O que você vai fazer hoje depois do seu almoço de Natal? Se estiver com a sua família, tenho uma ótima dica: que tal assistir à animação “Klaus”, lançada recentemente pela Netflix?

Klaus chegou ao catálogo da Netflix no final de novembro e, claro, muitas pessoas torceram o nariz achando que era “mais uma animação de Natal”. Mas, surpreendentemente, Klaus tem recebido excelentes avaliações da crítica, com destaque para uma narrativa inovadora, que propõe novos pontos de vista para uma história já tão conhecida, e para a qualidade da animação.

No Rotten Tomatoes, a aprovação da crítica é de 93%, enquanto a do público é de 99%. Ou seja, existem altas chances da sua família se divertir muito enquanto assiste a este filme.

Mas, antes de assistir, vamos praticar um pouquinho o seu inglês e fazer um exercício?

Tente encaixar as palavras selecionadas nos locais corretos do artigo abaixo. Mas antes, para facilitar e praticar ainda mais o seu vocabulário, descubra quais são as definições corretas para cada uma das palavras.

Exercise 1: Match the words to their corresponding definitions.

a) freewheeling

b) fishmonger

c) entitled

d) endearing

e) idiosyncrasies

f) slacker

g) embittered

h) bracing

i) awkward

j) disowned

1. (     ) having a right to certain benefits or privileges

2. (     ) arousing feelings of affection or admiration

3. (     ) a person who has bitter feelings

4. (     ) not bound by formal rules, procedures, or guidelines

5. (     ) a person who evades work or obligation

6. (     ) causing embarrassment

7. (     ) a fish dealer

8. (     ) refused to acknowledge or maintain any connection with

9. (     ) giving strength, vigor, or freshness

10. (     ) an individualizing characteristic or quality

Exercise 2: Put the words above in the correct places in the article below.

Netflix’s Klaus Is Just Weird Enough to Get You to Watch It

Klaus, a new animated film from Netflix, has all the trappings of a big, family-friendly blockbuster, but look just a little closer, and its 1. _____ start to show. Sergio Pablos’s picture presents us with a fanciful Santa Claus origin tale that suggests the jolly, chubby, airborne gift-giver from the North Pole was the inadvertent creation of an 2. _____ 19th century mailman and an 3. _____, bird-obsessed hermit, with a little assist from some kindly Sámi tribes people. It’s 4. _____ and weird, and yet all that awkwardness and weirdness give it personality and charm and a 5. _____, nonsensical quality that feels refreshing.

The plot is set in motion when Jesper (voiced by Jason Schwartzman), the 6. _____ son of an unnamed Scandinavian nation’s powerful Postmaster General, is whisked away from the stately, militaristic Royal Postal Academy — where he wastes his days napping and sipping espressos while his fellow cadets learn to ride, sort mail, breed carrier pigeons, and transport fragile materials — and called to the mat for his laziness and incompetence. As punishment, Jesper’s domineering father assigns him to be the postmaster of the remote northern island-town of Smeerensburg, and gives him an ultimatum: He’ll be 7. _____ unless he processes 6,000 pieces of mail within a year.

Almost all the characters seem so unlikable for so long — from the petulant Jesper to the pissy local teacher Alva (voiced by Rashida Jones), who has reinvented herself as an enraged 8. _____, to the hulking, slightly psycho toy-maker Klaus (J.K. Simmons), who lives in a lonely cabin in the woods, consumed by grief — somehow makes the whole thing that much more 9. _____. The elaborate series of events that lead to the creation of Santa Claus feel so hilariously reverse engineered that the picture assumes a tall-tale quality. The more ridiculous the story gets, the more 10. _____ the film becomes — which in turn renders all the emotional fireworks that come at the end (as they must — this is not a spoiler) genuinely surprising and effective.

Answer Key

Exercise 1

1. c / 2. d / 3. g / 4. a / 5. f / 6. i / 7. b / 8. j / 9. h / 10. e

Exercise 2

1. idiosyncrasies

2. entitled

3. embittered

4. awkward

5. freewheeling

6. slacker

7. disowned

8. fishmonger

9. bracing

10. endearing

Source: https://www.vulture.com/2019/11/netflixs-klaus-a-delightfully-weird-animated-holiday-movie.html

E agora corra assistir Klaus com a sua família!! Merry Christmas!!

Michel Rosas é professor de inglês e gerente de marketing na Companhia de Idiomas.