Netflix released animated films on its streaming platform in the past, but Klaus marks the studio’s first original animated movie.
The first trailer, released Monday, sets up an origin story for Santa Claus with Whiplash Oscar winner J.K. Simmons voicing the title role of Klaus. Jason Schwartzman voices Jesper, his silent partner who stumbles upon this isolated carpenter living in a cabin with loads of handmade toys.
A postal academy student stationed on a frozen island above the Arctic Circle, Jesper makes a proposition to Klaus: “If you donate your old toys, I’ll deliver them for free.”
Word quickly spreads among the children that if they write letters to Mr. Klaus, he’ll make them toys. The problem is that the locals are used to their day-to-day lives of not speaking to one another on “the unhappiest place on earth.” The Grinch would fit right in here.
Rashida Jones, Joan Cusack, Will Sasso, and Norm Macdonald also voice roles in Klaus, which is directed by Sergio Pablos, the co-creator of Despicable Me. Netflix developed the film with SPA Studios and Artesmedia Cine.
Klaus will arrive in time for the holidays Nov. 15, but Netflix has a number of other original animated films in the works. That includes Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion Pinocchio.
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