Klaus (2019)

Klaus was directed by Spanish animator Sergio Pablos, a former Disney animator who had worked on films such as Tarzan and Hercules. It was produced by Pablos's own Madrid-based studio, The Spa Studios, and distributed worldwide by Netflix in November 2019.

Klaus was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 92nd Academy Awards in 2020, making it the first Netflix original animated film to receive that nomination. It lost to Toy Story 4, but the nomination was seen as a landmark for both Netflix and traditional 2D animation.

Klaus uses hand-drawn 2D animation enhanced with volumetric lighting techniques that give the images a painterly, three-dimensional quality. Pablos and his team developed custom tools to simulate light and shadow over traditionally drawn frames, bridging the gap between classical 2D animation and modern computer-rendered lighting.

J.K. Simmons voices Klaus, the reclusive toymaker at the story's center, while Jason Schwartzman voices Jesper, a spoiled postman's son sent to a remote northern town. Rashida Jones also appears in the voice cast as Alva, a local schoolteacher who opens a shop in the village.