I still remember when the concept teaser trailer for "Klaus" was released in 2015. Both it and crowdfunded short series "Hullabaloo" were generating buzz for a revival of 2D animation. The teaser for "Klaus," directed and animated by Spanish ex-Disney animator Sergio Pablos, had a distinct style (while also looking familiar to anyone who remembers the character Dr. Doppler from "Treasure Planet"), and utilized "realistic lighting" to the 2D art, a feature he felt was revolutionary. While "Hullaballo" remains in development hell many years later, "Klaus" was able to get past the funding stage and complete production in 2019... screening exclusively on Netflix.I still have mixed feelings for Netflix. I understand many films and series wouldn't be developed at all if they didn't step in, being one of the few companies willing to spend money on niche projects if fan excitement exists (or perhaps just having enough money to risk without concern). Some great animated projects have only been made possible thanks to their aggressive streaming strategy. But "exclusive" means "Klaus" will likely never receive a theatrical release (technically, it did in a small set of theaters for about a week, purely for awards purposes) or a home video release. And with the service's insistance to not allow a user to hard-set the streaming resolution, I immeidately had problems, watching "Klaus" on my big-screen tv in compressed 240p, almost as much as an impossible feat as trying to watch "The Princess and the Cobbler" in less-than-HD. I eventually got a decent stream through a laptop, but my point is clear: beautiful films like this shouldn't be dependent through streaming-only, convenience and business-practices be damned.This isn't the only way the American company Netflix had questionable control over the film. Despite being animated in Spain, it is marketed to American audiences. It has a Hollywood-level cast, including Jason Schwartzman, J. K. Simmons, Joan Cusack, Nrm Macdonald, and others. The cast is ok, but their recognizable voices can be distracting, and the old teaser trailer seemed to have a more suitable voice for the lead cynical mailman (the whole tone changed a bit since the teaser, I'll get into that in a moment). The soundtrack includes a handful of questionable pop songs, including an old but popular single by Panic! at the Disco used extensively in the trailers. It's difficult for the film to shake off the disgusting feel of "corporate, mass-market appeal," a reason why distributors shouldn't be involved in production (although given the time it took to finish, perhaps it was the only option in this instance).Anyway, the short-comings for "Klaus" are noticable, but not significant enough to completely ruin the magical experience. This is a new Christmas tale, one that will naturally limit its appeal, but then heighten it again every holiday season. Set in a fictional world centuries ago, it centers around Jesper, the spoiled son of a large post-office corporation. His serious but well-meaning father attempts to get Jesper to join the business, but Jesper has a horrible work-ethic, preferring to go back home to the family mansion. The father reluctantly assigns Jesper to be the official postman for the fictional town of Smeerensburg, on a remote island up North, tasking him to successfully mail 6,000 letters, or else be denouced and lose his right to the family's fortune.When Jesper gets to the town, he's horrified by the grey, foggy, and unwelcoming setting. The town is split into two factions: the Krum and the Ellingboe familes, who have held a centuries-long feud for reasons no one can recall. For the sake of tradition, the town has become known for their "feuds," where neighbors pull nasty pranks and pick fights every day. The "school" is a smelly fish shop. The "post-office" is a chicken coup. Naturally, no one is interested in sending or receiving letters, let alone a nice one. Things change when Jesper visits the final home, a woodsman's cabin on the far end of the island. There, he discovers Klaus, a large, intimidating man who happens to carve toys, and who happens to have a kind heart despite his appearance. Through accidental circumstance, when Klaus gives a toy to a child, word gets around that more children will get toys if they write a letter. Jesper sees the opportunity, and builds up this legend in the town: he spreads word on the streets to children like a drug dealer, and drops the mic like a gangster when he introduces the idea of the "naughty list" to the hopeful children. Of course, he has to help Klaus deliver the toys each night: only Jesper is skinny enough to get through the chimney to leave it next to their beds (and only he would be selfish enough to steal a cookie or two on the way out). 
As far as holiday stories go, "Klaus" feels novel in its cynicism and family-friendly modern humor. Personally, I still feel the "fleshing out" of the story (and Jesper's arrogance in particular) is worse than the original teaser trailer, but the choices have purpose towards the story. For that matter, the story feels like it could have ended nicely by the halfway point, but the final ending is satisfying enough. Basically, the film will be fun enough for both kids and adults, and while it might not amaze anyone, it's solid enough to rank as a new Christmas classic, one that could be used for this film, books, toys and more. But let's talk about that lovely animation! The film uses lighting and shadow to give new-found depth to the 2D characters and backgrounds, giving the intended appearance of almost being 3D, while still retaining a fun syle. In decades past, the amount of time to hand-paint that much detail would have been insane. Today, vector-art software makes gradients a bit easier to apply and tweak, and offers advantages to automating animation too. Whether that's what SPA Studios did, or whether they applied a custom software algorithm to automatically apply 3D lighting... I don't know exactly (old articles cite "Toon Boom" as the software used, while "TVPaint" was also used for the original teaser). But even if it isn't as difficult today as it might seem, the result looks different and more "full" than any 2D animated film I've seen before. I'm certain some viewers will believe the film really was rendered in 3D: some CGI may have been used for the backgrounds, but overall is used far more sparringly than you would first suspect! "Klaus" also has a distinct style reminiscent of recent Disney films, especially with its character designs. It invokes some of the stranger characters of "Treasure Planet," and also "Atlantis - The Lost Empire," "Lilo and Stich" and "Home on the Range." Including the sarcastic humor, the film reminded me most of "The Empire's New Groove," with a handful of characters that go far back to films like "The Aristocats." Look closely, and some characters will appear to have been drawn with more painterly brushes with different artistic textures. It's pleasing, but not in a generic way, which can both help and hurt it. It's almost too stylish, with shots that are occasionally too simplistic to take full advantage of the lighting technique. The animation, too, is fluid but simplistic, again reminding me of those 2D films near the end of Disney's reign on the format. I'd compare it to some Tim Burton stop-motion films, or to Aardman Animation: I'll happily buy an artbook of it, but I'm happy that not every film in the world looks like it. "Klaus" has the makings of a fun new holiday-viewing tradition for the whole family. It has a satisfyingly fun story, and pleasing animation. I'm not certain that the average viewer will appreicate the finer details of it, however, passing it off as something that's just another Christmas movie. Being stuck on Netflix will probably only hurt any chance of celebrating the film... although with fewer families owning a television, maybe this is the only way now for it to become a modern tradition. Regardless, it should be celebrated by the animation community, and I'm hopeful that SPA Studios will make more films after this debut.