rashida Jones, Will Sasso, Neda Margrethe Labba, Sergio Pablos, Norm Macdonald, and Joan Cusack. Serving as an alternate origin story of Santa Claus independent from the historical take of Saint Nicholas of Myra and using a fictional 19th-century setting, the plot revolves around a postman stationed in an island town to the Far North who befriends a reclusive toymaker (Klaus). The film was nominated for an Oscar.
"Klaus" was released on 8 November 2019 and received positive reviews for its animation, story, and vocal performances. It won seven awards at the 47th Annie Awards, including Best Animated Feature, and also won Best Animated Film at the 73rd British Academy Film Awards. The film was also nominated at the 92nd Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature, making it the first animated film from Netflix to be nominated for an Academy Award, as well as the first animated film from a streaming service to be nominated, alongside "I Lost My Body", but lost to "Toy Story 4".
Plot.
Jesper Johansson is the lazy and spoiled son of the Royal Postmaster General, who has enrolled Jesper into his postman training academy hoping that it will reform him. Jesper deliberately underperforms, forcing his father to finally send him to the distant island town of Smeerensburg with the task of posting six-thousand letters within a year. If Jesper fails, he will be cut off from the family's fortune. Upon arrival, it is explained to Jesper by sarcastic ferryman Mogens, and bitter teacher-turned-fishmonger Alva, that the town's two familial clans—the Ellingboes and the Krums—comprise nearly all of the populace and are perpetually at war, spending more time fighting each other than writing letters. 
While desperately searching for people to post letters, Jesper finds an isolated dwelling outside of town. There he meets a reclusive woodsman named Klaus, who has a house filled with handmade toys. Terrified by Klaus' imposing appearance, Jesper flees and leaves behind a sad drawing he had found from one of Smeerensburg’s children. Klaus forces Jesper to lead him to the house depicted in the drawing, and then makes Jesper secretly deliver a toy to the boy inside. 
Word of this event spreads to other children; they go to Jesper the next day, each believing that they will receive a toy if they send him a letter. Jesper capitalizes on the idea and asks Klaus if he can donate his toys; Klaus agrees provided that they operate at night, and that Jesper continues to deliver the toys in secret. Soon, more and more children begin writing letters to Klaus. When Jesper tells them that Klaus only gives toys to good children, and always knows when any child misbehaves, the acts of kindness they perform gradually inspire the rest of the townsfolk to end their ancient dispute. Alva reopens her school to help the children learn to read and write.
Eventually, Jesper and Klaus begin running out of toys. With Jesper's deadline approaching, he tries persuading Klaus to make more toys in time for Christmas. Klaus initially refuses, but then works with Jesper to build a sled for a small Sámi girl named Márgu, who lives in an isolated settlement with her people. Klaus finally tells Jesper about his wife, Lydia, and explains he had made the toys to give to the future children the couple hoped to have, but they couldn't conceive and Lydia died from illness. Klaus then realizes that their work has been spreading joy to the children and agrees to the Christmas plan, with Márgu and the rest of her people arriving to help. As the town and his relationship with Alva flourishes, Jesper finds himself wanting to stay in Smeerensburg.
Meanwhile, family elders Aksel Ellingboe and Tammy Krum form a temporary truce, wanting to stop Jesper and Klaus so that the families can resume their traditional feud. They trick Jesper's father into believing Jesper had posted fourteen-thousand letters, and he arrives on Christmas eve to congratulate his son, inadvertently revealing to Jesper's friends the selfish reasons for his deeds. Just as they are about to leave town, Jesper's father notices his son's remorse, and after a private talk he allows Jesper to stay. Jesper then tries to stop the elders and their gang from destroying the Christmas toys, but apparently fails. However, Alva had already been informed of the plot by the town's children, so she and Klaus had replaced the toys with decoys. During the chase for the toys, Mr. Ellingboe's daughter and Mrs. Krum's son have also fallen in love.
Jesper is redeemed, and Smeerensburg becomes a happy town, with the family elders being forced to end the feud due to the marriage of their children. Jesper marries Alva and raises two children, and he and Klaus continue to deliver presents in Smeerensburg and beyond for eleven years. Then on the twelfth year, Klaus follows a wisp of wind up a sunny hill and disappears, seemingly to join his departed wife. Every subsequent Christmas Eve, Jesper sits beside the fireplace and waits to see Klaus as his spirit continues to deliver toys to children around the world.
