12 Days of Christmas Movies: Klaus

by Tyler Glover
It’s the most wonderful time of the year where we all gather as families (though, unless they’re already in your bubble we don’t recommend that this year), decorate the house and tree with Christmas lights and ornaments and sit down in front of our television screens with a nice hot cup of cocoa to watch some of our many favorite Christmas movies. This year The Word is celebrating 12 Days of Christmas Movies with our favorites to watch around the happiest time of the year. I hope you enjoy these as much as we do and if you haven’t seen them be sure to seek them out. 

Photo: Netflix

One of my favorite things about watching movies is the surprises. Living in a time when movie previews frequently spell out the entire movie for you, it is really refreshing to find a film that truly takes you on an unexpected adventure. “Klaus” shows us the origins of Santa Claus and with so many films taking us into that world like "The Santa Clause," "The Christmas Chronicles," "Noelle" and the classic "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town," this could feel like a tired subject. However, the Netflix film, "Klaus," makes it all seem fresh and new. This film was just released in 2019 but will be a Christmas film every year for my family. The film follows Jesper Johansson, who is a very entitled and lazy son of the Postmaster General. He continues to flunk at each of his postings. However, his father gives him one last posting and says if he fails, he will be cut off. Jesper is sent to Smeersburg, a village in the middle of nowhere. Jesper has to have 6,000 letters mailed in a year to succeed. His job will be an undertaking since Smeersburg has two warring families that are at each other's throats. When Jesper sees that some of the children want toys, he gets the help of local toymaker Klaus to help. The film answers all the questions that the classic "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town" answers like: Why does he go through chimneys? Does he know if we are naughty or nice? The film just does it in such an original and creative way. “Klaus” won the Annie Award and the British Academy Award for Best Animated Film and rightfully so. "Klaus" is definitely a must-watch film around the holidays for my family from now on.

"Klaus" is streaming on Netflix