How Netflix's 'Klaus' Made 2D Animation Look 3D | Movies Insider 

"Initial sketches were very rough" *shows clean line art*

Into the Spider-Verse: A 3D movie made to look 2D Klaus: A 2D movie made to look 3D

Klaus, spiderverse, bad guys/puss n boots, are exactly where animation should be going, innovating what we have and combining mediums because we can!

I actually loved that way of animation. It felt so nostalgic, yet so modern.

"The initial sketches were very rough" The initial sketches: * butter smooth animation *

It didn’t even register to me that it was 2D. Such a great a movie.

2:02 "the initial stages were very rough" he forgot to mention "and looks fluid, amazing, professional, and better than anything you could DREAM of animating" Those "rough" sketches are some serious talent.

My mother is a cartoonist and works in animation. I'm so glad that my mom was at least involved in making this movie. It's my favorite animated movie ever!

I don't think many people realize how big this is. This could be the beginning of the second renaissance of traditional animation.

Artists: So is this movie going to be 3D? Director: Yesn’t

In my opinion, i would love this to be the new era of animation, utilizing 3d animation as a tool, making it look 2d and mix them in between. Just How they did with Klaus, Into the Spiderverse, and Arcane.

There’s a certain charm in the characters that 2D brings which is difficult to replicate in 3D. And I believe it’s in the extent you can over exaggerate and warp something. 3D while you can exaggerate things there are very rigid boundaries you can’t break as you can’t break the model. With 2D your more free to break boundaries and twist the forms. The mixing of both is wonderful as you can use the use both mediums to their full extent to compliment each other.

I still don't get how Klaus didn't won the Oscars. I mean, LOOK AT THIS PRODUCTION

This is what Disney shoud be working on, innovation in animation techniques, new ways of telling new stories, instead of those live action films that break the original stories.

Great movie from story to animation to character. I don't celebrate Xmas but really enjoyed watching this film. It had the nostalgia of 2D but with a 3D twist as shown here in this video. Great work, and in par with animations such as The Illusionist, The triplets of Belleville, and works from Studio Ghibli. I am looking forward for their next animation. I hope it will be soon.

4:11 never in a million years would i have expected a breaking bad reference

Anyone who isn’t an artist has no idea how revolutionary this approach is. It’s so painfully hard to animate and hand drawn more than that, and the fact they made this look effortless will leave anyone in awe. 2d really has that organic medium that allows more creativity and unique than 3D. Every film looks the the same now

“So it’s 3d?” “Good guess, but actually no.”

Went back to watch this movie Still makes me cry

I hope they release this technology to anybody willing to buy it one day, seems like it could be a seriously useful tool for any freelance animators as well as other companies, it could even revive the 2D animation scene a bit

I really wish animation wouldn't generally be seen as something for just children. The artists put so much work to make it look as artistically beautiful as possible. Yet most people over 30 will look at this and say its meant for kids. That just really bugs me :/ im an animator in college and when i tell you how hard that stuff is!

Spidervers and now this? Animation is evolving and i couldn't be happier

To see a company like this do justice to 2D animation in our day and age, is incredible I hope for the innovative return of this style in more modern films

Klaus is such a great movie all around. The story, the characters, the soundtrack, the animation... all of this just works and harmonizes so well together that it creates something bigger than the sum of its parts. This movie should've won the Academy Award if you ask me.

2:02 "The initial sketches were very rough" *shows cleanest sketches in the History of sketches*

I wish Disney had pursued this animation technique for remaking old movies instead of making the live action so they can reproduce the expression, vibe, & fantasy of the cartoon one

Honestly, I'm so surprised at the lack of shading and lighting in a lot of 2D animated films. It makes it seem so much cooler, and it brings so much more individual style and personal touch to it. As someone who is bad at sketching but has some skill in shading and lighting and enjoys the practice, hats off to the animating team of this film. We need more like you, to prove animation isn't just flat color or semi-realistic CGI (with unrealistic faces/heads/proportions but everything else looking normal. Why do they go for realism and then make people's heads look weird? Or their hands 1/5 the size of their face. Sorry, I'm just particular about this stuff.) Excited to see more innovation in the future. P.S. if you want a disney film that actually has cool 2D animation, watch treasure planet. Just watched it recently and it's great.

all of this and so much more is why klaus remains my favourite movie of all time, and will almost certainly remain my favourite christmas movie

Seeing this movie gives me hope that there could be a 2D resurgence coming in the near future, even if it isn't likely to actually happen.

"When Jasper is handing out letters to kids like a drug-dealer" A sentence I never thought I'd love to hear XD

I know enough about animation to know how hard, time-consuming and complex animation is. I actually thought the background was hand-drawn but NOT the figures. Amazing. Just amazing! Klaus might become what Snow White once was: Another milestone to western animation.

As someones who likes pretty lighting, its incredible that you can do something like this.

