After beginning to watch Klaus, it immediately passed my expectations. As the movie begins, there’s not a lot of dialogue, but the animation brings the story to life. The lack of dialogue usually would’ve been disappointing, but in this case, it was done perfectly. The art within the scene is gorgeous and tells a story on its own. The traditional Christmas movie starts with a cheery note and is filled with hot chocolate, warm smiles, and rosy cheeks. However, Klaus took a quite different approach.

At the start, it shows Jesper, the main character and his life. He is a postman and grew up in a very rich family. Jesper had everything at the tips of his fingers and was the basic, snotty, spoiled character that is very easy to dislike. This was until his father sent him to Smeerensburg, to teach him a lesson. His dad was fed up with his laziness and lack of hard work, so for the next year of his life, Jesper had to live in the worst place on Earth.

The artwork for ‘Smeerensburg’ truly depicted how disgusting and horrible this place is. Prior to knowing what’s going on, it wasn’t hard to tell that it is a dark and dreary place and that no one was happy. The visual was very powerful, paired with the music, it brought an overall negative feeling. The characters were so ugly and terrifying, there was a great amount of visual storytelling. At the end of the montage of the town and it’s people, I truly felt bad for Jesper.

The plot was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Something that makes this film so special is how different it is than the traditional holiday movie. Jesper is brought into a disgusting town and throughout his time there, he changes the environment and people around him into something beautiful. There were the expected cliches especially towards the end, but it was done in such a way where the lessons within were inspiring and touching nonetheless. The dialogue helped develop the story in a nice way, however, I feel as though even without dialogue the movie would be just as impactful.

To refrain from giving away the majority of the film, the imagery was done extremely well and made me feel like a kid again. It also had the power to make me feel a certain way towards the characters and the town, which is something that not all movies can do, but should do. At some points, the movie brought me to tears. Klaus told the story of Christmas in a new, extraordinary way. I admire the way the characters were developed. Klaus wasn’t anyone special at the start, he was just a normal guy, he wasn’t magical like I’ve seen in every other Christmas movie, which added a more relatable tone. Jesper was also really well done, it was amazing how I didn’t like him at the start but grew to love him towards the end.

Overall, Klaus was a magnificent movie. The symbolism and lessons within were told in a unique way and made this movie stand out. Klaus is amazing and tells a tale of love, hate, loss, and redemption. I can honestly say it’s now one of my favorite holiday movies, and I would definitely add it to your must-watch list.