Klaus

Original Rating: 4.5/5 For a long time I've struggled with picking a favourite Christmas film because though there are some pretty bad Christmas films, overall, the genre is pretty good all around, plagued only by the sound of jingling cash in the background of the worst films. What I'm trying to say is, the only bad Christmas films are the ones that look for profit over everything else, thereby losing the point of the season entirely. So, determining my favourite Christmas film was a tough decision to make. When I first saw Klaus (2019) three years ago, I knew it was an instant favourite of mine because of the unique premise and gorgeous animation, but for some reason, I never viewed it to be any less than a four and a half star film, and over the years, my memory of this film had started to deteriorate to the point where I didn't really even remember how much I'd loved it on a first time watch. So, I decided to re-watch it, knowing full well that I might like it even less this time around... But to my great surprise, I ended up loving it even more! First of all, the animation is just flawless. I mean, I knew even then, three years ago, just how revolutionary and unique this style of animation was, before I even knew the technicalities of it. The colours, the lighting, the texture, the cartoonish design to every house, person and dog—it was all just perfect in a way I can't bring myself to describe, but it blew me away. It feels like every new animated film needs to have some sort of new, revolutionary style of animation, and Klaus is a great example of it actually working really well. Moreover, the fact that every single frame of this film was hand-drawn in 2D, then shaded, lit and textured in 3D is amazing but also unheard of in today's world where the whole world of animated cinema revolves around entirely CG Animation, because it feels so much more personal. Look, there's a lot of fantastic CG Animation films that I love deeply, but there's a certain human touch that you can feel in the cartoony, disproportionate figures of characters and things when they're drawn by hand. And that, paired with 3D elements like strategic lighting and texturing truly this film come alive, and feel alive. Speaking of feeling alive, another aspect of this film that truly gives it life is the voice acting. I fear I don't talk about voice acting enough, because it's one of those forms of art that people take for granted, assuming anyone—like say, Chris Pratt—can do, when in reality, there's so much nuance and deliberate delivery that goes on in voice acting. And this film is no stranger to excellent voice acting. I'll be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of Jason Schwartzman as I find him to be quite one-time and bland in most of his roles that I've seen him in, but he truly knocked it out of the park in this film. He genuinely understood how to voice Jasper in a way that doesn't interfere with his character, only enhances it, and also allows for a fun, incredibly cartoonish voice design for this character, something that goes really well with the animation. It's probably one of my favourite examples of brilliant voice acting now, because it's not just Jason Schwartzman talking, or even acting in a normal way you'd do on a movie set, but rather putting the expressions you'd otherwise see in an actor's eyes or on their face, into Jesper's voice. Just amazing. Thirdly, the soundtrack is full of bangers. This is something that I've started picking up on a lot more in films, especially since I just saw the first four episodes of *Stranger Things 5* (2025), which is filled with some fantastic needle drops, but this film really knows its diverse set of moods throughout the film, and specifically caters to the tone of the film with some great lyrics and melodies that shook my living room. Then, there's the premise. This was probably the number one reason as to why Klaus became an instant favourite of mine when I saw it three years ago. I mean, I can't even begin to comprehend how you come up with something so grounded yet magical at the same time, but it's simply genius how they explored the origins of Santa Claus through this oddly beautiful story. The way it subverts expectations about Santa and his myth, all while building those expectations up the whole way through, and giving us small payoffs like they're Avengers level reveals and cameos is really fascinating and helps this film stand out among so many other films that decide to approach this subject matter. Any other film would've lead heavily into the magic and flying reindeer and whatnot of it all, but this film recognized that the only magic it needed was the one that you see on every kid's face on Christmas morning, right here in the real world. You didn't need Santa's canonical elves, his canonical jolly demeanor, or his canonical reindeer with their funny but iconic names. Instead, all you needed was to replicate that Christmas spirit in the most raw and innocent way possible, and that alone was enough to bring the magic of Santa to life. Finally, there's the central themes of hope this film offered. Now, I'm not embarrassed to say that there's definitely a handful of films out there that I cry every time I watch them, but this film was just... Different. On the first watch, three years ago, I remember loving the themes of hope, love, and innocence reflected in the film, but it did nothing more than make me smile. And so, I didn't expect anything else this time around, and yet, I found myself brought to tears a number of times throughout this film. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me but whenever the kids would show their desire to learn more, or they'd recieve a brand new toy, or they'd show an act of good will and love to those who they might not have if it wasn't for Jesper and Klaus, I became incredibly overwhelmed with emotion. I think the reason is because we live in a world where the light seems to be getting dimmer by the day, with so much hate and feelings of hopelessness growing everywhere, that I found myself touched by even the smallest bit of genuineness showed by these children. They didn't care about any stupid rivalries or who to like and who not to like, they just loved unconditionally, and they learned that from Klaus. He too, did the same. He wasn't in it for anything, and he taught others that you didn't need to just accept a world where everyone is a selfish bastard. Instead, he taught them that if they did just one act of good will, with an actual bit of love put into that action, there could really be peace and prosperity all around. I'm just really moved by this film now, as I write this review and I know now that it's a much more profound and beautiful film than I ever saw it to be. I also know now that Klaus is the greatest Christmas film to ever exist. *A true selfless act always sparks another. * IB Level: 7+ 5/5 **28 November 2025 chymp**