The first reviews are in for Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds’ Spirited — and it sounds like a fitting gift for Christmas Present. The holiday musical comedy is being heralded as a fresh and fun spin on A Christmas Carol, the oft-told tale about the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge’s life-changing encounter with the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. In a modern and musical twist on the 1843 Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol is told from the perspective of the ghosts for the first time. According to early reviews, the spirited musical is giving critics that “Christmas Morning Feeling.”
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Read some of the first Spirited reviews below, and visit our guide for everything you need to know about how to watch Spirited:
Chicago Sun Times: “Even though this is ‘A Christmas Carol’ told from a differentangle, it’s still ‘A Christmas Carol.’ With Ferrell and Reynoldsstriking just the right combination of hipster comedy with genuinesincerity, and the musical numbers working as parody but alsotoe-tapping entertainment, ‘Spirited’ is … that’s right … a big cup ofholiday cheer for the whole family.”
Los Angeles Times: “‘Spirited,’ the umpteenth screen incarnation of Charles Dickens’evergreen ‘A Christmas Carol,’ is such an amusing, buoyant andgood-natured entertainment that it’s not hard to forgive this flashymusical-comedy-fantasy’s missteps. Grinchy viewers, however, may sing adifferent tune.”
The Only Critic: “‘Spirited’ puts a fresh spin on ‘A Christmas Carol,’delivering exceptional tunes (‘Christmas Morning Feeling’ is a certifiedbop) and gives Ferrell and Reynolds their most memorable live-actioncomedy in years.”
San Francisco Chronicle: “‘Spirited’ is a less than mediocre holiday movie until people startsinging. Then it gets worse. Inspired by ‘A Christmas Carol’ and set inmodern times, it fails in virtually all the ways a Christmas musical canfail. There’s no Christmas spirit and the songs are bad … ‘Spirited’ was never going to be any good, but it would have beenslightly better — and a change of pace — if Reynolds and Ferrell hadswitched roles.”
The Associated Press: “Though ‘Spirited’ comes up short as a musical, it is still prettyenjoyable. Perhaps that’s because it is just so stuffed with everythingelse: If one part doesn’t totally work, there’s plenty else in thefour-quadrant buffet to sample. In addition to the committed leads,there are comedy gems from Christmas Past (Sunita Mani), ChristmasYet-to-Come (Loren Woods with Tracy Morgan’s voice), Pasek and Paul’seasily digestible pop ballads and Octavia Spencer’s lovely singingvoice.”
The New York Times: “The movie unwisely banks on themarketability of its two lead characters, whose merciless mugging andstrong-armed repartee makes for humor as hammy as the honey-glazedcornerstone of a holiday feast. The film also muscles in references tofake news, Twitter trolls and cancel culture (along with a pandemicjoke), obnoxiously pointing out its wisecracks as it makes them asthough the movie’s meta-awareness absolves it of its tedious comedy —but you can’t have your fruit cake and eat it too.”
AV Club: “While Spirited is self-consciousabout its 127-minute length (there’s the seemingly now standard modernmusical device of having one character exasperated by song and dance,and trying to cut others off), its problems are less about that, andmore about really locking in the conflict and battle between Clint andPresent, who are rather fitfully at odds. Spirited exists in abit of a gray zone where Reynolds and Ferrell’s characters aren’t quitefully antagonistic, nor are they frenemies. As a result, its editorialpivot points sometimes feel strained. One moment that really connectswill at times give way to another that feels forced. Still, there are plenty of quite good patches in Spirited, and even some fleeting moments when it touches greatness.”
Where to Watch Spirited Online for Free
An Apple TV Plus subscription is required to watch Spirited onthe service, but there’s no additional fee for subscribers to streamWill Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds’ new movie. First-time subscribers canwatch Spirited for free with Apple TV+’s 7-day trial, which costs $6.99 per month after the first week.
Apple TV+ is available on the Apple TV app and dozens of app-supporteddevices, including Amazon Fire TV, Android TV streaming devices and TVs,XBox and Playstation consoles, Roku, Comcast Xfinity, and Chromecastwith Google TV.
What Is Spirited About?
EachChristmas Eve, the Ghost of Christmas Present (Will Ferrell) selectsone dark soul to be reformed by a visit from three spirits. But thisseason, he picked the wrong Scrooge. Clint Briggs (Ryan Reynolds) turnsthe tables on his ghostly host until Present finds himself reexamininghis own past, present and future. For the first time, A Christmas Carol is told from the perspective of the ghosts in this hilarious musical twist on the classic Dickens tale.
Spirited Movie Cast: Who Else Is in Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell’s Christmas Movie?
Along with Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds, the Spirited cast includes Octavia Spencer (The Help), Sunita Mani (GLOW), Patrick Page (Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical), and Aimee Carrero (Elena of Avalor).
Spirited is in select theaters November 11th and streaming on Apple TV+ on November 18th.