Klaus* is honestly such an underrated heart warming Christmas movie for the entire family

I hope this wins best animated movie

I wasn't expecting much when I discovered this movie on Netflix and was delighted to discover an absolute masterpiece. It is gratifying to see the effort, both artistically and technically, that went into making this movie.

I'm always glad to see studios carry on the tradition of 2D films. I like it so much more than 3D, just a personal preference.

Don't get me wrong I love CGI but I love a hand-drawn animation more.

2:26 The redness of his ears shows how the sunlight shines through his ears, well done

I adore and massively respect it when studious play around with new and unique animation. It gives it such a new feeling and you can tell they put a lot of work into it.

When I worked on The Iron Giant, we did a lot of this "lighting" by hand animating highlights and shadows on top of the characters. This looks similar, but with a high contrast color model using a lot more layers, and some improved Photoshop layer-style type filters added in post.

When you make people think you're 3D, but you're actually 2D: *_The Trickster_*

And this, kids, was how 2.5D was born officially

i thought humanity had reached its peak at creating movies technology. but then i saw that movie and that video. i didn't even thought that there are people there who actually care about the movies they make anymore.

This video made me see the movie a few months back, I have absolutely loved it since then. Such a beautiful Christmas movie, absolutely adore both the plot, but also the effort put in by the animation and lighting teams. So beautiful. Great job on the video Business insider!

"I never looked 3d as an evolution of 2d" YESSSS, thank you so much for saying that, it's two totally different worlds (that can be mixed for sure), but we need a reviving of 2d animation

Is it just me or are the rest of y’all getting sick and tired of CGI animation and want to see more hand-drawn movies

This film was an absolute masterpiece! I come back and watch it every year. The emotion that this movie delivered was incredible and of course not to mention the amazing and original animation that is the first of its kind! An absolute masterpiece and it not winning an Oscar is a literal war crime.

So many visual improvements are a delight for eyes and brains without killing professional artists. Thank you for the good vibes.

I honestly can't believe that they actually chose Toy Story 4 over THIS at the Oscars…

“Wait it’s all 2D?” “Always has been.”

i watched this movie just recently and the first thing i noticed was how the lighting was beautifully done. amazing work!

I love this kind of clever and artistic animation, mind blown. I'm a 3D artist myself, not super good at drawing so I sometimes want to make my 3D models look more 2D or a combination of two.

When i first watched it, i had no expectations. I thought it was just another cartoon movie. But I was blown away by it. The story, the song, the heart warming effect it gives. I am more fascinated after watching this,

It really kinda hurts knowing that the general public won't really appreciate just how revolutionary this is. To the layperson, all animation is just bundled under the catch-all "cartoons". It pains me. It does. I love animation. I love it in all its forms, in all its artistic beauty. I love hand drawn, stop motion (and its subvariant claymation), CG animation, hybrid animation combining CG and Hand Drawn elements, European, Japanese, American, indie, theatrical. From creators like Disney, Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, Aardman Animations, Katsuhiro Otomo, Richard Williams, Ralph Bakshi, Satoshi Kon, on and on and on. Animation to me can tell stories in a way that no other medium can. I want nothing more then variety to return to animation. While CG is beautiful and deserves to stand alongside the other forms of animation, I do not feel that it can truly REPLACE the other sorts of animation out there. I see no reason why traditional animation, and animation meshing both elements, cannot coexist. It is true, there was a string of prominent traditionally animated box office failures shortly after the turn of the millenium, Atlantis, Titan AE, Treasure Planet, Home on the Range, and others. But few people criticizing the movies said it was because of how they were animated, indeed, the animation was often considered a redeeming factor in most reviews. It seems like at the time, these projects were being deliberately sabotaged by their own companies to help bury traditional animation so they could move on to the cheaper and faster CG animation. Thankfully, the tide seems to be turning as of late. Disney has been reviving its traditional animation with new original series like The Owl House, Netflix has been backing projects like Green Eggs and Ham and of course Klaus as seen here. The rise of youtube has given the independent animator an unprecedented access to an audience for his or her work (I pray to god that COPPA does not undermine that, COPPA is a disaster that should be repealed immediately, write to your congressman)

Screaming and crying on the floor, this work of art is far too underated. People watch Rudolph every year while this gem is ignored with all the other actually good ones

I wish there were more movies that looked like this. Or possibly going back to 2D animation

Klaus and Into The Spider-verse: *exists* People: so are you 3d or 2d? Klaus and Into The Spider-verse: yes???

"Very rough", makes my sketches look like somebody was in a hurracane.

There has to be more of this. this just breaths new life into 2D animation.

When i first saw the picture for the movie i fell in love with the look. And then i fell in love with the movie itself but wouldn't it be just amazing to see another movie made this way. I LOVE the look so much

The art style for the characters reminded me of Atlantis and treasure planet

WE NEED MORE ANIMATIONS LIKE THIS!! KEEP 2D ANIMATION ALIVE why are we really judging about how long it takes to make it and how many people it takes?? who cares? the longer the better I say because it means that there's been a lot of effort and heart being put into it! Movies that are made fast or too rushed and it's all about the money not the story or animation .. we should encourage this kind of group work of animation! A lot of animation movies back then took years to finish and look at them now, old classics♥️♥️ and I love how 3D and 2D animation are finally working together because it felt like it was ways one or the other but now that we know how to use 3D animation we can use some of it to help our 2D animation come to life !!

