When Smeerensburg’s new postman, Jesper (Jason Schwartzman), befriends toymaker Klaus (J.K. Simmons), their gifts melt an age-old feud and deliver a sleigh full of holiday traditions.

Klaus is wonderful! Everything about it is so beautiful. The animation, the story, the characters, the music and the songs; it all comes together into one of those truly special films. It’s funny, sweet and charming with such a timely yet timeless message at its centre.

Jesper doesn’t want to be in Smeerensburg. He’s used to putting in minimum effort and relying on his family’s money for everything, so when he’s shipped off to Smeerensburg and the risk of being cut off looming over his head, he has to think on his feet to get this town that never sends any letters, using the post office.

Jesper’s work is cut out for him as the town is home to an ancient feud between the Ellingboe’s and the Krum’s led by Mr Ellingboe (Will Sasso) and Mrs Krum (Joan Cusack). What Klaus really captures is how children are children and don’t tend to pick up the illogical reasons to hate someone without influence from the adults around them. The children of Smeerensburg want to play together even though there’s a violent feud that has been going on for generations.

Besides from being funny and heart-warming, Klaus can tug at your heartstrings too. From seeing the huge smiles on the happy children’s faces (honestly the animation is gorgeous) to learning more about Klaus’s past, it’s enough to bring a tear to anyone’s eye. The score is magical and the original song Invisible by Zara Larsson is brilliant too and echoes the core theme of the film.

The main message of Klaus is that a simple act of kindness always sparks another. It’s a wonderful message to have in any movie, but for a Christmas movie which has a take on the origin of Santa Claus, somehow makes that message even more impactful. It’s a lovely thought to live by, and one that highlights that deep down, people are (on the whole) inherently good. 5/5.