Spirited (film)

Spirited is a 2022 American Christmas musical comedy film directed by Sean Anders, and written and produced by Anders and John Morris. It is a modern retelling of Charles Dickens's 1843 novella A Christmas Carol and a satire of the various adaptations since. The film stars Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds, Octavia Spencer, Sunita Mani, Patrick Page, Marlow Barkley, and Tracy Morgan. In the film, The Ghost of Christmas Present is nearing retirement, which would mean a return to Earth. He sets his sights on an "unredeemable" man named Clint Briggs, who ends up helping the Ghost come to terms with his own past.

Spirited was released in select cinemas on November 11, 2022, before its streaming release on November 18, 2022, by Apple TV+. The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised its original songs and the performances and chemistry of Ferrell and Reynolds, but was criticized for its lack of improvement over previous adaptations of the novella.

Plot
For nearly two centuries, Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet-to-Come have led a team of afterlife spirits to find and redeem one human soul or "perp" every Christmas ("That Christmas Morning Feelin'"). Present has been eligible for "retirement" for decades but refuses to do so, despite being tempted by the promise of settling down and making up for his own failures in life ("Present's Lament").

Scoping for a new soul to redeem, the spirits encounter Clint Briggs, a renowned, controversial media consultant ("Bringin' Back Christmas"). Despite Marley's insistence that Briggs is "unredeemable", Present believes that Clint's redemption could have a "ripple" effect and make him a force for positive change in humanity. The Ghosts begin a year of research on Clint in preparation for the annual haunt. ("Ripple"). As Christmas approaches, the Ghosts visit Clint's headquarters, where they witness him encouraging his niece Wren, who is running for class president, to post an unflattering video of her opponent Joshua. Clint's Executive Vice President, Kimberly, who uncovered the video at Clint's instruction, is riddled with guilt and almost quits but ultimately decides against it ("The View from Here"). Matters are complicated when Kimberly is unexpectedly able to see Present, who finds himself attracted to her.

The haunt starts but quickly goes off the rails when Clint repeatedly interrupts Marley ("The Story of Your Life (Marley's Haunt)") and seduces the willing Past, forcing Present to step in early and take over. Clint is initially dismissive of Present and resists his memories, particularly those of his ex-girlfriend Nora, who broke up with him over his selfishness, and of his older sister Carrie, who has since died of cancer. Realizing that Clint's case will require an unconventional approach, Present takes them back into his own past and reveals that he was once Ebenezer Scrooge, the only other unredeemable soul to go through the program ("Good Afternoon"). Marley is furious and orders Present to "stick to the script".

Present brings Clint to Nora, happily celebrating Christmas with her husband and children, but Clint deduces that it is Present himself who longs for a happy family life with Kimberly ("The Story of Your Life (Clint's Pitch)"). Present dismisses this and instead shows him Joshua's horrified reaction to Wren's re-posting of his video. Present then finally gets Clint to relive his most painful memory: Carrie's deathbed request that he raise Wren, which he had refused and passed off to their younger brother Owen.

As Present prepares to leave Clint with Yet-To-Come, Clint forces him to confront his own fears about whether he was truly redeemed, as Scrooge had died only three weeks after encountering the Ghosts. Clint convinces him to take retirement and give life on Earth another try ("Unredeemable"). Soon after, the two wake up in Clint's apartment, and Present, now mortal, asks Kimberly on a date ("The View from Here (Riverwalk)"). Clint is then intercepted by Yet-to-Come and shown glimpses of the future, including Joshua's suicide after Wren's video destroys his reputation.

Back on Earth, a shaken Clint races to stop Wren from posting the video. Just as he catches up to her, Kimberly stops him and reveals that she convinced Wren not to do it, then quits her job. Present is jubilant and waits for Clint to receive his congratulations from the spirit crew but is confused when they fail to arrive.

