This is a more recent film, but it was a small enough release and wasn’t being talked about in the mainstream much, so I figured it would work for this blog. This is a charming little Christmas movie that gives an interpretation of how the Santa Claus myth was built. It’s not an entirely new concept, and admittedly, the story does flow in a way not dissimilar to what a lot of Disney-and-adjacent films were doing in the 90’s and 2000’s. However, I think they managed to pull through and create a lovely holiday film, both story-wise and artistically, and I definitely want to talk about it artistically, because, to my surprise, it’s actually a drawn animation film, something that feels rather rare in this day and age. However, before I get too side-tracked on that notion, let’s talk about the story.
We follow Jesper, the spoiled slacker son of the Postmaster General, who’s been put through mailman training on his father’s orders. The General had hoped that it would teach him something about responsibility, but instead he’s been half-assing everything, figuring that he’ll just get to go back home after it’s all over anyway. However, his father has other plans for him. To give his son a dose of the real world, he sends him to live in the far-off land of Smeerensberg, a near-arctic settlement in the blistering cold. Jesper is tasked with creating a functioning mail service for Smeerensberg within a year, and in that year to sort and mail at least six thousand letters. Should he fail, he is forever cut off from his family’s wealth and privilege, doomed to starve in the streets. Jesper finds Smeerensberg less than accommodating, as the village is mainly comprised of two warring families who never interact except for fighting (a very Hatfields and McCoys situation). Because of this, nobody mails anything to anyone else, and Jesper is having a heck of a time getting anything started as a result. However, one day, he happens upon a drawing on the street. A child from a nearby house calls out from the window, wanting it back. Jesper tries to use this as an opportunity, offering to “mail” it back to the kid, but he’s chased off by the house’s guard dogs instead. While wallowing in sorrow in the “post office” (more of a chicken shack, really), he notices a house on the map he hadn’t seen before. Apparently, it belongs to Klaus the woodsman, who hasn’t been seen in forever. He’s pretty far away from the town, but at this point, Jesper is willing to try anyone. He heads all the way out to the house, but ends up freaking out after seeing the tall, dark, hulking, axe-wielding visage of Klaus, and after accidentally breaking into his work shed full of old toys, he high-tails it out of there. However, he accidentally leaves behind his mailbag, which contains the drawing from before. Klaus finds it and seems to be struck by the image (the drawing depicts the boy holed up in his house and looking out the window with a sad frown). Later that night, Klaus heads to town and demands that Jesper take him to the boy’s house, as he has a package for him. Jesper takes him there, but Klaus expects Jesper to deliver it, causing Jesper to go through house-fortified hell to get the package to the kid. The parcel turns out to be a wind-up frog, which the boy loves, and after catching a glimpse of Klaus in the window, he starts telling all the other kids about him. The kids go to Jesper and ask if they can write letters to Klaus for toys, which gives Jesper an idea. He strikes a deal with Klaus, wherein Jesper delivers the letters to Klaus and then the two go out at night to deliver the toys to the children. Throughout the film, we see the “myth of Klaus” slowly build, partially from him and partially from Jesper (coming down the chimney, leaving coal for the bad kids, etc.). We also see how this grows not just Jesper and Klaus’s friendship, but also the community itself. Most of the kids don’t know how to write, since their parents never send them to school (no fraternizing and all that), so the kids intentionally go to school so that they can learn. The teacher, Alva, is at first annoyed with Jesper for this, since she’s been saving up money to leave Smeerensberg for good, but slowly grows to like teaching again, and even builds a bit of something with Jesper, especially after he takes a little Sami girl to her so that they can translate her letter to Klaus. In general, the two families are actually starting to get along because of all this, which does not sit well with the family heads. They feel that their history of hate is tradition, and this new mailman and that woodcarver are trying to destroy their way of life. Ironically, they even form a truce for the express purpose of taking those two down and restoring their hatred. In addition, Jesper and Klaus are getting to the end of the toy stockpile, and Klaus is hesitant to make any more, even after Jesper proposes Christmas as a huge opportunity. You see, Jesper is still shy of his goal, so he doesn’t want to stop now, even though he might be considering if he wants to leave at all. I’ll leave you to see the rest, though if you know anything about 90s/2000s mainstream animated films, you might be able to guess where this goes.
