Let's be honest. When you hear "Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds are doing a Christmas musical," you probably expect a disaster. Or at least a very loud, very chaotic mess. But somehow, the cast of spirited film managed to pull off something that feels weirdly grounded, even when they’re literally dancing through the streets of modern-day New York and Victorian London.
It’s a bizarre mix.
You have Ferrell, the king of earnest absurdity, playing the Ghost of Christmas Present. Then you have Reynolds, who basically plays a version of himself—fast-talking, cynical, and impossibly sharp—as Clint Briggs. On paper, it’s a collision of two very different comedic eras. In practice? It’s the engine that makes this Apple TV+ reimagining of A Christmas Carol actually function.
The Leading Duo: More Than Just "Elf" Meets "Deadpool"
Most people went into Spirited thinking they were getting Elf 2.0. They weren't. Will Ferrell isn't playing a wide-eyed innocent this time. His version of the Ghost of Christmas Present is a weary soul, a guy who has been doing the "haunting" gig for two hundred years and is desperately looking for a way out. He wants to be "redeemed" back into a human life.
Ferrell brings a vulnerability here that we haven't seen since Stranger than Fiction.
Then there’s Ryan Reynolds. As Clint Briggs, a "PR shark" who creates controversy for profit, he represents the "unredeemable." The movie hinges on whether a person can actually change, or if we’re all just performing kindness for the camera. Reynolds does his usual schtick, sure. The rapid-fire delivery is there. But he also has to carry the heavy lifting of the film's cynical core.
The chemistry works because they aren't trying to out-funny each other. They’re playing off the fact that their characters are fundamentally stuck.
Octavia Spencer is the Secret Weapon
If the cast of spirited film was just the two leads, it might have felt a bit thin. Enter Octavia Spencer.
💡 You might also like: How to Watch The Wolf and the Lion Without Getting Lost in the Wild
She plays Kimberly, Clint’s executive VP who clearly has a conscience she’s trying to suppress. Spencer is an Oscar winner for a reason. She brings a level of gravitas to a movie that features a song about "Good Afternoon" being a Victorian-era insult. Her solo "Receiving Vault" is surprisingly moving, mostly because she plays it straight. She isn't "in a musical"; she's a woman realizing she’s sold her soul to a guy who ruins reputations for a living.
It’s rare to see a comedic musical give its supporting cast this much room to breathe. Usually, they're just there to move the plot. Kimberly is the moral compass. Without her, Clint is just an unlikable jerk, and the Ghost is just a guy with a mid-life crisis.
The Ghosts Behind the Curtain
The ensemble matters. A lot. Sunita Mani plays the Ghost of Christmas Past, and she’s a breath of fresh air compared to the usual "mystical" interpretations of the character. She’s sarcastic. She’s tired of Clint’s flirting. She feels like a real person who just happens to have time-travel powers.
Then you have Patrick Page as Marley. If you follow Broadway, you know Page from Hadestown. His voice is so deep it vibrates your floorboards. Having a literal Broadway legend play Jacob Marley gives the musical numbers a legitimacy they might otherwise lack. When he sings, it doesn't feel like a "movie musical" anymore. It feels like a stage production.
- Tracy Morgan provides the voice for the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. It’s a hilarious subversion of the normally terrifying, hooded figure.
- Rose Byrne makes a brief but memorable appearance.
- Judi Dench even gets a shout-out/cameo that leans into the meta-humor the film loves so much.
Why the Singing Surprised Everyone
Let's address the elephant in the room. Neither Ferrell nor Reynolds are trained singers.
Honestly? That’s why it works.
In an era of hyper-tuned, "perfect" movie musicals (looking at you, Beauty and the Beast remake), the voices in Spirited feel human. Pasek and Paul—the duo behind The Greatest Showman and Dear Evan Hansen—wrote the music. Their stuff is notoriously difficult to sing. It’s fast, wordy, and requires a lot of breath control.
📖 Related: Is Lincoln Lawyer Coming Back? Mickey Haller's Next Move Explained
Reynolds has admitted in several interviews, including a notable one with Empire, that the training was grueling. He spent months on choreography and vocal coaching. You can see the effort on screen. It’s not effortless, and that's the point. The characters are struggling through their transformations, so the physical effort of the musical numbers mirrors the plot.
It's scrappy. It's loud. It's occasionally off-key in a way that feels intentional and lived-in.
The Power of the Ensemble Dancers
The cast of spirited film isn't just the names on the poster. The dance ensemble is incredible. Chloe Arnold, the choreographer, brought a massive amount of tap dancing back to the mainstream.
There’s a specific energy in the "Good Afternoon" sequence that feels like old-school Hollywood. You have dozens of dancers in period costume performing high-energy tap on cobblestone streets. It’s a technical nightmare to film, but it gives the movie a scale that makes it feel like a "big" event.
The background performers aren't just filling space. They are the ones carrying the rhythm while the leads handle the comedy. This balance prevents the film from feeling like a vanity project for two A-list stars.
Misconceptions About the Story
People often think Spirited is just another retelling of Dickens. It’s actually a sequel.
The premise is that the "haunting" process is a permanent organization. Every year, they pick one "soul" to change. The movie explores the bureaucracy of the afterlife. It asks: what happens if the person you're trying to change is smart enough to see through the tricks?
👉 See also: Tim Dillon: I'm Your Mother Explained (Simply)
Clint Briggs figures out the "Past, Present, Future" formula immediately. He mocks it. He deconstructs it. This forces the cast of spirited film to play their roles with a level of self-awareness. They aren't just ghosts; they’re employees. They have HR departments. They have research teams.
This shift in perspective is what keeps the movie from feeling stale. It’s not about Scrooge; it’s about whether the system of redemption actually works in a world where everyone is perpetually "online" and angry.
Technical Feats and Direction
Sean Anders, the director, isn't usually known for musicals. He did Daddy's Home and Instant Family. That background in "hard" comedy is actually what saves the film from becoming too sugary.
The lighting and set design for the "Present" world are vibrant and saturated, while the "real world" looks a bit more drab. It’s a classic visual storytelling trick, but it’s executed with a high budget that shows in every frame. They spent a lot of money on this, and you can see it in the costume transitions. The way Ferrell's outfits change as he moves through time is seamless.
How to Enjoy Spirited Today
If you’re planning to watch it, don’t go in looking for a traditional Christmas movie. It’s cynical. It’s a bit long (over two hours). But the heart is there.
- Watch the credits. There are extra bits and a genuine sense of the fun the cast had.
- Listen to the lyrics. Pasek and Paul put a lot of "blink and you'll miss it" jokes in the fast-paced songs.
- Focus on the background. The "Easter eggs" relating to other Dickensian adaptations are everywhere.
The cast of spirited film succeeded because they didn't treat the material like a joke. They treated the comedy like a joke, but they treated the musical aspects with total sincerity. That’s a hard line to walk.
To really get the most out of the experience, look up the "making of" clips regarding the choreography. Seeing Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell fail at tap dancing for weeks before getting it right makes the final product much more impressive. It wasn't CGI; it was just a lot of practice and probably a lot of Advil.
Next time you’re scrolling through holiday options, give it a shot for the "Good Afternoon" sequence alone. It’s a masterclass in how to use a massive cast to create a singular, hilarious moment.
If you want to dive deeper into the production, check out the official soundtrack on Spotify. The demo versions of the songs often feature the songwriters and give you a glimpse into how these massive numbers were built from the ground up before the actors even stepped on set.