It seems like the Charles Dickens tale “A Christmas Carol” has been adapted in every possible way over the years. There are animated versions, Bill Murray’s “Scrooged” and even a version with the Muppets cast. Because of this, one would think that the story was getting old and that a new adaptation wasn’t necessary. I thought this too, until I saw the new Apple TV+ movie, “Spirited.” 

Starring Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds, “Spirited” puts a musical spin on the classic Christmas story. The movie opens on the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future haunting a woman and changing her into a good person. Once the job is done, it’s revealed that there is actually an entire production team of ghosts behind the haunting. The team selects one person or “perp,” at the beginning of every year to be changed from a bad to a good person. All year, the team works to create simulations of memories, current moments in time and future timelines within the perp’s lifetime that they feel could change their outlook on life. 

After the opening number, the Ghost of Christmas Present (Ferrell) talks to his supervisor about retiring. Although he is tempted to retire and go back to the human world (which is what happens when a ghost retires), he doesn’t want to leave until he feels he’s made a real, major change in the world. While scouting a possible next perp, Present stumbles upon Clint Briggs (Reynolds), a businessman who specializes in canceling people. Clint is marked as an “Unredeemable,” meaning he doesn’t believe that people can change, and therefore can’t be changed. However, due to Clint’s national influence and Present’s yearning to make a real difference, Present convinces his supervisor to take on Clint as the next perp. 

The most interesting part of “Spirited” was not only the backstory provided about the ghosts and hauntings, but also how Clint flips the script and tries to break down what is going on in Present’s life. There is an element of realism in this movie that I appreciated, especially in a modern adaptation. Along with the realism of the story, the combination of modernism, magic and Christmas cheer present in the sets and costumes of “Spirited” was surprisingly pleasant. The color scheme of the movie included lots of reds and greens and the outfits fit the theme perfectly. In this way, I found a lot of visual similarities between “Spirited” and Bill Murray’s “Scrooged.” 

However, the musical element of the movie partially hindered this sense of reality. Anytime a character was having an emotional revelation, they would start singing. It felt as though the director and actors couldn’t figure out how to convey these changes through dialogue, expression and actions, so they decided to have the characters sing exactly how they’re feeling. It felt as if the director thought the viewer wouldn’t understand what was happening unless it was spelled out for them in a song. The only number I really liked was “Bringing Back Christmas,” where Reynolds gets a huge crowd excited to take down the plastic Christmas tree industry.

Overall, “Spirited” was a very new and interesting spin on the classic Charles Dickens tale and although I won’t be watching it every Christmas season, it was worth the watch during this one.

“Spirited:” ★★★★☆