SOUNDBITE: Musical captures spirit of season

What happens when Buddy the Elf and Wade Wilson make a musical? I think the answer is worth watching. Spirited is a musical loosely based on Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. This movie stars Will Ferrell (Buddy from Elf, Megamind from Megamind) and Ryan Reynolds (Wade Wilson from Deadpool, Adam Reed from The Adam Project), creating the perfect combination with amazing acting and great chemistry. 

  Spirited follows the story of the Ghost of Christmas Present [Ferrell] and Clint Briggs [Reynolds] on their journey to change lives for the better. 

  The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is played by two actors–former basketball player Loren G. Woods and voice actor Tracy Morgan (Rio, The Boxtrolls). While Morgan was the voice of this gentlemen, Woods was the body for his towering 7’1 frame. The two worked together to create this impressive character.

  The movie is very enjoyable with the elements of comedy and fun songs. There are also some serious parts that really add to the story and the message. I really liked the message of the story and think they did a great job of conveying it. 

  The original soundtrack was written by American songwriter duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Dear Evan Hansen, The Greatest Showman, Trolls, La La Land). Both Ferrell and Reynolds performed their own songs with help from the ensemble. This movie had a mixture of recording from the studio and live vocals on set. The music was fun–it really spiked my interest and made me like the movie so much more.

    The cinematography is great, everything was composed nicely. There were no weird camera angles and nothing felt awkward about the lighting. The scenes were put together wonderfully and there was nothing displeasing to the eye.

  They did a great job of keeping me hooked, and it didn’t make me want to have the movie on as background noise. The story was consistent and never confused me. It never left me wondering what exactly happened, and I was never lost. It was very easy to understand. I loved it.

   The ending even surprised me, like actually bamboozled me, but of course I can’t reveal it because there are no spoilers here.

  Overall the movie was amazing and worth the watch. I definitely see it being a movie watched annually for me, it is great.