Little-known Netflix Christmas film dubbed 'best of all time' that made people 'cry ten times'

A hidden gem of a Christmas movie that spins a unique tale about the origins of Santa Claus has been dubbed 'the best of all time'. Overlooked by many when choosing a festive film on Netflix, this animated feature was released in 2019 and has garnered an impressive 95 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Starring Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons, Klaus follows the journey of a postman assigned to a distant icy village. His routine of delivering letters leads him to befriend a solitary toy maker named Klaus, and together they embark on a quest to distribute toys.

Simmons lends his voice to Klaus, with Jason Schwartzman voicing postman Jesper Johansen. The film also features the late comedy icon Norm Macdonald in what would be his last movie released while he was alive.

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The Netflix original has been praised for its exquisite hand-drawn animation, a choice made by animator and director Sergio Pablos who opted for traditional techniques over the computer-generated animation software that was prevalent in 2019, reports the Mirror.

Pablos, celebrated for his contributions to Disney classics like The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Hercules, is also the creative mind behind the concept for Universal's Despicable Me series.

Discussing the inspiration behind Klaus, Pablos shared with Cartoon Brew: "Like many of us, I miss the freedom and spontaneity of traditional animation. Don't get me wrong, I love CGI when it's well-made. But there's no denying that there's a unique quality to hand-crafted animation when done by a great artist."

He elaborated on the creative spark for the film: "From a narrative point of view, we had to open up to other kinds of stories: as a matter of fact, it was precisely about finding the kind of story that would benefit from the traditional medium. From this exercise, Klaus was born."

Since its release, some say they now regard Klaus as an essential Christmas movie. On Reddit, one enthusiast posted: "Immediately became my favourite Christmas movie. Our family is now watching each year as a tradition."

Another commented: "Great movie. My family watches it every Christmas. It's heart-warming, kooky, funny, and endearing all at the same time."

A third said: "If this isn't the best damn Santa origin story of all time, I don't know what is." Meanwhile, another added: "I am the farthest thing from an easy movie crier, and this movie made me cry like ten times."