Spirited (2022) & The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
I don’t like musicals. I don’t like musical theater or Broadway or any of that business. It’s cool if you do, and I’m not knocking it. You have to be able to buy into that stuff to get immersed. I have that with science fiction and fantasy stuff. You have to buy into a fake world to enjoy it. Christmas is a fake world all in itself. It has legends and myth and tradition and the nativity and flying deer. So, in this sense I think musical movies fit right in.
I tried Spirited a few days ago, and I was surprised at how enjoyable it was. I already did a stint with Will Farrell in his elf costume and liked it a little more. This movie also starred Ryan Reynolds in the Scrooge-like asshole role. I don’t know what it is about Reynolds but I have rooted for this guy for years. I can’t explain it. His career was a giant pile of forgettable junk and then he hit superstardom. I think there is some realism in his self-deprecation. He knows he isn’t that good, but he also knows that we know he knows. Anyway, he plays the corporate marketing scumbag in this movie. This could have been a musical Scrooge, but they actually took some interesting turns with he ghosts of Christmas and transformed it into a unique take.
It’s still a new movie so I don’t want to spoil too much. The premise is what would the life of the ghost of Christmas Present be like if he existed year round, and what would happen if you couldn’t convert Scrooge even after he was haunted? Are some people just incurable dickheads?
There are songs galore and they are big budget modern dance numbers with clever lyrics and they are distinct enough to not merge together. I don’t have enough background in musicals of any kind to critique anything, so according to my scale, they didn’t make me want to scream at my flatscreen or throw up.
The Muppet Christmas Carol is on my top three seasonal movies of all time. It’s also a musical, as is all Muppet fare, but it is so fun and weird and sad all at the same time. I am still amazed how puppets can pull all that emotion out of me every time.
Michael Caine is the human Scrooge in this version and they follow ‘A Christmas Carol’ beat for beat, with the addition of Muppet cameos and Gonzo as the narrator. This is even a post-Jim Henson production and it’s still my favorite. It’s more Paul Williams music, reminiscent of classic Muppets and the comic timing still works even 30 years later. It’s quotable as hell, and it’s one of the movies I used to put on when I decorate my tree with my kids. Or, at least they watched me decorate the tree and I watched them as they watched this.
This movie is Christmas to me.
Now…we have to discuss “When Love is Gone”.
The number that plays as Scrooge watches his younger self say goodbye to his lost love is the saddest frigging song that has ever been put into a movie. I’ve teared up at least ten times over the years and that’s with multicolored Christmas lights in my hands! Also, is smack dab in the middle of a family-friendly Muppet movie! There’s a wise-cracking rat and a song that makes me want to jump off a bridge. In fact, it's such a bummer that Disney+ actually edited the movie and yanked the entire song out of there! I don’t support that at all, but I kinda get it! Kids don’t wanna see that shit!
This season, Disney put the original back in there but you still have to find a special features section to watch it. It’s almost behind a wall so kids don’t trip over it and cry their eyes out while they’re on Christmas break. I think it’s part of the experience, but I won’t tell anyone if you fast-forward a few minutes to save yourself some sniffles.
It’s best to watch it in context but here it is if you dare:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbawsayImds