The underrated Klaus is the best Christmas movie in years, and might just be better than Elf. Premiering on Netflix in 2019, Klaus follows Jesper Johansson, the layabout son of a Royal Postmaster General, sent off to a far-away frozen land where he must prove his worth to his father or be cut off from his family’s fortune. There he encounters a gruff, toy-making hermit destined to become Father Christmas himself. Klaus boasts an all-star cast with Jason Schwartzman as Johansson and J.K. Simmons as Klaus.
Premiering in 2003, Jon Favreau’s Elf is hailed by many as a modern Christmas classic. The film stars Will Ferrell as Buddy, an orphaned human who was raised as an elf at Santa’s workshop in the North Pole. While there was never an Elf 2, the film was a smash hit and went on to inspire both a Broadway musical and an animated special.
Making a Christmas movie that feels like more than simply a bit of Holiday schmaltz is a tall order, but Klaus has everything a movie needs to be a Christmas classic. It’s a feel-good movie for the whole family that has the intelligence and craftsmanship needed to stand on its own as a great movie, not just a great Christmas movie. It perfectly captures the holiday spirit and stands alongside Elf as one of the great Christmas movies of all time, and possibly even surpasses it.
Elf is renowned for taking a sweet holiday story and mixing in its own signature sense of humor, but Klaus accomplishes this same feat with its own distinct, playfully sardonic comedic touch. While Elf largely relies on Will Ferrell’s comedy stylings, Klaus finds humor in a meticulous script, packed with both visual gags and sly jokes. Klaus’s combination of a classic story and Christmas imagery could easily be sickeningly sweet, but the movie’s biting wit offsets it perfectly. Schwartzman’s deftly dry performance as Jesper forms an ideal touchstone for the audience, drawing any doubtful viewers slowly, but steadily, into the Christmas spirit.
Part of what separates Elf from the glut of generic Christmas fare is the way its story fits in alongside the Rankin/Bass classics of yesteryear. Buddy’s story feels fresh, but it also has a familiar, slightly mythic quality, like a story audiences have known all their life. Similarly, Klaus forges its own place in the cinematic Christmas landscape, telling an alternate version of the Santa Claus origin story. While many holiday films are content to be yet another repackaging of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, both Elf and Klaus can stand on their own as unique Christmas tales.
While Elf is an undeniably enjoyable holiday movie, Klaus has it beat when it comes to the craft. Klaus is a beautiful film that is genuinely innovative in the field of animation, employing a number of special techniques to lend a unique 3D look to traditional 2D animation. With the attention to detail and incredible artistry on display, Klaus edges Elf out as a truly magical Christmas movie.
