Movie Review: 'Klaus' (2019)

Welcome to the jingle. (source)

Merry Christmas! I'm still allowed to say that, since Christmas is twelve days, not one. Speaking of, today I'd like to go over a Christmas movie that, had I seen this before 2020, I would have mentioned in my 2010s movie retrospective and would have hailed as a modern classic and the best movie of 2019 with Steven Universe the Movie as a close second. This is Klaus.

Summary

Klaus is a 2019 animated film directed by Sergio Pablo, an ex-Disney animator who started his own studio, Sergio Pablo Animation (SPA). In fact, this film is SPA's first production and Pablo's directorial debut.

Jesper (source)

The movie opens with a shot of the Royal Postal Academy. A letter is sent to Jesper Johanssen, a student of the Academy and the son of its postmaster. He is summoned to his father who tells him that he is the worst student. In order to knock some sense into Jesper, the postmaster assigns him to an isolated island up north known as Smeerensburg. He needs to send 6,000 letters in one year or else be expelled and cut off financially.

Mogens (source same as above)

With the aid of Mogens the ferryman, Jesper enters the island and realizes that its residents, the Krums and the Ellingboes, are involved in a perpetual family feud. They don't want anything to do with one another, much less send letters. This is course poses a giant problem. Jesper also meets Alva, a schoolteacher who has been selling fish so she can make enough money to leave the island.

Alva (source same as above)

Jesper is assigned to his post and is miserable for the first few weeks. Then he takes a closer look at the Smeerensburg map and notices a small house on the top right corner. That's where the woodsman lives, says Mogens, so Jesper decides to go there to see if he can have letters delivered through this stranger, which ends up being Klaus himself.

Klaus (source same as above)

After an awkward first meeting, Jesper and Klaus become close friends. Klaus has toys in his cabin collecting dust. Jesper uses them as a motivation for the children to write letters to Klaus, and he ends up selling a decent amount for the first few weeks. Children start doing good deeds for more toys, and the island is peaceful for once. However, the leaders of the Krums and the Ellingboes are not at all pleased with this new status quo and form a temporary truce to rid of Jesper and return to their feud. Along the way, Jesper learns what it means to be selfless. The origins of various Christmas traditions as well as Santa Claus are explored.

Discussion

What more do I really need to say than what I stated in the beginning: it's the best movie of 2019 and a bonafide Christmas classic. When I see something like this on Netflix, I'm reminded that they don't always release unfaithful reboots (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Fate: The Winx Saga) and unholy abominations (Cuties, Big Mouth). Their mandates weren't enforced here somehow; there are no non-white people (which would make no sense given its setting) and no homosexuality or transgenderism.

Santa Claus origin stories are not new; Santa Claus is Comin' to Town from Rankin/Bass and The Santa Clause from Disney are a few examples. But what makes Klaus unique is that it explains Santa's origins in a non-magical way, from stockings to flying reindeer.

If there's anything that immediately sticks out to viewers, it's the animation. It's phenomenal. Mr. Pablo and his team have figured out how to do a hand-drawn film and color it in a way that it almost looks like CGI or Flash. The characters look like they belong with the background. Other 2D animated films have them look separate, but here, they go hand in hand. This is the kind of movie that could be commonplace today if CGI hadn't taken over.

The characters all have ample screentime and development. Jesper is the skinny spoiled brat who changes for the better and is really funny. Klaus is a gentle giant who is stoic and silent in the beginning but later opens up and even does his signature laugh ("Ho, ho, ho!"). His friendship with Jesper is the highlight of this movie. Alva is a strong independent woman who later develops a relationship with Jesper, which is cliché as heck, but still charming nonetheless. And then there's Márgu, the little girl who can't speak English yet still wants to ask Klaus for a gift. She's my second favorite character after Jesper. She is a member of the Sámi, an indigenous group that lives in northern Scandinavia. They are known for herding reindeer, which makes perfect sense why they're in a Christmas film.

So with all that said, why did this movie not win an Oscar and lose to Toy Story 4 for best animated feature? Simple: it's 2D, it got a limited theatrical release, and it's not Disney, though it feels more so than Disney's recent fare. The Oscars are a biased popularity contest. The same thing happened in 2010 when The Secret of Kells lost for the same reasons.

But regardless, this is a movie that should be seen during the Christmas season. It has an interesting take on the Santa Claus origin story, engaging characters, beautiful animation, and a lot of heart. I'll end by quoting the movie's thesis statement:

"A true selfless act always sparks another."

Quality Rating: 9/10

Content Rating: 9+