An animated film has been called “truly underrated” by fans, who say it is “one of the best Christmas movies ever made”. Klaus is a 2019 animated Christmas adventure comedy film co-written, co-produced, and directed by Sergio Pablos in his directorial debut.
A traditionally hand-animated film, it stars the voices of Jason Schwartzman, J.K. Simmons, Rashida Jones, Will Sasso, Neda Margrethe Labba, Sergio Pablos, Norm Macdonald (in his final film role released in his lifetime), and Joan Cusack. Serving as an alternate origin story of Santa Claus, independent from the historical Saint Nicholas of Myra and using a fictional 19th-century setting, the plot revolves around a postman stationed in an island town to the Far North who befriends Klaus, a reclusive toymaker (Simmons). Klaus was released in November 2019 on Netflix (where it is still available) and received critical acclaim for its animation, story, emotional depth, humour, narrative, and vocal performances. It won seven awards at the 47th Annie Awards, including Best Animated Feature, and also won Best Animated Film at the 73rd BAFTAs.
The film was also nominated at the 92nd Oscars for Best Animated Feature, making it the first animated film released by a streaming service to be nominated.
Reddit users discussing the most underrated Christmas films included Klaus on the list. One said: “This should become a Christmas staple, as far as I’m concerned. One of the greatest Christmas movies ever made. I loved it so much”
According to data provided by Netflix to Reuters, the film racked up nearly 30 million views worldwide in its first month. The film beat Toy Story 4 for Best Animated Film of 2019 in Animation Magazine.
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 95% based on 78 reviews with an average rating of 7.7/10.
The critical consensus reads “Beautiful hand-drawn animation and a humorous, heartwarming narrative make Klaus an instant candidate for holiday classic status.”
On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 65 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating “generally favourable” reviews.
John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review, writing: “Sergio Pablos’ Klaus invents its own unexpected and very enjoyable origin story for the big guy who gives out toys every Christmas Eve.
“Shaking off most Yuletide cliches in favour of a from-scratch story about how even dubiously-motivated generosity can lead to joy, it contains echoes of other seasonal favourites (especially, in a topsy-turvy way, Dr Seuss’ Grinch) while standing completely on its own.”
