Spirited, A Funny Bedazzled Musical Inspired By A Christmas Carol

Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds in the same movie be like having all my Christmases come at once? In “Spirited” they lead a vivacious Christmas movie titled Spirited and I can now check off a Christmas miracle musical movie from my list for 2022. Inspired by the story by Charles Dickins, A Christmas Carol, Ferrel stars as Present, just one part of a giant corporation of ghosts who collectively teach society how to become better human beings.

In the spirit of the ghost of the past, present, and future, this company spends some time researching redeemable people to show them why they should change their grinchy life-filled ways.

Spirited Movie Quote

“One Persons kindness can have a ripple effect.”

Opening with a woman appropriately called Karen (Rose Byrne.) We are introduced to the final stage of what can only be referred to as a carefully orchestrated performance meant to intricately show their perp what their life could eventually turn out like. Yet-To-Come (Loren G. Woods) fortune is epitomized by the figure of Death who comes in at the final stage. He threatens Karen by presenting her tombstone and painstakingly making it known she will soon be 6 feet under. As Karen screams she can indeed change, the rest of the crew call it a wrap and send her swiftly to her bed. She wakes up a changed woman, ready to live a life more fulfilling.

The entire layout for both the storyline and the film is that everything in Spirited is a stage production. Similar to the series Schmigadoon! all the characters break out into song almost every chance they get. Some of these characters love impromptu singing. But like any good self-aware title, some would rather not. Showrunner Marley (Patrick Page) is one such ghost who begs Present on many occasions to stop singing.

Will Ferell and Ryan Reynolds

While we are talking about musical numbers, Will Ferrell can sometimes sound a lot like Kermit the Frog in the lower ranges of his whimsical numbers. Once I heard it, I couldn’t unhear it.

The storyline for Spirited pushes forward in various character arcs which I loved. Ferrel’s Present has a great backstory with a little bit of a twist about how he got to where he is. When Clint (Ryan Reynolds) is introduced as the unredeemable prospect for this year’s production there is a fabulous rise and fall between the two as they bond over all things unscrupulous.

There is a lot of singing in the Spirited movie. Enough to try my patience as a nonmusical movie-loving person. The title overall is over-the-top sweet. To the point that we go back in time “Good Afternoon” is considered a low-brow insult. So offensive was the term that fights would break out whenever the phrase was uttered.

The comedy is only lightly chuckle-worthy. Fortunately, most things that happen are amusing enough to last most of the 2 hours run time. That was enough reason for me to hang in there.

Christmas Musical Movies

The musical numbers themselves aren’t the genius Moulin Rouge iconic versions of lyrics that can sometimes be present in films like this. More like songs that simply propel the story and nothing more. They do the job though. The dance routines are wonderfully choreographed. They were pretty cool.

Spirited is a heartwarming family-friendly movie that is well worth a one-time watch. If you like it you might find it on repeat.

Spirited Reviews

Spirited reviews on movie aggregator sites show the movie is being well received. IMBd.com has the new Christmas movie title sitting at a 6.6/10. Reviewers for Spirited range from being super enamored with everything it has to offer. Watch the movie teaser trailer for Spirited here.

On the downside, those looking for a more sedate Christmas movie were a little overwhelmed. Letterboxd was more inclined to be filled with the urge to regurgitate over so much singing in one movie. Although at times I felt the same, I still liked this Sean Anders-written and directed (Daddy’s Home) Yuletide comedy with music. Additional writing comes from John Morris (Horrible Bosses 2)

You can watch the Spirit movie streaming on Apple+. Produced by Gloria Sanchez Productions.