Immediately, what was striking about this film was the art and animation. It’s drawn animation, which is always cool to see in this day and age, since it’s been almost buried by the popularity of CGI. However, not only is it drawn, but it’s almost a hybrid of different drawn styles along with some enhancements of its own. The character animation feels very “formerly modern Disney,” by that I mean 90s-to-early-2000s era Disney. Everyone has a lot of life and personality to their movements with a bit of that quirky “modern” delivery that you would have seen in films at that time. The character designs fit right into this era too for the most part, but interestingly, some of them almost have a Tim Burton quality to them. The family heads especially give off those vibes, with one being short and round with a very tall top hat (a la Nightmare Before Christmas) and the other being thin and scraggily in a black dress (a la Corpse Bride). It’s rather fitting, since Tim Burton got his start working at Disney and all. I also got a bit of a Monkey Island feel from the characters and setting, what with the rickety coastal town of quirky characters and Jesper and Alva somewhat recalling Guybrush and Elaine respectively. Interestingly, though, the backgrounds at times, especially in the woods, almost resembled something out of Tartakovsky, like Samurai Jack. It’s that sort of minimal geometric design that suggests detail in a void of space, and it’s beautiful to look at, much like all of the animation, really. However, what really makes this film distinct visually is the texturing and rendering. This film gives the characters and environments a layer of texture and lighting that almost seems to be suggesting a third dimension without there ever being one (well, aside from an occasional CG element, of course). It came across to me almost as what drawn animation might have become had it been able to stick around in the mainstream. Funnily enough, I was dead on the money, as that’s exactly what the director was trying to do. I’d say he definitely succeeded, and it gives the film a whole new richness that enhances the experience. So, it’s clear that, at least for me, the art and animation were superb, but what about the writing and characters? I’d say that, on the whole, they did a good job with the story, but it isn’t entirely original and if you’re familiar with some of the plot tropes of mainstream animated films of the time period mentioned before, then you’ll probably be able to see where this movie is going. I’ll admit, I was really wondering if they’d go in a particular direction at the “rock bottom” phase of the plot, and ultimately, they did. Thankfully, though, they didn’t dwell in this stage for too long, so I commend them for that. I’d also say that, even if the film isn’t “original,” it’s still very well told and charming. You believe Jesper and Klaus’s relation as it develops from awkward alliance to actual friendship. Jesper hits the right notes for a selfish-jerk-turned-good-person character, similar to someone like Kuzco from the Emperor’s New Groove, in that he’s jerky at first, but quickly gets punished for it, and now has to slowly build himself into a better man. Klaus is an easily sympathetic character, awkward and distant at first, but good-hearted and clearly suffering from inner pain. Alva’s enjoyable too, going from being frustrated and done with her old ambitions to finding that spark in her life again. Oh, and I didn’t mention him before, but Norm Macdonald nails the sarcastic ferryman that taunts Jesper’s follies throughout the movie. The other townsfolk also work for the kinds of characters that they are and help to flesh out the story and setting. I also appreciated how the story built the Santa Claus myth in a believable way, with the kids attributing much of Jesper’s actions while delivering as factors of Klaus (e.g. the fact that he can come down the chimney, Jesper taking an errant cookie leading to the kids leaving cookies out for “Klaus,” Jesper leaving coal in a bad kid’s stocking as revenge for pelting him with snowballs and then him rubbing it into the kid that Klaus “knows when he’s been bad” and that “he has a list” being where these ideas came from). I also appreciated how the film ended and showed how Klaus’s work carried on into the future, though sadly I can’t talk about it, spoilers and such. I think I’ve said everything I wanted to say, so I’ll wrap this up now.
Overall, I found Klaus to be an enjoyable film. Though it might not be amazingly original, it’s still very well done and shows how much life drawn animation still has. I’m definitely recommending this for holiday viewing, and I’m sure that you’ll enjoy your time with it. I also want to thank all who read this blog for sticking with me these past couple of years. A Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays from Obscurnema, I’ll see you next week for New Year’s.