Klaus
Jason Schwartzman, J.K. Simmons and Joan Cusack lend their voices to this animated Santa Claus origin story from the creator of Despicable Me.
A underachieving postal worker named Jesper (Schwartzman) is sent to work on a dreary, frozen island in the Arctic Circle where the locals barely talk to each other. But with the help of a teacher named Alva (Jones) and a reclusive but legendary toymaker named Klaus (Simmons), Jesper manages to return cheer and happiness to Smeerensburg.
- Director:
- Sergio Pablos (feature debut)
- Writer:
- Zachary LewisJim Mahoney
- Cast:
- Jason SchwartzmanJ.K. SimmonsJoan CusackRashida JonesNorm MacDonaldWill Sasso
Reviews & comments
Flicks, Liam Maguren
flicksThere hasn’t been a great, original Christmas family film in quite some time. Arthur Christmas brought a fun sci-fi twist to the occasion and Rise of the Guardians delivered a Russian Santa-bro with ‘naughty’ and ‘nice’ tattooed on his forearms, but those films leaned more on their gimmicks than an earnest belief in good tidings. Can such a film even exist anymore in this cynical world without being horrendously cheesy? Yes, it can. That film is Klaus. And it’s the Christmas film of the decade.
The Times
pressIt's busy material, but boldly ambitious and gloriously free from Christmas clichés.
Los Angeles Times
press[A] serviceably sprightly mix of attitude and altruism that purports to explain how children every Christmas came to eagerly await the wrapped bounty from a kind, portly figure in a red suit.
The New York Times
pressClichés inhibit "Klaus" from achieving instant-classic status, but the film is winning enough that it's worth a place in a family Christmas-movie library.
The Guardian
pressAn old-school, PG-rated animation, encompassing some digital wizardry, but generally clinging to a nostalgic, hand-drawn look, with a late-blooming Christmas theme.
Variety
pressFrankly, it all seems much too complicated for what it is. And instead of making audiences love Christmas more, it raises the rather unfortunate question of why we believed it in the first place.
Hollywood Reporter
pressYou see where this is going, but Pablos and company relish the journey - and, without pandering, they move just deliberately enough to let viewers delight in seeing how the pieces will fit together.
Flicks, Liam Maguren
flicksThere hasn’t been a great, original Christmas family film in quite some time. Arthur Christmas brought a fun sci-fi twist to the occasion and Rise of the Guardians delivered a Russian Santa-bro with ‘naughty’ and ‘nice’ tattooed on his forearms, but those films leaned more on their gimmicks than an earnest belief in good tidings. Can such a film even exist anymore in this cynical world without being horrendously cheesy? Yes, it can. That film is Klaus. And it’s the Christmas film of the decade.
The Times
pressIt's busy material, but boldly ambitious and gloriously free from Christmas clichés.
Los Angeles Times
press[A] serviceably sprightly mix of attitude and altruism that purports to explain how children every Christmas came to eagerly await the wrapped bounty from a kind, portly figure in a red suit.
The New York Times
pressClichés inhibit "Klaus" from achieving instant-classic status, but the film is winning enough that it's worth a place in a family Christmas-movie library.
The Guardian
pressAn old-school, PG-rated animation, encompassing some digital wizardry, but generally clinging to a nostalgic, hand-drawn look, with a late-blooming Christmas theme.
Variety
pressFrankly, it all seems much too complicated for what it is. And instead of making audiences love Christmas more, it raises the rather unfortunate question of why we believed it in the first place.
Hollywood Reporter
pressYou see where this is going, but Pablos and company relish the journey - and, without pandering, they move just deliberately enough to let viewers delight in seeing how the pieces will fit together.
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