Good Afternoon. 3.5 / 5
Directed by Sean Anders.
Each Christmas Eve, the Ghost of Christmas Present selects one dark soul to be reformed by a visit from three spirits. But this season, he picked the wrong Scrooge.
Watching Will Ferrell in Elf has been a Christmas tradition since I can remember so it was intriguing to see him return for a new festive film (greyer and a few decades older) all these years later.
Spirited is yet another retelling of A Christmas Carol but this time with a peppy musical soundtrack from the songwriters behind La La Land and The Greatest Showman and Ryan Reynolds' signature glossy personality injected into every element. It really packs in the songs to pad out the runtime, some more memorable than others and the same could be said about its jokes, not always hitting the mark. It overstays its welcome but has a solid twist to keep things fresh despite the overly adapted source material.
Though the songs may be catchy and the comedy predictable, it's hard not to get swept up in this original, energetic and colourful festive tale.
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