Klaus
A film that goes on top of your tree.
Last year, around this time, I gave my quick thoughts on this film in the cartoons thread, this was not long before I came up with the idea of writing a tome every time I wanted to give my opinion on various films in this thread, in any case, I watched this again and it’s still really good.
In a time where cynical corporate guff gets shovelled to the front page of seemingly every platform, it’s refreshing to see a film that is made with actual love and care and that does not talk down to it’s audience, I mean it in the best possible way when I say that this feels like a film from another age.
First off, the visuals are fantastic, with a mix of traditional animation and almost 3D like lighting, with that said, this would mean nothing if the film wasn’t good, so it’s a good thing that it is.
A great thing about the film is that it gives a grounded look at how Christmas could have come about, all your favourite Christmas plot points are presented in a way that is not powered by magic, instead they are given a logical enough reason, a couple of them do require suspension of disbelief but overall, it’s a genius way to subvert the Christmas tropes, also the film mostly keeps a mature enough tone, none of the overly hyperactive presentation of most modern animated films, this one lets the scenes speak for themselves at whatever opportunity it gets.
There’s also a strong message here that is neither preachy nor toothless about the value of selflessness and also how tradition built on vitriol can be damaging to not only the people passing down said tradition but also everything and everyone around them, the latter message is portrayed through the feud between the two clans in ways that is often exaggerated just enough to be entertaining without without getting overly goofy, just like the good old days when films were on average so much better than they tend to be today.
The characters are fantastic as well, Jesper for instance really matures as a character over the course of the film in his quest to deliver 6000 letters with the original goal of getting his old life back, he gradually realises the value of selflessness alongside Klaus, a retired woodworker who originally lets the toys he built over the years gather dust for reasons I won’t spoil before being convinced by Jesper to deliver them to those who could actually use them, making him into the Santa we all know, albeit with one extra helper.
The music is phenomenal with Invisible being my personal favourite, the other music is great as well but that one is easily the most memorable,
Now I have said many glowing things about this film but there is one significant issue, the liar revealed trope is here and it is handled incredibly poorly, [ISPOILER]Jespar’s reason for getting all those letters sent is to get his old life of luxury back after his dad kicks him out, as a result of his “lie” he ends up turning the dumpster fire town into a thriving winter wonderland, saving Klaus from his reclusiveness, bringing joy to a town that was previously ruled by hatred, as well as doing a whole bunch of other amazing and beneficial things but as soon as it is revealed that he had his own reasons for all the amazing things he did, Klaus and almost everyone else just treat him like dirt even though Jesper himself has learned the value of selflessness by that point, the only people who actually recognise that Jesper’s withholding of the truth had a positive effect is Jesper’s dad and Margu, everyone else just can’t accept that he had a reason for his good deeds, it’s such a ridiculous reason to treat the guy who literally saved the whole town like he was the most evil man on the planet, the worst part is how Klaus even insinuates that he doesn’t care if Jesper falls off the sleigh and dies, like geez, all he did was have a motive for all the good he did and even abandoned his ulterior motive by that point anyway,[/ISPOILER] it’s thanks to this stupidity that I cannot give this a perfect score, it sticks out like a sore thumb in a film where any other problem is a nitpick, I’ll say that if you must do the liar revealed trope then learn from The Road to El Dorado, it’s literally the only film I’ve seen that handles it right.
Overall I wish that the liar revealed plotline wasn’t handled so badly because otherwise I would have given this the perfect 10, regardless the film is still excellent, the subversions of Christmas tropes are nothing short of genius and the universal theme makes this one that quite possibly anyone can appreciate, I said it last year and I’ll say it again.
Score: 9/10 an exceptional Christmas film.
