Truthfully, this feels like a Christmas miracle: Apple TV+'s new holiday musical extravaganza Spirited is funnier, smarter, sweeter, and more astounding than it has any business being.
It's shocking to think of, but this will likely become a new Christmas classic.
First of all, who knew that Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds could not just co-star in a movie so effortlessly, but that both of them had remarkable strong music theatre chops? Both men easily demonstrate their versatility as not just actors and comedians but also as singers, dancers and ensemble members with style.
The culminating result is simply terrific. Aside from a few small over plotted details and a slight overuse of metafictitous humour, the story is charming and execution is as slick as a perfect candy cane lick.
Adaptations of Charles Dickens’ classic "A Christmas Carol" have been bombarding audiences for nearly 200 years, but this is the first new reinvention that finds an effective angle both dramatically and comedically. That twist? Instead of Scrooge, the main characters are the ghosts.
Will Ferrell’s Ghost of Christmas Present, for example, is nearing retirement as he works on a team of ghosts that reform some miserable miser every Christmas. When he begins to question how impactful their annual haunting is, he sets his sights on the unredeemable businessman Clint (Ryan Reynolds) as the perfect reformation.
What follows is a daring test of the ghosts’ patience and creativity as Clint repeatedly proves to be the ultimate mark, but the Ghosts and Clint eventually develop an unusual friendship that proves change is possible for them all.
The premise is, at first glance, saccharine and simple. Part of Spirited’s magic are a few sincerely brilliant twists in the action that are both unexpected and interconnected to stories old and new. Director and co-writer Sean Anders (Daddy’s Home and Instant Family) has crafted a few truly great surprises that elevate the already strong premise.
All of the above make the movie enticing enough, but the best part by far are the original songs from Pasek & Paul, perhaps the hottest team writing movie musicals today. Their recent hits, like The Greatest Showman, Dear Evan Hansen and Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, however, are known for great songs in mediocre to bad films.
That’s not the case here. This is the first truly outstanding score since the Oscar-winning La La Land, and this might be even better. There are several true showstoppers with incredible sets, choreography, and performances of smart, catchy songs.
"Bringin’ Back Christmas", "Good Afternoon" and "Do a Little Good" are particular winners, and Spirited really comes to life whenever it breaks into song. But across 11 musical numbers, there really isn’t a bad one. They’re all great.
It’s true the most cynical audiences may exclaim "What the Dickens?" at their televisions. Most will be enthralled and filled with modern holiday spirit that’s hard to stop singing.
Spirited
8 out of 10
PG, 2hrs 8mins. Holiday Musical Comedy.
Co-written and Directed by Sean Anders.
Starring Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds, Octavia Spencer, Patrick Page, Sunita Mani and Tracy Morgan.
Now streaming for subscribers on Apple TV+
