Is It Worth the Watch?

What a surprise and joy it is to watch an animated movie, and even more, a Christmas animated movie, that’s charming, funny, heartwarming, and entirely original. 2019’s Klaus is an alternative origin for the myth of Santa Claus but never comes off as cloying or sentimental or sickly sweet.

The idea of an inept postman, banished to the outer regions of the North Pole (where, it is thought, he could do the least amount of harm), who, to fulfill his strict postal quota, desperately tries to get someone, anyone, to mail a letter, any letter, but can’t, sounds far-fetched. The townspeople are constantly at each others’ throats, so the postman’s sole friend is a widowed, unsociable woodsman, who he soon discovers to be a brilliant toymaker. Having the character unwillingly bumble into becoming Santa Claus by secretly delivering his friend’s toys to local disadvantaged children, purely for selfish reasons at first, is even more implausible. But the story works, generating character conflict that is believable and relatable, situations both humorous and heartwarming, and a mythological narrative relevant to modern audiences.

Klaus is that rarest of things amongst animation these days, it’s completely hand drawn. Computer imaging was not used at all. The time consuming old-school effort developed by brilliant pioneering artists in the early days of cartooning pays off here. The look and feel is of a beautiful, delightfully magical mood, creating a mysterious but accessible world.

Some of the humor is extremely specific to today’s sensibilities, and I have a feeling it may feel very dated twenty-five years out, preventing the movie from securing classic status long into the future. But it sure is a hell of a lot of fun at the moment.

Excellent vocal performances from an outstanding cast of veteran actors contribute to making Klaus a captivating holiday bauble for both adults and children.

Is It Worth The Watch? Don’t let categorizations like animated or Christmas film scare you away from this agreeable and satisfying holiday fable. Watching it with a flagon of eggnog, a candy cane sticking out at just the right jaunty angle, might well put you in the mood to finally decorate that damn tree your kids brought home last week.

2019

97 minutes

Starring – Jason Schwartzman, J. K. Simmons, Rashida Jones, Neda Margrethe Labba, Will Sasso, Norm Macdonald, Joan Cusack, Sergio Pablos

Director – Sergio Pablos

Screenplay – Sergio Pablos, Jim Mahoney, Zach Lewis