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Klaus

A review by Brooks Rich






































I don't really watch animated films anymore. I find ninety percent of them to be made by committee and not particularly funny, relying on pop culture references for their comedy. But I will always watch a new original Pixar film and I will watch a film that has creative animation, which brings us to the Netflix original film Klaus, which is an origin story of Santa Claus. This film is incredible and easily one of the best films of the year.

Postman Jesper is sent to the island of Smeerensberg, where two families are locked in an endless feud, with orders to deliver six thousand letters or be cut off from his wealthy family's fortune. There he meets a reclusive toymaker named Klaus and through some misunderstandings and coincidences, they end up delivering a toy to the island's children in exchange for one letter to Klaus.

This film is gorgeous. This is one of the best looking animated films in a long time. The animation is very creative, a mix of computer animation and hand drawn. Some shots remind me of another fantastic animated film from this decade, Kubo and the Two Strings. Below  are just few examples of the gorgeous animation of this film.





































There's different styles throughout the film, sometimes even in the same shot. For example, in one shot at night have the characters on the snowy ground with a beautifully animated night sky around them. I tried to find a screenshot of that but couldn't track one down.

This film is worth it for the animation alone but it's also really funny. The film doesn't rely on pop culture references and just has old school humor. I got some legit laughs from this film. Please track this film down on Netflix and watch it. This is now in my yearly rotation of Christmas films. There is a timeless feel to this film. Check it out.

Rating: 5/5


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