What happens if you combine Ryan Reynolds with Will Ferrell? You receive the year's most shocking Christmas movie.

We still have plenty of place in our hearts for an older custom, the uplifting Dickensian story, even though our conception of a Christmas movie has shifted more and more toward the romcom end of the spectrum. Alec Guinness, Alastair Sim, Michael Caine, Bill Murray, and numerous more have appeared in A Christmas Carol adaptations throughout the years in everything from historical drama to animation. Although there have been many musicals, few have the frantic intensity of this all-singing, all-dancing star vehicle.

Spirited

Spirited is a significant production directed by Sean Anders, who is most known for his work on the excellent comedy Hot Tub Time Machine and We're The Millers. A Christmas cracker of coupling, with Will Ferrell at his sweetest and silliest, and Ryan Reynolds solidifying his position as the witty Mr. Feelgood of the film industry, sits at its core. They guide a strong cast through a retelling of Dickens' tale that focuses on the ghosts, especially Ferrell's Ghost of Christmas Present and Jacob Marley (Patrick Page), as they change the life of cynical media analyst Clint Briggs (Reynolds).

You'll remain for the wisecracking and the leads' endearing chemistry even if you don't like the songs, which were written by the award-winning team of Benji Pasek and Justin Paul, who brought us the whistle-along melodies of The Greatest Showman and La La Land. If you're still not convinced, consider the show's enormous size, which uses additional meta-playfulness to transform real locales into theatrical sets from the great period of Hollywood.

Spirited

Although the action takes place in Manhattan, Spirited used Massachusetts as its home state, just like many films before it, including Reynolds' most recent Free Guy. With the aid of copious amounts of fake snow made from powdered potatoes, NYC (and, in one instance, Victorian London) was constructed in the heart of Boston, with the surrounding towns playing supporting roles. Here is our overview of the enchanted Christmas miracles they worked.

Boston

The headquarters of the ghosts' organization is housed in Spirited's most improbable location: Saunders Castle (formally The Castle at Park Plaza), which is located on Columbus Avenue in the heart of Back Bay. The spectacular Romanesque Revival confection of turrets, a drawbridge, and a moat, a six-story tower, the enormous open space we see depicted in the movie, was constructed in the 1890s. The granite building, which was once the Armory of the First Corps of Cadets and built to withstand mob violence, was sold to a real estate developer in the 1960s and then leased as a library by the University of Massachusetts. Since 1981, it has been used as a venue for exhibitions and events, holding anything from weddings and conferences to art displays and today has 500 guest rooms. It serves as the focal point of Spirited, as the spirits perform computer-assisted simulations in between full-cast singing and dance numbers and a chase sequence with Reynolds and Ferrell through a neighborhood.

Spirited

The sequence in Victorian London where Ferrell's Ghost of Christmas Present revisits his past with his new friend is another standout. The Downtown colonial district's Marshall Street was taken over by the producers for this. With a history dating back to the founding of the city and even boasting a renowned marker stone with the year 1737, this winding lane of cobblestones is a fitting location for a protracted musical sequence that draws inspiration from the beloved musical Oliver! Ferrell and Reynolds may also be seen in the Green Dragon, a well-known Irish pub on the street that is said to have been the location of The Boston Tea Party and the launch of Paul Revere's illustrious ride.

Boston, Massachusetts's Green Dragon Tavern

The film's the big climax and Do A Little Good song are located on Devonshire Street, which is a short distance south of Marshall Street in Boston. The team took up the popular neighborhood starting at 6 p.m. for six nights, filming till dawn to complete this lengthy piece that includes scaffolding, fake snow, a bus, and swarms of coordinated extras.

Cityscape of the USA's port at twilight Boston Massachusetts

The Boston Waterfront is a further city landmark that we explore. Here, against the nighttime background of Boston Harbor, we find Colin Farrell's Ghost of Christmas Present strolling beside Kimberly (Octavia Spencer). It was recorded on the HarborWalk near the Courthouse Docks, which is next to Fan Pier Park.

Inn at Copley Square

A stop at the renowned Fairmont Copley Plaza, a historic hotel on St. James Avenue in Boston, is also included. This Beaux-Arts building, which was inaugurated in 1912, has hosted presidents, and rock icons like John Lennon, and served as the location for Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor's second honeymoon. We first meet Reynolds' Clint in Spirited's mirror-ceilinged lobby, which serves as Vancouver's fictitious Copperfield Hotel, where he is at his most unredeemable and annoying.

Massachusetts

A Victorian house in Melrose, Massachusetts, on Bellevue Avenue

Additionally, the movie uses a lot of charming tiny places outside of Boston. South Shore Plaza, a shopping center built in the 1970s in Braintree, is where Clint experiences a memory flashback. The dream home of The Ghost of Christmas Present, located in Melrose, to the north, is a traditional white-painted mansion on Bellevue Avenue in a community regarded as one of America's most affluent neighborhoods. Meanwhile, we're in the adjacent city of Everett for Clint's rather less glamorous boyhood home. Everett is another location that filmmakers want to use because it was featured in both the 2016 Ghostbusters revival and Sean Ander's That's My Boy, which was the inspiration for Spirited.

A performance venue called Mechanics Hall was constructed in 1857 and is located at 321 Main Street and Walnut Street in Worcester, Massachusetts.

As we travel west, we stop in Framingham for scenes taking place at a homeless shelter. Marian High, a Catholic private school that shut its doors in 2018, was used for these sequences. Additionally, the movie opens with a trip to Worcester, where Clint shows off his charm while doing a song and dance routine for a group of dejected Christmas tree growers. This was recorded in the Mechanics Hall, which was constructed in 1857 and is today regarded as one of the best music halls in the nation. Charles Dickens is one of the many eminent entertainers that have graced these stages.

Apple TV+ offers the ability to stream Spirited.