Klaus

     Saint Nicholas.  Kris Kringle.  Father Christmas.  Santa Claus.  We all know this jolly resident of the North Pole, but do we know where these tales of the bearded legend come from?  Though not historically accurate, Klaus explores the origins of Santa Claus, and it’s quite the unexpected gift from Netflix.
     You would think with this movie being animated that we would see Rudolph, elves, and talking snowmen, but surprisingly, the movie is grounded and doesn’t show anything magical.  It’s quite the abhorrent take on Santa Claus, but it’s a welcome one.  With this being an original film about how Santa came to be, you are left to wonder what will happen in this movie.  It’s refreshing to meet new characters that we get to know for the first time and watch as they grow internally through the course of the film, and because they’re brand new with no connections to our understanding of the Santa mythos, we are left to wonder where these characters will end up.  The story starts off simple enough.  We’re introduced to a prideful and arrogant mailman who is assigned to deliver a certain number of letters in a village that makes the Hatfields and McCoys look like friendly neighbors.  The village is full of people that hate each other and refuse to talk to each other, and it doesn’t seem like the mailman will meet his quota...until he meets a mysterious woodsman, who has a heart for the children of the village.  And it’s here that things start to deepen and become a movie that I will never forget.  Just writing this review is giving me goosebumps.  It’s an incredible Christmas story that made me laugh and, admittedly, tear up at times.  I didn’t know what to expect as the story unfolded, but I certainly wasn’t expecting it to become one of my favorite holiday movies of all time.
     I’ll move on from praising the story because I don’t want to spoil anything, and I’ll discuss the visual beauty of this movie instead.  For a while now, I have pointed out to friends and family members that animated movies all look too similar, and it doesn’t help the fact that animators will jump between Disney, Dreamworks, Pixar, and the other studios too.  I honestly thought how cool it would be if Disney took their experimental short film Paperman and expanded the techniques into a movie.  Well, this movie does just that!  The movie was made by Sergio Pablos Animation Studios.  Never heard of them?  Neither have I, but I am definitely keeping them on my radar because they have some very talented artists and animators.  The combination of old-school hand-drawn animation and modern CGI-effects was put to great use, making this a visual standout even amongst other animated films this year including the gorgeous Toy Story 4.  The characters are so expressive, and their movements reminded me of classic cartoons like Looney Tunes.  It’s such a unique blend of old and new that those who enjoy animated films will undoubtedly get a thrill of watching the artistry unfold.
     Of course, animated characters not only require good animation to help convey their personalities, but they need good voices to help make them flourish and lovable.  The filmmakers understood this and got some great talent for the film, with starring roles going to Jason Schwartzman, J.K. Simmons, and Rashida Jones.  Even the less famous members of the cast do a great job of giving the characters unique sounds and fluctuations.  Some of the characters--mainly the antagonists--sound like something out of classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons from the 60s and 70s, but it’s never too annoying.  Thankfully, the script has Schwartzman acting alongside either Simmons or Jones, and all of them work well together and even made me chuckle with their performances.  These actors knew how to handle comedic and serious scenes well, and they helped make the story so incredibly impactful.
     When you ask someone what Christmas means to them, you’re bound to get a different answer from each person you ask.  It's a holiday that carries a lot of memories, special moments, and sometimes pain.  It’s a holiday with a lot of weight and depth, both good and bad--even in the Nativity story that started the holiday to begin with had some good and bad moments too, but much like this movie, it’s special because we’re reminded of the importance of giving and the magic that comes from the love we all share together.