Klaus

[Rayek]

I don't post often, if ever, about films that I've watched.

Today my wife took us to watch Klaus at a theater nearby. I had not heard of Klaus, nor didn't expect anything worthwhile. I mean, what's to expect from an 2d animated Christmas holidays movie nowadays that hasn't already been done before, right?

Although the film poster looked interesting from an art direction perspective when we entered the theater, I thought it wouldn't be that great.

But...

Wow, what beautiful animation, story and art direction. No silly Christmas tropes, and 2d animation all the way, artfully done, beautiful colour and art. The story is heart-warming, yet different, with depths to it.

If you have kids, go watch it. If you haven't got kids, watch it anyway.

This might become a Winter Holiday classic. Recommended.

[Sensei]

You didn't see it in ordinary cinema, because it's movie for Netflix i.e. you have to have Netflix to be able to see it.

But they released it worldwide just a couple days ago it is also possible to watch it here for free just this weekend (in Poland at least)
https://www.netflix.com/pl/watch/80183187

[Rayek]

I just read that Klaus is nominated for the Nab Humanitas. The other two contenders are Toy Story 4 and Frozen II.

Frozen is terrible, TS4, while good, just not reaching the same level as Klaus in terms of narrative or originality - even art direction.

My bet is on Klaus. A memorable film, while TS4 and Frozen are, well, rather not.

[Rayek]

You didn't see it in ordinary cinema, because it's movie for Netflix i.e. you have to have Netflix to be able to see it.

But they released it worldwide just a couple days ago it is also possible to watch it here for free just this weekend (in Poland at least)
https://www.netflix.com/pl/watch/80183187

I did see it in the cinema! I did, I did! :-)

We went to see it in Vancouver this morning - a special (free) showing for autistic kids.

https://viff.org/Online/fc10296-klaus

Oh, I wasn't aware it isn't a cinema release. It really is that good, and I am sure it would do well in a cinema release as well.

I feel lucky to have watched it on the big screen!

[Ma3rk]

How'd the kids react to it Rayek? Hard for me to pass up on good animation.

Was discussing only yesterday about this semi-new paradigm of short, limited release in Theatres, followed by streaming only. What we were wondering is if there'll be a theatrical re-lease later on. Glad I managed to catch "The Irishman" the other day before it went to streaming only. A number of folk I talked too missed it & had really wanted to see it on a big screen & with an audience. Logically, there's no real reason they shouldn't. Business models aren't always logical though, so who knows.

[Sensei]

Business models aren't always logical though, so who knows.

Here business model is straight forward logical.. They want people to use their service paying every month, not just a single ticket once.
They want to do the same with entire game business (games streamed through Internet, instead of the real product purchase and possibility to run at any time and off-line).

[erikals]

Hey Thanks! Gotta watch it!  

[Sensei]

Beautiful movie. It is not just for children. Actually children won't understand it.

[Rayek]

How'd the kids react to it Rayek? Hard for me to pass up on good animation.

Somewhat hard to gauge, because this was a special screening for kids and teens with autism. The lights weren't dimmed completely, and the sound volume was turned down compared to a regular screening. Kids and parents were also allowed to talk, stand up, use their phones, and walk out at any time when required.

Surprisingly enough, throughout the film I hardly heard anyone talk. I did not see anyone use their phone (although I was seated on the balcony), or anyone walk out.

It seemed to me Klaus fully engrossed the entire audience's attention. As it did mine - time flew by, and I felt like watching it again immediately after.

Get this: afterwards I saw groups of adults and kids surround the film poster in the lobby, and take pictures of it! It was the first time I saw groups of people take pictures of a film poster afterwards. As if they wanted to take a memento of the film with them. If that doesn't tell you something, I don't know what will.

(I wanted that poster too! )

---------

On an artistic note: all the art in Klaus reminded me of beautiful concept art coming to life. You know those concept art books that are published for 3D CG movies (Frozen, Wreck It Ralph, etcetera)? I love those books, because I think the actual drawn concept art often just feels and looks much nicer than the 3d modeled and rendered versions. Something of the love and heart just is lost during the 2d to 3d translation, most of the time. Not always, but even with great looking 3D character animation there is a gap between the concept art and the 3d version. I am not saying that this is necessarily a bad thing, of course. It is what it is, because the mediums are very different.

In Klaus the entire art feels like that concept art coming alive. It is quite beautiful, and arguably I think a breath of fresh air. 3D can look great, but if I had to choose between Klaus and some of the latest 3d animation, I prefer Klaus. It has a much nicer look and feel than Toy Story 4, for example, in my opinion. Of course, this particular project is just about perfect for 2d animation. TS4 wouldn't really work in 2D.

With Klaus I initially thought the creators had somehow used 3d models with a 2d render result. But the more I watched it, the more I realized it was true 2d with some very sophisticated lighting applied. I checked the "making of" notes published here and there on the net, and indeed, the director states:

So we said, okay, let’s see what is intrinsically to 2D animation and what elements of it are not really choices, but technical limitations. I set out to demolish some of the technical limitations as much as we can. Because we’ve had new technology that we haven’t tried to use in 2D, so I was like let’s give it a try and see what happens.

The goal was to keep all that was great about 2D but replace what was not necessarily a choice but a limitation. So it would feel old but new somehow. But there was no attempt ever at making 2D look more like 3D. That was never the attempt. The intention was to make this look like a piece of visual development that you that you would find in an art book for an animated movie, but put it directly onto the screen without getting into the grinder of the usual look.

At times while watching the film I was utterly mesmerized by the visuals, and sometimes sort-of forgot to actually watch it. Many of the scenes would work as beautiful artwork 'an-sich' like a beautiful greeting card (pun: Ansichtkarte). I mean, working in this field, we tend to get worn down by visual techniques which we've all seen many times before, and also because we happen to know how they are technically achieved. Which explains why concept art is very attractive to most of us as artists and designers, because it feels much more like a personal and emotional interpretation of the characters and environments. And in 3D it is harder to get away with certain stuff, which, contrarily, is a strength in 2d.

Klaus is a brilliant success therefore, in my opinion, if only for getting that lovely concept art look and feel translated to animation. It was a visual feast for my tired and worn eyes.

[Ma3rk]

Thanks for that observation. Might pass it on to some friends who's son is autistic; in his 20's now & doing quite well. They still are quite active with the school he went to & might be interested in something like this.

Ya, using CG in more an artistic rather than technical manner fascinates me.

[erikals]

instant Classic!