Clint explains that he only rectified one mistake and has not changed but tells Present that life is still worth trying and offers his friendship. A despondent Present, convinced he is unredeemable, jumps in front of an oncoming bus to return to his job in the afterlife. Clint shoves him out of the way, and just before the bus hits, time freezes, and the spirits arrive to congratulate Clint for achieving his redemption ("Do a Little Good"). However, when time resumes, the bus hits Clint, killing him. Carrie arrives to lead Clint into the afterlife, and while he is overjoyed to see his sister again, he is reluctant to leave Present behind. Instead, he makes a proposal to Marley.

Several years later, Clint has assumed the role of the Ghost of Christmas Present and is in a relationship with Past. He has expanded the program to include other holidays so the team can take on more perps every year and has brought Carrie on board as part of the staff. Clint also regularly visits Present, now married to Kimberly and the father of their two children, and the friends continue to work together redeeming souls. Wren has grown up and has been accepted into a master's program at Stanford ("That Christmas Morning Feelin' (Curtain Call)").

In a post-credit scene, the hotel manager from the Christmas tree convention is revealed to be the next "perp" chosen for redemption.

Cast

 * Will Ferrell as Ebenezer Scrooge, the current Ghost of Christmas Present
 * Ryan Reynolds as Clint Briggs
 * Nico Tirozzi as young Clint Briggs
 * Thomas P. Gillis as future Clint Briggs
 * Octavia Spencer as Kimberly
 * Sunita Mani as Bonnie, the Ghost of Christmas Past
 * Patrick Page as Jacob Marley
 * Marlow Barkley as Wren / Young Carrie
 * Loren G. Woods as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
 * Tracy Morgan as the voice of Yet to Come
 * Aimee Carrero as Nora
 * Joe Tippett as Owen Briggs
 * Andrea Anders as Carrie Briggs
 * Jen Tullock as Wendy Briggs
 * Lily Sullivan as Margot / HR Ghost
 * P. J. Byrne as Mr. Alteli
 * Rose Byrne as Karen Blansky
 * Maximilian Lee Piazza as Josh Hubbins
 * Gavin Maddox Bergman as Oliver Twist
 * Judi Dench as herself
 * Jimmy Fallon as himself

Production
On September 20, 2019, it was announced that Daddy's Home's Sean Anders and John Morris were attached to write and direct the film, as well as produce under their production company Two Grown Men alongside Will Ferrell and Jessica Elbaum of Gloria Sanchez Productions and Ryan Reynolds and George Dewey of Maximum Effort. The following month, it was announced that Apple had won a competitive bidding war for the rights to the film. Also it was reported that more than $60 million was spent on talent for the film, which was later increased to $75 million.

Alongside the initial announcement, Ferrell and Reynolds were cast in main roles. Both actors earned $20 million for their parts in the film. On February 8, 2021, Octavia Spencer joined the cast, with Reynolds confirmed as the lead and Ferrell playing the role of the Ghost of Christmas Present. In June, Sunita Mani was cast as Ghost of Christmas Past.

Principal photography for the film began on July 6, 2021, in Boston, which stood in for Manhattan. On October 18, 2021, Reynolds announced that filming had wrapped.

Release
Spirited had a limited theatrical release on November 11, 2022, followed by its digital release on Apple TV+ one week later, on November 18. A sing-along version was released theatrically on December 9, 2022. According to a Samba TV research panel of 3.1 million smart television households who tuned in for at least one minute, Spirited drew in 228,500 viewers in its first two days.

Promotion
A 12-inch vinyl single featuring songs from Spirited was announced for Record Store Day's annual Black Friday event in 2022. It featured the song "That Christmas Mornin' Feeling" sung by Ferrell as the A-side and "Do a Little Good" sung by Ferrell and Reynolds as the B-side.

Reception
Writing for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Rob Owen found the film was perhaps too long with too much happening, commenting: "If you're re-telling the umpteenth version of the same story, it shouldn't take more than two hours to do it regardless of the detours and small surprises plotted."