Klaus
Short description
A selfish postman and a solitary toymaker develop an unexpected bond in a bleak, frozen town. Together, they work to bring happiness and hope to a community characterized by coldness and darkness.
Produced in Spain by Atresmedia and The SPA Studios, the film was directed by Sergio Pablos, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Jim Mahoney and Zach Lewis. The voice cast features Jason Schwartzman, J.K. Simmons, Rashida Jones, Joan Cusack, Norm Macdonald, and Will Sasso. A total of 30 cast members and 126 crew members are credited in this 97-minute animation that blends elements of adventure, comedy, family, and fantasy.
The production had a budget of 40 million USD. It has been well received by audiences, earning a rating of 8.2/10 on IMDb from 235,000 votes and an identical 8.2/10 on TMDB from 4,835 votes. These audience scores are slightly higher than the 7.7/10 rating provided by film critics based on 79 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- The cartoon depicts 182 postmen.
- Jason Schwartzman, who voiced Jesper, improvised a lot. According to director Sergio Pablos, no more than 40% of the lines written in the script made it into the final version of the film; Schwartzman came up with all the rest on the spot.
- When depicting Smirenshburg, the animators deliberately used many sharp angles and triangles to show how unfriendly and uncomfortable the city itself is. In contrast, Klaus's house and barn are depicted as strong and reliable, just like Klaus himself.
- Initially, Jasper was conceived as a chimney sweep.
- The names of the cities depicted on the map in Jasper’s father’s office are based on the names of employees who worked on the cartoon.
- The film was in development for around 10 years.
- Neda Margrete Laba, who voiced Margo, lived in Tromsø (in Norway) and did not speak English. The film’s director, Sergio Pablos, personally went to Tromsø and recorded all of the character’s lines, using a translator and mime to explain exactly what was required of the young voice actress.
- The first traditionally hand-drawn animated film to use spatial lighting and texture to give it a look similar to 3D projects.
- The name of the city, Smirensburg, is based on Smeerenburg (Dutch: Smeerenburg) – a former settlement on Amsterdam Island, founded by Danish and Dutch whalers in 1614.
- Initially, it was assumed that the Sami would speak English, but this idea was later abandoned, and all the Sami characters in the film speak their native language.
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