Klaus (B+ or 3/4 stars)
Well, I am pleasantly surprised by Netflix's 1st original animated flick, 'Klaus', a holiday origin story directed by Sergio Pablos & produced by a Spanish production team. 'Klaus' follows beanpole Jesper (voiced by Jason Schwartzman), a privileged Postal Academy employee whose strict Scandinavian father, the Postmaster General, punishes him with the most remote, faraway assignment of Smeerensburg, a frozen isle just above the Arctic Circle. Jesper can't return to his coddled life at home 'til he processes 6,000 pieces of mail in 1 year. But upon his arrival in Smeerensburg, here comes to the quick realization that this town is involved in a long standing feud btwn. 2 families that leads to resentments & treating each other as 'the enemy'.
Jesper finds an ally in the village's one teacher, Alva (Rashida Jones). But even she has resorted to turning into a fish dealer because the warring families won't send their kids to school to sit next to 'the enemy'. After Jesper accidentally delivers a child's letter to village hermit, Klaus (J.K. Simmons), a mysterious carpenter & toymaker, Klaus asks Jesper to deliver a toy back to the child. Klaus lives in a mountain cabin full of his handmade toys. This gives Jesper a great idea: Every child who writes Klaus a letter should get a toy in return; that way, all these keen kids' letters will eventually add up to his father's 6,000 piece-of-mail quota. Perhaps unlikely friendships & Klaus' toys can return laughter to Smeerensburg; forging a new legacy of kindly neighbors & Christmas magic. But problems arise.
It took a little while for me to engage with this movie. It just wasn't clicking at first and, some of the humor was too juvenile or not hitting the sweet spot, for me. But it slowly grew on me. I became invested in the tender friendship that was forging btwn. Jesper & Klaus. And I admire the film's strong themes of bridge-building, companionship & kindness. Klaus's take on the Santa origin story is fairly unique and, a little nutty, but as Jesper & Klaus collaborate to bring toys to the children of Smeerensburg, the film manages to explain all of the main points of the Santa legend {his reindeer, his sleigh, the chimney, the bag of toys, even his red outfit}.
One of the other stand-out elements of this movie is the scintillating hand drawn animation. You don't see that much anymore; most films of this medium are comprised of over-pixelated CGI. But here, the hand drawn designs are staggeringly beautiful. The snowy landscapes are gorgeously rendered. And I absolutely loved the use of yellow, incandescent light -- simply magical. As for the characters themselves, they are rendered crisply, and with great expression, as well. I loved how a certain frog character looked. The incessantly scowling matriarch of the Krum family (Joan Cusack) is a hoot to look at. And the young Sámi girl who ends up enlisting her tribe to help Jesper & Klaus in his workshop is an adorable cartoon creation.
So yeah, it's not the humor that got me going, nor the initial premise that Jesper wants the kids' letter to meet his father's 6,000 piece quota ... it's the ensuing friendship btwn. reluctant postman Jesper & grieving toymaker Klaus that got me; and to a lesser extent, Jesper & Alva - who is able to go back to teaching once the children realize they need to learn to read & write to send letters to Klaus. Jesper's character development is crucial, here. And it's cool witnessing this take on why Santa started delivering toys on Christmas in the 1st place. I was enchanted. And it's fairly thought-provoking; with themes of redemption, compassion & generosity {"A single act of kindness always sparks another"}. This movie got me in the holiday spirit.
Jesper finds an ally in the village's one teacher, Alva (Rashida Jones). But even she has resorted to turning into a fish dealer because the warring families won't send their kids to school to sit next to 'the enemy'. After Jesper accidentally delivers a child's letter to village hermit, Klaus (J.K. Simmons), a mysterious carpenter & toymaker, Klaus asks Jesper to deliver a toy back to the child. Klaus lives in a mountain cabin full of his handmade toys. This gives Jesper a great idea: Every child who writes Klaus a letter should get a toy in return; that way, all these keen kids' letters will eventually add up to his father's 6,000 piece-of-mail quota. Perhaps unlikely friendships & Klaus' toys can return laughter to Smeerensburg; forging a new legacy of kindly neighbors & Christmas magic. But problems arise.
It took a little while for me to engage with this movie. It just wasn't clicking at first and, some of the humor was too juvenile or not hitting the sweet spot, for me. But it slowly grew on me. I became invested in the tender friendship that was forging btwn. Jesper & Klaus. And I admire the film's strong themes of bridge-building, companionship & kindness. Klaus's take on the Santa origin story is fairly unique and, a little nutty, but as Jesper & Klaus collaborate to bring toys to the children of Smeerensburg, the film manages to explain all of the main points of the Santa legend {his reindeer, his sleigh, the chimney, the bag of toys, even his red outfit}.
One of the other stand-out elements of this movie is the scintillating hand drawn animation. You don't see that much anymore; most films of this medium are comprised of over-pixelated CGI. But here, the hand drawn designs are staggeringly beautiful. The snowy landscapes are gorgeously rendered. And I absolutely loved the use of yellow, incandescent light -- simply magical. As for the characters themselves, they are rendered crisply, and with great expression, as well. I loved how a certain frog character looked. The incessantly scowling matriarch of the Krum family (Joan Cusack) is a hoot to look at. And the young Sámi girl who ends up enlisting her tribe to help Jesper & Klaus in his workshop is an adorable cartoon creation.
So yeah, it's not the humor that got me going, nor the initial premise that Jesper wants the kids' letter to meet his father's 6,000 piece quota ... it's the ensuing friendship btwn. reluctant postman Jesper & grieving toymaker Klaus that got me; and to a lesser extent, Jesper & Alva - who is able to go back to teaching once the children realize they need to learn to read & write to send letters to Klaus. Jesper's character development is crucial, here. And it's cool witnessing this take on why Santa started delivering toys on Christmas in the 1st place. I was enchanted. And it's fairly thought-provoking; with themes of redemption, compassion & generosity {"A single act of kindness always sparks another"}. This movie got me in the holiday spirit.