‘Klaus’ is a heartwarming holiday film that you might have missed

Posted on January 17, 2020

By MARK VIOLA

So, last week I had plans to see the last two 2019 films to receive wide theatrical releases: “1917” and “Just Mercy.” I even had my tickets reserved and seats picked out. And then I got the flu, which I’m just now (hopefully) recovering from as I write this five days after I was supposed to see those movies.

Instead of traveling to the theater, I spent my weekend (as well as Monday and half of Tuesday) confined to bed. Then, something else happened on Monday. The Academy Awards released their nominations, which I’ll get into much more detail about in two weeks’ time.

For the Best Animated Feature Film category, two smaller films made the list, one of which was “Klaus,” distributed by Netflix. As the streamer is apt to do, it gave the film a very limited release back in November before making it available to its subscribers.

Well, I am one of those subscribers, and as I was confined to my house, I spent a most enjoyable two hours watching “Klaus.” The heartwarming film was like a nice cup of soup for my ailing body and mind.

The animated film is from first-time director Sergio Pablos, who developed the story behind the hit “Despicable Me” franchise. He also wrote “Smallfoot.” Most recently, Pablos created his own animation studio in Spain, which is where the new film “Klaus” was born.

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