“The thing that was such a thrill was the instant chemistry the guys had, not only when the cameras were rolling but when they weren’t”: Sean Anders on Spirited

The festive portion of the cinematic cycle is well underway, which means yet more riffs on familiar themes, and yet another adaptation of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. Spirited, starring Ryan Reynolds and the familiar seasonal face of Will Ferrell, earns its place in the pantheon of adaptations, however, through an intriguing subversion of the Dickens classic: what if the much-loved tale really had the redemption of the ghost of Christmas present at its heart instead of that of Scrooge’s? More still, what if the whole thing were a musical? Finally, what would the logistical mechanics of a Christmas haunt look like? These central updates allow for an original twist on A Christmas Carol that is brimming with jubilant Christmas spirit.

The Upcoming had the pleasure of speaking with the film’s director, Sean Anders, about how the Apple TV+ film came into being, working with Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell, and the nature of working on set in the aftermath of a pandemic.

Spirited is an interesting inversion of the Dickensian classic. Where did the idea come from initially?

My writing partner, John Morris, and I were having a general discussion about stories that led us into talking about A Christmas Carol and we started discussing how, in the original Dickens story, the ghosts are arguably the protagonists because they’re the ones with the mission. That led to a greater conversation about the insane amount of work and prep that must go into that haunt. That was really what became the genesis of the whole thing.

You have worked with John Morris multiple times now. How important is that working relationship in terms of getting these projects off the ground?

It’s everything! It’s incredibly important. John and I just have a great rapport and, I think, more than anything, we have that trust. We feel safe when we’re together to pitch the worst ideas ever and to shoot each other’s ideas down. It’s not always fun to get your ideas shot down but it’s nice to know that you’re working with somebody who’s not killing your ideas out of ego or vindictiveness. We’re always just trying to get on the same page.

Is there anything you can tell us about future collaborations you might have with Morris?

Not really. We’re in a moment now where we have a number of different things we’re juggling and thinking about. We really have no idea where we’re going to go next

The film directs a nudge and a wink towards the fact that we’ve just come out of a pandemic. What was it like being on set and working face-to-face with people in those conditions?

Well, if by face-to-face, you mean mask-to-mask! It was very difficult shooting during Covid-19 with the testing and the masks. I had so much empathy for our dance team in particular having to dance and rehearse under these masks, so that was tricky. But, at the same time, it was nice being back out in the world with other human beings. I think that the downtime was good for some of us in some ways to just get a little break from all of it, but it was very nice to be back together, back in the world of humanity.

How did the idea of presenting this story as a musical emerge?

John and I had always wanted to do a musical, and whenever we were trying to come up with an idea for a musical, we never really had anything that we loved. So when this idea came up and we started digging into the world of the ghosts – I believe it was in our very first conversation about it that one of us threw out the idea that this might be the musical we’ve been talking about. So it kind of emerged from the very beginning.

How important was getting Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell on board and what is it like working with them?

Will was the first person we called after we had the idea. Once we had the idea roughly fleshed out I gave Will a call and pitched it to him as a musical, and he was really excited about it. It wasn’t until we got further down the line when we were working out the story more and figuring out the Clint Briggs character that we thought of Ryan Reynolds. When we went to pitch it to Ryan’s producing partner, George, George told us that Ryan had been in the process of looking for a Will Ferrell movie and a Christmas movie and a musical. We came in with all three! As for working together, I think the thing that was such a thrill was the instant chemistry that the guys had, not only when the cameras were rolling but when they weren’t rolling. Will and Ryan would hang out on set and just chat while we were in the middle of a set-up. That is something that, particularly from a comedy standpoint, is a huge benefit to filmmakers, when your cast not only gets along but actually seems to genuinely enjoy each other’s [company], because it just brings more joy into their performance, and you can feel that on the screen.

Matthew McMillan

Spirited is released in UK cinemas and on Apple TV+ on 18^th November 2022. Read our review here.

Watch the trailer for Spirited here: