Ibarra 1

Sebastian Ibarra

Dr. Patzia

PHIL 3600-11

07 December 2022

Final Narrative Project

The narrative I have selected to analyze and relate to the ethical theories and issues dis-

cussed in class is the 2019 animated film Klaus. The film directed by Sergio Pablos and Carlos

Martinez Lopez takes a look at the origin story of the figure of Santa Claus and explains how the

common beliefs of the figure first emerged. The film stars Jason Schwartzman as Jesper, J.K.

Simmons as Klaus, Rashida Jones as Alva, Norm MacDonald as Mogens, Will Sasso as Mr.

Ellingboe, Joan Cusack as Mrs. Krum, and more talented actors. The film expertly provides con-

nections to the themes of altruism, psychological egoism, and can be tied to Kant’s deontology

on how one should treat others. Klaus would be an excellent film for the class to watch due to its

impressive ability to tell a simple story that anyone could enjoy, while simultaneously connect-

ing to larger themes that the class could analyze and discuss by relating to the previously men-

tioned ethical theories and problems. To understand how larger ethical themes connect to Klaus,

a summary of the film will first be provided.

Klaus is a story about the postman Jesper and how he and Klaus form a friendship that

transforms each of their lives and the residents of the island town of Smeerensburg. The story

follows Jesper Johansen. Jesper’s whole life was filled with simple pleasures and only enjoying

the benefits that his family’s fortunes provided. Jesper’s father, the Royal Postmaster General of

a postman academy attempted to educate and distill important values into Jesper by enlisting him

into the academy. Jesper purposely performed poorly in all his duties to return to his formal life.
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However, his father responded to his son’s efforts by promoting him to become a postman in the

small, isolated island town of Smeerensburg. Additionally, Jesper’s father gave him the chal-

lenge to receive and post six-thousand letters in one year. If Jesper were to not succeed or quit,

he would no longer have access to his family’s wealth and be forced to abandon the life he previ-

ously had. Due to the challenge, Jesper traveled to the small island town with the initial motiva-

tion of achieving his father’s goal to return to his formal life.

When Jesper arrived in the island town of Smeerensburg he found that the entire town

was divided by two families that have been locked in a conflict and have hated each other for

hundreds of years. The two families were the Ellingboes and the Krums. Jesper found that he

was unable to acquire any letters due to the two clans’ hatred for each other. Also on the island

were the ferryman Mogens and the once teacher and now self-interested fish seller Alva and each

explained to Jesper the history of the conflict and how the families never send letters. Despite

Jesper’s determination wavering, he eventually found a lone woodsman named Klaus, who lived

isolated from the town and had a home filled with toys he created by hand. After Jesper at-

tempted to contact Klaus, he became terrified of the mysterious individual and quickly left

Klaus’s dwelling. However, Jesper left behind a drawing from one of the Krum’s boys that

showed his unhappiness. Klaus intimidated Jesper to bring him directly to the boy’s house and

delivered a toy to cheer up the boy. Due to the delivery, the children from both families began to

hear about how the boy received a toy from Klaus and on the following day asked Jesper to de-

liver their letters to Klaus, believing that they would also receive a toy.

Jesper used the children’s wishes to receive toys to persuade the town’s children to con-

tinue to send letters. Jesper also asked Klaus if he would donate all the toys he had in his posses-

sion. Klaus agreed only on the condition that they continue to deliver toys at night and in secret.
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Throughout many nights, Jesper and Klaus delivered toys to children that wrote letters. In the

process, Jesper informed the children that only good children can receive toys from Klaus and

that he always knew when they were good or bad. This resulted in the town’s children being

more generous and performing acts of kindness despite their families’ rivalries. The children’s

actions inspired the town’s adults to abandon their conflict with each other and begin to be kind

to one another and help each other. Furthermore, Jesper and the children’s actions inspired Alva

to decide not to leave the island and open her school once again to help the children learn reading

and writing skills that they could use in writing to Klaus.

The town’s elders, Mr. Ellingboe and Mrs. Krum were shocked and appalled by how the

children and the rest of their families had abandoned their ancient dispute and formed a truce to

further prevent Klaus and Jesper from influencing the minds of the town’s residents and begin

their conflict once again. Amid their truce, Klaus and Jesper began to run out of toys, and after a

short dispute that ended when Klaus witnessed Jesper attempt to build a sled for a Sami girl

named Margu, Klaus agreed to Jesper’s plan to make more toys for Christmas as it would spread

joy. While Jesper, Klaus, and Alva prepared for Christmas, Mr. Ellingboe and Mrs. Krum posted

enough letters to achieve Jesper’s goal and informed his father that he had posted fourteen-thou-

sand letters. When it became Christmas Eve, Jesper’s father arrived and Jesper’s self-motivated

desires that prompted his actions were revealed, leading to Klaus and Alva losing their faith and

respect for Jesper. Yet after a conversation with his father, Jesper decided to stay on the island

and attempt to prevent an angry mob led by the town’s elders from destroying the toys for the

children. Even though it was revealed the toys destroyed were fake and that Alva and Klaus

knew about the plans due to the children, Jesper was welcomed back by Klaus and Alva as he

selflessly tried to save the toys made to bring joy to the children. Klaus and Jesper delivered the
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toys on time for Christmas and eleven more Christmases. Klaus and Jesper continued to deliver

more toys to more children as they received more letters from around the world. Following the

twelfth Christmas, Klaus disappeared and could not be found. Yet by the end of the film, Jesper

now married to Alva, revealed he waits every Christmas Eve to see his friend Klaus again as he

delivers presents to children around the world.

 Despite being a simple film on the surface, Klaus would be an appropriate choice for stu-

dents to watch as they would be able to understand the deeper ethical ideas interwoven into the

plot of the film. A major theme of the film is whether people are always selfish in every action

they commit or whether they are able to commit selfless actions. Jesper comments on the idea of

people being always selfish and whether someone can be truly selfless explicitly by telling

Klaus, “well, let me tell you something. I’ve been around long enough to know that everyone is

out to get something. Those kids? Those kids are in it for the toys. And the grown-ups? Well, I

don’t know what they’re after. But it sure is not goodwill and peace on Earth.”1 Jesper’s belief

towards the beginning of the film, that everyone is always self-interested or selfish reflects the

idea of psychological egoism. Nina Rosenstand explains that psychological egoism is a descrip-

tive theory that states that humans are always self-interested or always behaving in a manner that

benefits their interests. All actions that humans commit stem from their own selfish or self-inter-

ested motivations.2 To Jesper, the children’s and adults’ new behavior is simply a reflection of

psychological egoism. Any action the children or adults committed no matter how selfless it may

appear was a result of their desire to benefit themselves and not for altruistic purposes. By dis-

1
Klaus. Directed by Sergio Pablos and Carlos Matinez Lopez, Netflix, 2019.
2
Rosenstand, Nina. The Moral of the Story: An Introduction to Ethics. Eighth ed.,

McGraw Hill LLC, 2018, pp. 170.

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playing a character that appears to behave altruistically, but secretly commits good deeds for the

sole purpose of benefiting himself and views others as doing the same thing, the film remarkably

portrays the idea of psychological egoism and how it can be reflected by people who are doing

good things for others due to selfish reasons.

The film also portrays a distinct perspective on the idea that people are always self-inter-

ested by developing the concept of altruism and how people are capable of committing selfless

actions. The previously mentioned scene with Klaus and Jesper that had Jesper explain his belief

that everyone is selfish also highlights the concept of altruism. Klaus’s response and justification

for why the children and their families are changing their behavior and being kind to one another

is simply that “a true selfless act always sparks another.”3 Klaus’s perspective towards why the

townspeople have begun to treat each other differently reflects the idea of altruism. Rosenstand

explains that altruism can function as an alternative to psychological egoism as it promotes the

idea that the sole moral duty that one can have is to address the needs of others. The theory

claims, unlike psychological egoism, that the right thing to do is commit actions for the interests

of others and that people can be altruistic.4 Klaus unlike Jesper, believed that the townspeople

were capable of committing selfless actions simply for the interests of others and not for their

gain and thus acted altruistically. The film directly connects to the concept of altruism and how it

is viewed as the opposite moral theory of psychological egoism by having Klaus justify the end

of the two clans’ hostilities as the result of people committing selfless actions that both inspire

others to do the same and cause the townsfolk to reflect and reform themselves. Klaus’s perspec-

3
Klaus. Directed by Sergio Pablos and Carlos Matinez Lopez, Netflix, 2019.
4
Rosenstand, Nina. The Moral of the Story: An Introduction to Ethics. Eighth ed.,

McGraw Hill LLC, 2018, pp. 196.

