In the trailer for Spirited — Apple TV+’s warm-hearted comic bid to own Christmas — Will Ferrell asks Ryan Reynolds “how did you know all that?” as he beams at his co-star with childlike wonder. It’s a moment when Elf fans are magically transported to the days when they first saw Ferrell as Buddy the Elf pouring syrup on Spaghetti and whipping the snowballs in Central Park.
Ferrell’s naivety and open charm are on full blast here, ready to lighten the load of the world-weary everywhere. There’s even a green suit! (Alas, we have to wait for more Octavia Spencer, the other great co-star of Spirited, along with Sunita Mani.)
Written by Sean Anders and John Morris and directed by Anders, Spirited promises to “raise your spirits” — which is a plot point too, of course. Spirited debuts in theaters on November 11, spending a week exclusively on the big screen before streaming on Apple TV+ starting on November 18.
There are 29 million reasons to believe this is a heck of a script. Because Ferrell has said he turned down $29 million to do an Elf 2, calling the material below par. He told The Hollywood Reporter that his conscience made him turn it down, saying: “I would have had to promote the movie from an honest place, which would’ve been, like, ‘Oh no, it’s not good.’ ”
So Ferrell has proven himself wisely circumspect about Christmas movie roles, having starred in one of the biggest holiday films ever and not wishing to dilute his standing. Turning down $29 million takes a lot of character and fortitude, but then again that’s what they teach at the North Pole. Otherwise, you know which list you go on — and it isn’t the nice list.