I like animation without light and shadow, I find it charming, but this technique is also wonderful.

As someone who works with 3D models, it was immensely satisfying when my suspicion that the wagon was a 3D model was confirmed later in the video.

Me: Nice 3D animation. Them: Actually this is 2D with advanced lighting. Me: Oh okay. (Looks at something else) Well this is a great 2D animation. Them: That’s 3D. Me: Nice movie? Them: It’s actually a short film. Me: >:( Them: Just kidding.

“So, is it in 2D or 3D?” *Klaus:* Well yes, but actually no.

2:48 missed oportunity to call it KLaUS (Klaus Light and Ultra-Shadow, or something similar)

This makes me really want to watch it. I saw previews and assumed it was some trickery 3D animation. Love traditional animation so much more than 3D.

1:19 yes, thank you. 2D animation is so underrated nowadays

I love the addition to detail in this movie. Whenever there is a light source that is behind the character, the ears glow up a bit to make seem see through, which is how human ears are. the animators have my upmost respect.

This is my absolute favourite Christmas movie. Stunning art, amazing character design and style and such a unique story.

this is absolutely amazing like the style and shading?? it's lovely and amazing to look back at.

Klaus should win the Oscar

Best animation movie I've ever watched. Breathtaking detailed creation

This movie is so good. My favorite christmas movie of all time now. I'm literally forcing myself not to rewatch it so I can during the holidays.

This is honestly one of the most beautiful, fantastic, creative stories I've ever seen in a long time! I really hope we see alot more from this team. It's absolutely brilliant!

I love this. This movie made me feel really nostalgic bcus it is made in 2D. I mean, when was the last time a 2D movie was released? While watching it tho, i did confuse myself if i was watching a 2D movie or 3D movie that looks like 2D. So i hope to see 2D movies back in the cinemas again.

“The initial sketches were very rough, as you can see here” Yeah I think your editor pulled up the wrong clip 🙄🙄

This is so impressive! I hope more films start to use this technique

The message and the quality of this movie is superb! never said such a great cartoon until this one came! Now my favorite animation evr!!!

The fact there's shots with both 2D and 3D reindeer and I couldn't notice a difference blows my mind. I've never seen such a good integration of 3D techniques into 2D animation.

You know this was the only Christmas movie my dad actually liked, we aren’t Christian but my dad watches some Christmas movies to see what people came up with and he usually sees most as just weirdly made and the plot never makes sense on how Santa becomes Santa and stuff until we came across this, and he was surprised a Christmas movie that was actually good was made, and he liked the plot and the emotions conveyed in the movie was wonderful, till now this is one of my top favorites.

im really excited for this new era of animation! Now that the technical parts of 2D & 3D have become perfected, it's getting pushed into such beautiful and unique directions

this is a wild amount of work its so well done

I loved every single detail of this movie. the scenery and movements mesmerized me to the core. here in 2:25 you can see that Klaus' ears are red and that comes from the lighting and just.. DETAILS- amazing. Should have won an Oscar btw the level of production, story and emotion they put into it is amazing.

this movie is basically made by a hundred James Baxters

Never watched Klaus... But, as a fellow beginner animator myself, I'd like to give them a hand of a "clause"! This is... I'm at a loss of words!! BRILLIANT!!

Holy crap. That’s unbelievable. Like practical sets, costumes, and stunts, hand drawn animation still amazes me.

I wish everyone would know how much work it takes to make even a 10 second animation :( big respect to every animator out there

People : Why aren't 2D animations more appreciated? Me: *coughs in anime*

I love that clip at the end about the metal plate cover

Wow ❤this is impressive dissecting the whole myth of why I fell for Klaus even without watching the film yet. 😮 Thank you for the great break down of what’s special in Klaus making

Are you 3D or 2D? Klaus: yes

He says “3d here is not real, it's just an illusion“. But a 3d animation on a 2d tv screen is also an illusion...

i watch this every year now, such a good artstyle and overall concept

its so actually well made i didnt know it was 2d UNTIL this video showed up

This can be revolutionary for 2d animation. I’ve been noticing that 2D animated movies have reached an all time high on demand. So if a studio gets a deal with a big publisher and reaches a mass amount of audiences and makes something we miss and haven’t seen before, it could be a hit! Don’t let this opportunity pass young talented people, it is only you who can bring back 2d from its former glory.

This is unironically the best animated movie ever

I never would have guessed this was actually 2d, that's incredibly impressive.

Klaus is a great piece of animation I admire the hard work that went into making this film look as good as it did a lot. Shows good ol 2d animation still has a place in film.