Watch the team of animators behind Netflix's Klaus learn they've been nominated for an Oscar

The people who make animated films, despite contributing to one of the most popular types of movie, rarely get proper recognition. Every year, though, the Academy Awards provide an opportunity to reward at least a handful of them with an opportunity to stand up on stage and receive praise for their hard work. To understand how much this can mean to them, check out this video of the team behind Klaus, a gorgeously animated Netflix Christmas movie from Spain’s Sergio Pablos Animation Studios, as they learn they’ve just been nominated for an Oscar.

The best person to watch in the video is the woman in the middle, whose facial expressions and gestures offer the most powerful moment-to-moment reactions. The Best Animated Feature category is introduced and she sticks her hands out in front of her, freezing them there in anticipation. She crosses her fingers and winces, nodding with semi-agreement as a How To Train Your Dragon movie receives a nomination, relaxes into apparent defeat when I Lost My Body (another European film) is named, and then jumps to her feet along with everyone else when Klaus is read out. At this moment, the camera is filled with jumping figures, screaming in happiness at what just happened. Eventually, it cuts to a wider view of the animators hugging, fanning themselves, and shouting to one another in excitement.

Klaus didn’t set the world on fire with its roundabout Santa Claus origin-story, but its handpainted aesthetic is absolutely beautiful and the team responsible for creating it more than worth recognizing. If it ends up winning the Oscar it’s nominated for, the award will be well-earned and, for everyone at home, a nice opportunity to see if the team actually, literally explodes when they’re given the honor.

Send Great Job, Internet tips to [email protected]