Klaus is the heart-warming Christmas movie to watch this holiday season

Klaus, the Netflix original animated Christmas movie starring Jason Schwartzman delivers on its promise. It is the heart-warming, must-see movie of the holiday season.

During the holidays, there is an endless supply of sappy, endearing, and tear-jerking Christmas movies, which can make it hard to choose the right one to watch. If you watch any Christmas movie in the next few weeks, it better be the Netflix original animated film, Klaus.

Netflix might have created the best Christmas movie of the year with this one.

The film opens with Jesper (Jason Schwartzman), a selfish, self-absorbed postmaster in training lounging in the lap of luxury at the postmaster’s academy. While all the other students are working hard at becoming the best postmaster’s they can be, our hero is lying around drinking an expresso. His father is the postmaster general, and after listing poor Jespers’ failures as a postmaster, he gives him an ultimatum.

Jesper will be assigned to the remote town of Smeerensburg located on an even more remote island at the top of the world. He will have to personally deliver 6,000 letters in a year or be disowned. So begins the trials and tribulations of Jesper, who only wants to be back home under his silk sheets and drinking expressos.

Smeerensburg is a battlefield similar to the war between the Hatfields and McCoys. This war is between the Krums and the Ellingboes. This is the setting Jesper walks into, and the morale doesn’t help him with getting 6,000 letters mailed or in getting him off the island.

Jesper plots and schemes to get out of Smeerensburg and back home to his life of luxury.

Schwartzman is great in this movie, and although his character is selfish and self-absorbed, you can’t help but still like him. The things he does in his attempts to obtain his goal of going home is hilarious. The post office building is open to the elements which include ice, snow, and wind. It’s an obstacle course just to use the outdoor bathroom, and Klaus makes him physically deliver toys to children who live in the middle of a feud. People shoot at him, dogs try to eat him, and it’s funny to watch his antics as he tries to circumvent these obstacles.

That’s when the magic happens. Jesper changes Smeerensburg with one good deed after another that sparks something wondrous.

Klaus made a statement early in the movie: “A simple act of kindness always sparks another.” And that’s what happened. Jesper unknowingly creates the change in Smeerensburg and while he is making these magical changes in the people around him, he becomes less interested in leaving.

The plot of the film is original and refreshing with how Santa Claus got his start and where he originated from. I haven’t seen a Christmas story or movie where there wasn’t a happy ending. In this movie, it’s the twists and turns that will keep things very interesting.

Klaus is a fun movie to watch, but there are a couple of scenes where I will admit I did get a little teary-eyed. To me, that just makes the movie even a better movie. The characters are so developed, and you can’t help but connect with them emotionally.

Mrs. Krum (Joan Cusack) comes in as a strong character herself. Mrs. Krum is not happy with all the changes Jesper is implementing and plots with Mr. Ellingboe (Will Sasso) to help him reach his 6,000 letters goal so that he will leave. Then, the feud will begin again and everyone will be back to their miserable selves once more. Cusack does an amazing job of bringing to the front Mrs. Krum’s deviousness and diabolical mind to life.

There are a lot of morals and lessons to learn from Klaus about how people are afraid to change, take chances, or even trust another person. The main lesson learned is about love, friendship, and kindness, which are usually the morals of a Christmas movie.

Klaus teaches these lessons from a different point of view. In the process of his trying to get home, Jesper learns that he already is.

The movie is a great family holiday movie that will be sure to become a favorite year after year. You won’t be able to stop smiling while watching this movie!