Klaus (film) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Klaus |
|
|---|---|
Release poster
|
|
| Directed by | Sergio Pablos |
| Produced by |
|
| Screenplay by |
|
| Story by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Music by | Alfonso G. Aguilar |
| Editing by | Pablo Garcia Revert |
| Studio |
|
| Distributed by | Netflix |
| Release date(s) | 8 November 2019 |
| Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | |
| Language |
|
| Budget | $40 million |
Klaus is a fun animated Christmas movie from 2019. It was made in Spain and the United States. The film was written and directed by Sergio Pablos. It tells a new story about how Santa Claus might have come to be.
The movie features the voices of famous actors like Jason Schwartzman, J. K. Simmons, Rashida Jones, and Joan Cusack. Klaus was released on November 8, 2019. People loved it for its amazing animation, heartwarming story, and great voice acting. It won many awards, including "Best Animated Feature" at the 47th Annie Awards and "Best Animated Film" at the 73rd British Academy Film Awards. It was even nominated for an Oscar!
Contents
The Story of Klaus
The movie starts in the 1800s in Norway. We meet Jesper Johansen, who is the spoiled son of the head of the postal service. His father sends him to a far-off, cold island town called Smeerensburg. Jesper's mission is to get 6,000 letters mailed in one year. If he fails, he will lose his family's money.
When Jesper arrives, he learns that the town is full of people who hate each other. Two big families, the Ellingboes and the Krums, are always fighting. They don't send many letters because they are too busy arguing!
Jesper desperately looks for people to send letters. He finds a lonely house far from town. There, he meets a big, quiet woodsman named Klaus. Klaus's house is full of amazing handmade toys. Jesper is scared at first and leaves behind a drawing from a Krum child.
Klaus makes Jesper take him to the house in the drawing. They secretly deliver a toy to the boy, which makes him very happy. Soon, other children hear about this. They start writing letters to Jesper, hoping to get a toy from Klaus. Jesper sees a chance to meet his letter goal. He asks Klaus to give away his toys. Klaus agrees, but only if they deliver them secretly at night.
The toy given to the Krum boy makes him play with an Ellingboe girl. This makes their families very angry! But more and more children start writing to Klaus. Jesper tells them Klaus only gives toys to good children. He also says Klaus knows when children misbehave. Because of this, the children start being kinder to each other. This kindness slowly spreads to the adults. Even Alva, a former teacher, reopens her school to help children learn to read and write letters.
Soon, Jesper and Klaus start running out of toys. Jesper convinces Klaus to make more toys for Christmas. Klaus shares that he made the toys for the children he and his wife, Lydia, hoped to have. But Lydia passed away. Klaus realizes that their work is bringing joy to many children. He agrees to the Christmas plan. Márgu, a little girl from a nearby settlement, and her people come to help. Jesper starts to love Smeerensburg and his new life with Alva.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the Ellingboe and Krum families, Aksel Ellingboe and Tammy Krum, make a temporary peace. They want to stop Jesper and Klaus so their families can go back to fighting. They send many letters to Jesper's father, telling him Jesper met his goal. Jesper's father arrives on Christmas Eve to praise his son. He accidentally tells Jesper's friends why Jesper came to Smeerensburg.
Just before leaving, Jesper's father sees that Jesper has changed. He lets Jesper stay in Smeerensburg. Jesper tries to stop the angry elders from destroying the Christmas toys. But Alva and Klaus had already swapped the real toys with fake ones. During the chase, Mr. Ellingboe's daughter and Mrs. Krum's son fall in love.
Jesper becomes a hero, and Smeerensburg turns into a happy town. The family feud finally ends because their children get married. Jesper marries Alva and they have two children. Jesper and Klaus keep delivering presents for eleven years. In the twelfth year, Klaus disappears, joining his wife. But Klaus lives on in Christmas stories. Every Christmas Eve, Jesper still waits for Klaus, who returns each year to deliver toys around the world.
Who Lent Their Voices?
- Jason Schwartzman as Jesper Johansen, a postman who helps bring happiness to Smeerensburg.
- J. K. Simmons as Klaus, a quiet woodsman who makes toys. He is the inspiration for Santa Claus.
- Rashida Jones as Alva, a teacher who becomes a fishmonger. She later reopens her school.
- Neda Margrethe Labba as Márgu, a young girl who helps Jesper and Klaus.
- Joan Cusack as Mrs. Tammy Krum, the leader of the Krum family.
- Will Sasso as Mr. Aksel Ellingboe, the leader of the Ellingboe family.
- Norm Macdonald as Mogens, the funny ferryman of Smeerensburg.
- Sergio Pablos as Olaf Krum and Pumpkin Ellingboe, children from the feuding families.
How the Movie Was Made
After working on famous Disney Renaissance films like The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Tarzan, director Sergio Pablos opened his own animation studio in Madrid. He wanted to make a new movie using traditional animation, like old Disney films. He wanted to see how this style could look even better today.
The studio worked hard to make the film look unique. They focused on special lighting and textures to make the hand-drawn animation feel more real. They used special tools to create different visual styles. This helped the characters look like they were truly part of the painted backgrounds. Another famous Disney animator, James Baxter, also worked on the film.
The first preview of the movie came out in 2012. Many studios thought the idea was "too risky." But in 2017, Netflix decided to pick up the film. They announced the main voice actors and a Christmas 2019 release date. The movie is dedicated to animator Mary Lescher, who passed away in 2019. The town of Smeerensburg in the movie is named after a real place in the Arctic called Smeerenburg.
When Did It Come Out?
Klaus was shown in some movie theaters on November 8, 2019. It was then released online on Netflix on November 15. It was the first original animated movie to be released by Netflix. In January 2020, Netflix said that 40 million people watched the movie in its first four weeks!
Music in the Movie
The movie features the song "Invisible" by Zara Larsson. Another song, "How You Like Me Now?" by The Heavy, is also in the film. The trailer for Klaus used the song "High Hopes" by Panic! at the Disco.
See also
In Spanish: Klaus (película) para niños
- Santa Claus in film
