KLAUS

Klaus is a 2019 Spanish animated Christmas comedy-drama film written and directed by Sergio
Pablos (in his directorial debut), produced by his company Sergio Pablos Animation Studios (also
known as the SPA Studios) with the support of Aniventure[1] and was distributed by Netflix as its first
original animated feature. Co-written by Zach Lewis and Jim Mahoney, the film stars the voices
of Jason Schwartzman, J. K. Simmons, Rashida Jones, Will Sasso, Neda Margrethe Labba, Sergio
Pablos, Norm MacDonald, and Joan Cusack. Serving as an alternate origin story of Santa
Claus different from the historical take of Saint Nicholas of Myra, with a fictional 19th-century setting,
the plot revolves around a postman stationed in an island town to the North who befriends a reclusive
toymaker (Klaus).
Klaus was released on 8 November 2019 and was met with positive reviews that praised its
innovative animation, heartwarming story, and vocal performances. It has been nominated for Best
Animated Feature in the 92nd Academy Awards.

Plot

Jesper Johansson is the lazy and spoiled son of a wealthy Postmaster General, who has enrolled
Jesper into his postman training academy hoping that it will reform him. Jesper deliberately
underperforms, forcing his father to finally send him to the distant island town of Smeerensburg with
the task of posting six-thousand letters in a year. If Jesper fails, he will be cut off from the family
estate. Upon arrival, it is explained to Jesper by sarcastic ferryman Mogens, and bitter teacher-
turned-fishmonger Alva the town's perpetually warring families—the Ellingboes and the Krums—
comprise nearly all of the populace and hardly exchange words, let alone letters.

Desperate for a way to post letters from the town, Jesper notices an isolated dwelling at the corner of
the island map in his office. Investigating, he discovers a reclusive woodsman named Klaus in a
house filled with handmade toys. Terrified by the man’s size, appearance and mannerisms, Jesper
flees, inadvertently leaving behind a sad drawing he had found made by one of Smeerensburg’s
children. Klaus confronts Jesper, demanding to go to the house depicted in the drawing, where Klaus
forces Jesper to secretly deliver a toy to the boy inside.

Word of this event spreads to other children, who go to Jesper the next day, each believing that they
will receive a toy if they send him a letter. Jesper capitalizes on the idea and goes to Klaus with the
proposal of donating the toys in his house; Klaus agrees provided that they operate at night, and that
Jesper continues to deliver the toys in secret. Soon, more and more children begin writing letters to
Klaus. When Jesper tells them that Klaus only gives toys to good children, and always knows when
any child misbehaves, the acts of kindness they subsequently perform gradually inspire the rest of the
townsfolk to end their ancient dispute, and Alva reopens her school to help the children learn to read
and write.

Eventually, Jesper and Klaus begin running out of toys to give to the children, and Jesper suggests
they make more in time for Christmas. Klaus initially refuses, and he pushes Jesper away after a
misunderstanding. The duo then reconcile by working together on a sled for a small Sámi girl named
Márgu, who lives in an isolated settlement with her people. Klaus finally tells Jesper about his wife,
Lydia, and explains he made the toys to give to the future children the couple hoped to have, but
Lydia never became pregnant and she eventually died from illness. Klaus realizes that their work has
been spreading joy to the children and agrees to the Christmas plan, with Márgu and her people
arriving to help. As the town and his relationship with Alva flourishes, Jesper finds himself wanting to
stay in Smeerensburg.

Meanwhile, family elders Axel Ellingboe and Tammy Krum form a temporary truce in order to stop
Jesper and Klaus so that the families can resume their traditional feud. They trick Jesper's father into
believing Jesper had posted fourteen-thousand letters, and he arrives on Christmas eve to
congratulate his son, inadvertently revealing to Jesper's friends the selfish reasons for his deeds. Just
as they are about to leave town, Jesper's father notices his son's remorse, and after a talk he allows
Jesper to stay in Smeerensburg. Seeing the elders and their gang going to Klaus' home to destroy the
Christmas toys, Jesper tries to stop them and apparently fails. However, over the course of the chase
that ensued, Mr. Ellingboe's daughter and Mrs. Krum's son fall in love. Alva had also been informed of
the elders' plot by the town's children, and so she and Klaus had already replaced the toys with
decoys.

Jesper is redeemed, and Smeerensburg becomes a happy town, with the family elders being forced
to end the families' feud due to the marriage of their children. Jesper marries Alva and raises two
children, and he and Klaus continue to deliver presents in Smeerensburg and beyond for eleven
years. Then on the twelfth year, Klaus follows a wisp of wind up a sunny hill and disappears,
seemingly to join his departed wife. Every subsequent Christmas Eve, Jesper sits beside the fireplace
and waits to see Klaus as his spirit continues to deliver toys to children around the world.

Activity. On a whole sheet of paper, answer the first five questions. Submit your output on the first
day of the periodical examination.

Answer the following questions:

1. Differentiate order and disorder. How was disorder shown in ‘Klaus?’ Provide concrete
scenes or situations.
2. What is prudence? In what instances do the characters manifest being prudent? Cite three
scenes.
3. What is frugality? In what instances do the characters manifest being prudent? Cite three
scenes.
4. Do you agree that order was achieved in the movie through prudence and frugality? How?
5. In what instances in your life, which you considered as a disorder, did you show prudence
and frugality to achieve order?
6. As you face the new year, reflect on one disorder you encountered in 2019 and imagine how
you would be in 2020 as you put it into order. Illustrate it in a parallel illustration as shown in
the example below. Have it posted on Instagram with the hash tags: #CIHS_STEM<section>
and #TheMayamangJeffExperience. Caption your output with how you are going to apply
prudence and frugality in achieving order from your disorder.