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tive reflects what philosopher Peter Singer would label as “reciprocal altruism or Golden Rule al-

truism” as the townspeople began to care about each other’s interests and well-being because it

benefited the entire town itself and the people began to expect the same treatment from the rival-

ing clan. Due to providing connections to altruism and psychological egoism, Klaus would be an

appropriate film to watch for class.

The film’s ability to display and interject the complicated nature of both altruism and

psychological egoism through the characters of Jesper, Klaus, and the rivaling families while

having an engaging story justifies why it should be watched in class. The story of the film ex-

plores each perspective and uses it to allow Jesper to grow as an individual. The film presents

Jesper to only be selfish and views others to be the same as he attempts to reach his goal. How-

ever, through interacting with Klaus, Alva, and the children, and witnessing the townspeople be-

come kind and generous to each other, Jesper realized that someone can be selfless and care sim-

ply for the interests of others. Ultimately revealing the issue associated with psychological ego-

ism’s claim that everyone is always selfish. Therefore, the film’s ability to explore the themes of

human nature makes it an essential and timely narrative that should be watched. The film also

explores Kant’s Deontology of how one should be treated.

Klaus explores the theme of how people should be treated by having Jesper familiarize

himself with the rivaling families of Smeerensburg and interact with them as he attempts to reach

his own goal. Throughout the film, Jesper uses the children, Klaus, and Alva to reach his goal of

six thousand letters. Displaying how Jesper did not recognize their inherent value and initially

treated them as tools to use to help him fulfill his desires. Jesper’s actions reflect the second form

of Kant’s deontology regarding the formula of humanity. As Rosenstand explains that Kant held

the view that people must be treated as ends in themselves and not simply a means to end to ful-
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fill another individual's desires even if the reason is good. Rosenstand expands upon this by de-

tailing how for one to be treated as a means to an end, it means that they solely have instrumental

value and are used as a tool to fulfill another’s purpose.5 Jesper’s treatment towards Klaus, Alva,

and even the children connect to the idea of treating people as a means to an end. Jesper used the

people he had connections with, to simply fulfill the purpose of reaching the desired letter count.

Jesper did not recognize the intrinsic value of Klaus, Alva, and the children. Instead, he initially

saw them to have instrumental value. However, throughout his stay at Smeerensburg, Jesper be-

gan to recognize that his perspective was wrong and ultimately understand and respect his

friends for being themselves and not for what they were able to do for him. Revealing another

reason, the film should be watched in class.

The film’s ability to display Kant’s concept of the “ends in themselves” and the danger of

treating another individual as simply a means to an end through the character Jesper, displays the

film’s relevancy to the course and its great ability to tell an insightful story. Jesper’s growth from

simply valuing and using others to achieve his goals to being respectful, generous, and kind to

others illustrates how he slowly began to not simply see people as having instrumental value, but

for their intrinsic value. Ultimately Jesper realized his mistake in using the people he grew close

to and how it was not the right thing to do as it reduced rational beings to mere tools to fulfill an-

other’s purpose. Therefore, the film would be an excellent choice for students to watch as it dis-

plays the progression of an individual that once looked after himself and treated people as tools

5
Rosenstand, Nina. The Moral of the Story: An Introduction to Ethics. Eighth ed., McGraw

Hill LLC, 2018, pp. 285.

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to fulfill his desires to a now reformed individual that acknowledges his mistreatment of his

friends and works to better himself and recognize the value of others around him.

Questions

1. Analyze Jesper’s character. Throughout the film, does Jesper satisfy the two

forms of Kant’s Deontology, or does he fail to uphold the key principles that

Kant would say are essential to live one’s life?

2. The town and its residents are shown throughout the film. Jesper comments that

the children of the town were only committing good actions to receive toys. Do

you believe the children’s actions were self-motivated or do you think that over

the course of the film the children began to truly act selflessly?

3. Despite the two clans’ long history of dispute, the adults by the end of the film

respected and treated their rivals with kindness. Klaus’s reasoning for their

behavior was that “a true selfless act always sparks another.” Do you believe that

the adults adhered to this idea or were they simply following their self-interests

even when they treated the opposing family members with kindness?