Spirited reinvents the story of the Christmas Carol with a refreshing and new narrative without letting the essence of the story be lost. In my opinion, it actually reinforces as it brings current technology and issues into play while keeping the overall heart of the classic tale.
This musical has all the making of a classic, (that I hope will soon be staged for Broadway)
I want to make two things clear from the get-go:
- You don’t have to be a fan of musicals to watch the movie. I know plenty of people who aren’t into musical who fell in love with it
- You don’t have to be a fan of Christmas movies to fall in love with them.
The songs are by Academy Award winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. They also did the music for “The Greatest Showman” and “La La Land’. Several of the songs were also co-written with Sukari Jones, Mark Sonnenblick, and Khiyon Hursey. The songs are extremely catchy and easy for anyone to sing along to.
The choreography by Emmy nominated
Chloe Arnold is amazing. I was enthralled by it! is infectious- you feel like you just want to get up and dance with them! I wouldn’t be doing Arnold justice if I didn’t point out the genius choreography in the Unredeemable reprise as they used a small flashlight that seem to be inside the dancers costumed under their wrists. It is an amazing light show; absolutely spectacular. It’s another showstopper. There are multiple tap numbers including a short call-and-response routine with Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds that is just beautifully crafted for them- and it is them as we see their full bodies during the entire routine. It is Directed by Sean Anders who also wrote the story with John Morris.
Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell were two actors they had in mind from the beginning. When a producer approached Reynolds had 3 goals in mind for a future movie he wanted to do a Christmas movie, a musical, and a movie with Will Ferrell. The rest as they say is Christmas history,
Clint Briggs (Ryan Reynolds) Company’ Briggs Media Group fixes images, does PR, and arranges scandals, controversy, conflict, and disinformation for everyone from Politicians to Ed Sheeran to his eighth-grade niece. Everyone who chooses the Christmas haunts thinks he’s an irredeemable person; except for Ferrell’s Present. Clint sees nothing wrong with being ruthless and creating narratives that aren’t even true and pitting people against each other for the benefit of his clients regardless of the consequences- but he never thought about those.
This role combines both Reynolds serious and comedic sides. While he has sung in small doses before, such as a guest spot on Korea’s The Masked Singer, this is the first time people have heard him sing like this-aka a lead in a musical in a heavy singing role. As a singer, I noticed when the song got higher in his range it sounded like he had a bit less support but he KILLS IT-! This makes me pray for Deadpool 3 the musical with Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman- a girl can dream of a Christmas miracle.
Will Ferrell plays Present as in the Ghost of Christmas present. He convinces everyone that maybe Clint isn’t irredeemable. That also serves a dual purpose by answering that he hasn’t spoken aloud or even admitted to himself who ends up pine-ing over Kimberly Parks played by Octavia Spencer, Briggs’s Second-in-command at his company.
We see Will Ferrell in a way we have never seen him before. He is a fantastic actor but this brought out a whole new side. He is an amazing singer! I mean absolutely amazing- where has this voice been all these years? How could he hide this from the world for so long? I expect more musicals in this man’s future!
He has a debut called “The View From Here (Riverwalk)” with Octavia Spencer
They harmonized perfectly at the end of the song. This is actually the first time she has sung and did wonderfully!!
As I said Octavia Spencer plays Kimberly Parks an executive/ second-in-command at Briggs’ media group She heads a 12-person team and digs up dirt on people. She finally hits a line when comes to digging up dirt on an eighth grader for Clint’s niece.
She seems so at home singing and has a beautiful emotion and gravitas to her voice. “The View From Here” is a tear-jerker.
The cast is rounded out by Sunita Mani as Christmas Past, Christmas Yet to Come is played by Loren Woods, a 7’1 man and
voiced by Tracy Morgan
Patrick Page and Tony and Grammy award nominee plays Jacobs Marley.
It also shows that love doesn’t have an age and you don’t have to have it all ironed out before you graduate college. Love happens when it happens.
It is something everyone will enjoy and it’s certain to become a new classic.
Plus Ryan Reynolds, Octavia Spencer, and Will Ferrell sing amazing show-stopping catchy songs and that will give you “That Christmas Morning Feeling” all season long! it is not to be missed this Holiday season!
Trust me you need to watch this-
if only to learn that doing just a little good is enough or… well… I only have one thing to say to you: good afternoon!
But you’ll have to watch the movie to understand that.
Spirited is now available on AppleTV+