Most critics respond warmly to Klaus, with the strongest agreement around its hand-drawn animation. The reviews praise the combination of traditional character designs, modern shading and carefully worked lighting, which gives the wintry setting depth and personality. Many also enjoy the ingenuity of its Santa Claus origin story and find real feeling beneath the initially sour humour. The visual invention earns more consistent praise than the writing, though the darker setting offers a welcome change from sweeter Christmas fare.
Reservations centre on predictable character arcs, contrived plotting and a drift towards sentimentality. Some critics also find the insults tiresome and the contemporary songs intrusive. The differences are chiefly matters of tone: Vulture finds charm in the film’s awkwardness and unpleasant characters, while Sight and Sound considers its early cynicism potentially off-putting for families. Enthusiasm varies, but even the more qualified assessments find substantial merit in the animation.
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Little White Lies
14 November 2019 · 3/4/3 · Kambole Campbell
80
The review highlights the gorgeous aesthetic blending 90s Disney-style hand-drawn animation with modern techniques as the film's greatest strength, along with surprisingly moving moments. It criticizes the predictable script and anachronistic song cues that undermine the story.
The critic describes Klaus as a Christmas tale with a difference—darker and slightly Scandi noir yet with a nicely warm heart—serving as a pleasant, entertaining alternative to usual saccharine seasonal fare through its clever origin story of Santa Claus elements.
The critic praises the film's innovative hand-drawn animation with modern shading techniques and its witty reverse-Grinch premise that turns misanthropy into Christmas origins. They note the first half's unrelenting cynicism and nasty characters may feel off-putting for family viewing before sentimentality takes over.
The critic finds this Netflix animation a solid but uneven festive origins story with nostalgic hand-drawn visuals and irreverent humour. The strong vision of a divided society is undermined by a conventional middle section and saccharine elements.
The review finds the film a gorgeous but contrived Santa origin story, praising its beautiful throwback hand-drawn animation while criticizing its contrivances. It singles out the visual style as a highlight amid narrative weaknesses.
Pablos’ directorial debut boasts hand-drawn animation and stylish visuals that transform a resentful village into a storybook wonderland, with a heart of charity. Paper-thin characters and reliance on insults for comedy make the origin story ho-hum and rarely laugh-out-loud funny.
The goofy and charming film is a treat for its inventive slapstick and distinctive hand-drawn look inspired by vintage Disney and storybook illustrations. The writing is less distinctive, relying on a familiar redemption arc and anachronistic elements.
The review lauds the film's striking, beautiful, and innovative animation that refreshes classical techniques while examining tradition through its Santa origin plot. It singles out the textured naturalistic lighting and exaggerated character designs for praise, noting some narrative drag in the back half.
The critic calls it an unexpected charmer with an enjoyable, from-scratch origin story for Santa that avoids most holiday clichés in favor of a tale about dubiously motivated generosity. It singles out the beautifully designed animation for praise.
The film concocts original ways to explain Santa myth elements and moves along amiably with consistently delightful visuals. Conventional plot points keep it from instant-classic status, but it is winning enough for a family Christmas library.
The film boldly reimagines the Santa Claus legend in a bleak, non-magical setting and is ambitiously free of clichés. The hyperactive postman protagonist becomes grating over time.
The critic praises the film's awkward and weird personality that gives it charm and a refreshing quality, despite its surreally gruesome setting and unlikable characters. It singles out the hilariously reverse-engineered tall-tale quality of the Santa origin story.
The critic calls the film an instant Christmas classic in the making and praises its gorgeous hand-drawn animation style along with inventive environmental storytelling that brings the North Pole setting to life.
The critic describes Klaus as the Christmas movie you need this year, highlighting its emotional depth including a major bombshell, quirky humor, gorgeous 2D animation with a 3D feel, and strong voice cast. It exceeds low expectations as a heartfelt festive tale.
The critic finds the film a cut above average seasonal fare thanks to its impressive cast, visual inventiveness and multi-layered comedy that appeals to all ages. She singles out the spooky, expressionist animation style and initially unlikable characters that become more engaging as the story progresses, while noting some plot weaknesses.
The critic finds that the animated origin story of Santa Claus successfully captures holiday magic and genuine emotion through its storybook visuals, though it falters with its character-based comedy. The film is praised for its impact on the feuding town and delightful character designs reminiscent of vintage illustrations.
The critic praises the film's distinctive hand-drawn animation style and its clever origin story for Santa Claus as a winning first effort for Netflix's original animation. Some plot elements like Jesper's arc feel predictable and an original song is unnecessary.
Ordered by the weight we give each publication, then by score. Scores are normalised to 100; * means inferred from an unrated review. Summaries are ours, not quotations; follow the links for the reviews themselves. How we rate