Voice cast.
Additional children voices provided by Evan Agos, Sky Alexis, Jaeden Bettencourt, Teddy Blum, Mila Brener, Sydney Brower, Finn Carr, Kendall Joy Hall, Hayley Hermida, Lexie Holland, Brooke Huckeba, Matthew McCann, Tucker Meek, Leo Miller, Joaquin Obradors, Víctor Pablos, Lucian Perez, Bailey Rae Fenderson, Maximus Riegel, Emma Shannon, Ayden Soria, Sunday Sturz, Hudson West, Gordon Wilcox, Emma Yarovinskiy, and Julian Zane.
Additional adult voices provided by Brad Abrell, Catherine Cavadini, Bill Chott, Daniel Crook, Brian Finney, Stephen Hughes, Neil Kaplan, Sam McMurray, Amanda Philipson, Alyson Reed, Dee Dee Rescher, Dwight Schultz, Lloyd Sherr, Helen Slayton-Hughes, and Travis Willingham.
Production.
After setting up his own animation studio in Madrid, Spain, director Sergio Pablos, who had worked on Disney Renaissance films such as "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", "Hercules", and "Tarzan", decided to develop a new traditionally-animated feature film. Pablos wanted to explore how the medium would have evolved had western animation film studios not switched to producing mostly computer animated films since the 1990s. For the film's look, the studio sought to overcome some of the technical limitations that traditional animation had, focusing on organic and volumetric lighting and texturing to give the film a unique look, while maintaining a hand-crafted feel. Proprietary tools from Les films du Poisson Rouge, a French company in Angoulême, were used to allow the team to produce a variety of visual development styles, with the aim of getting away from the standardized style of "characters looking like stickers put on painted backgrounds." Fellow Disney animator James Baxter, known for "Beauty and the Beast", also worked on the film.
The first teaser for the project was released in April 2015; at the time, the studio was seeking investment, co-production, and distribution partners. It was shopped around to various studios, but most studios rejected the movie viewing it as "too risky." In November 2017, Netflix announced that they had acquired the global rights to "Klaus"; at the same time, the casting of Schwartzman, Jones, Simmons, and Cusack was announced along with a Christmas 2019 release date. In March 2019, it was reported that Netflix was planning an Oscar-qualifying run for "Klaus" in theaters, and it was listed as one of ten films Netflix was negotiating with chains to give limited releases prior to their online debuts that August. The film's release date was announced, alongside the debut of an official trailer, on 7 October.
The film is dedicated to animator and scene checker Mary Lescher who died on 2 June 2019 of cancer. She had worked on "Klaus", as well as other animated features such as "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Lion King".
Pablos said Smeerensburg is a deliberate misspelling of Smeerenburg, a former Dutch and Norwegian whaling station in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.
Release.
"Klaus" was released theatrically in select theaters on 8 November 2019, and was released digitally through Netflix on 15 November. It is the first original animated feature film to appear on Netflix. In January 2020, Netflix reported the film was watched by 40 million members over its first four weeks of release.
Reception.
Critical response.
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 94% based on 67 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The critical consensus reads "Beautiful hand-drawn animation and a humorous, heartwarming narrative make "Klaus" an instant candidate for holiday classic status." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 65 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
John DeFore of "The Hollywood Reporter" gave the film a positive review, writing: "Sergio Pablos' Klaus invents its own unexpected and very enjoyable origin story for the big guy who gives out toys every Christmas eve. Shaking off most Yuletide cliches in favor of a from-scratch story about how even dubiously-motivated generosity can lead to joy, it contains echoes of other seasonal favorites (especially, in a topsy-turvy way, Dr. Seuss' Grinch) while standing completely on its own."
Peter Debruge of "Variety" gave the film a mixed review, calling the film over-complicated and saying: "What goodwill the movie does inspire owes more to the splendid visual world than to anything the story supplies."
According to data provided by Netflix to Reuters, the film racked up nearly 30 million views worldwide in its first month. The film beat "Toy Story 4" for best Animated Film of 2019 on "Animation Magazine".
Soundtrack.
"Invisible" by Zara Larsson and "How You Like Me Now?" by The Heavy are featured in the film. The song "High Hopes" by Panic! at the Disco is featured in the trailer.