Spirited

The trailer opens with a six second micro-teaser—replete with release info—for those who don’t have 2’20” to spare, The trailer proper starts with an opening hearkening back to trailers of old—the “in a world” schtick of Don LaFontaine, this time spun as “on a bitter, cold Christmas Eve” in horror mode. Foreboding strings in a minor key amplify the tension, only to be cut through a “rug pull” at 0:26 with the first of many comedic one-liners strewn throughout the trailer. By 0:39, with the fake-out revealed, the music takes a turn to much jazzier fare as the narrative continues to unfold, and as we come to understand the plot seems to centre on a kind of contemporary retelling of A Christmas Carol.

By the midpoint of the trailer at 1:07, the music takes an even more dramatic turn towards the unapologetically uplifting in what turns out to be an original song, “That Christmas Morning Feelin’,” refreshing after all of the reworked carols in Hallmark holiday trailers At 1:10 we see how the bombastic instrumental serves well rhythmically for synch points, as Reynolds pushes Ferrell; a beat later at 1:11, the high note in the brass is accompanied by the dizzying sight of Reynolds jumping off a building. At 1:19 we get more interactivity between the music and diegetic sound world, as Reynolds’ wink is accompanied by a cartoonish sound effect.

What’s happening here is a subtle transition into the diegetic rules and logic of musicals, where characters are, to a large extent, choreographed according to the tune, in an aesthetic that eschews realism for style. The wink also serves as a jumping off point for a caesura in the music for a punchline, the traditional style in comedy trailers. At 1:24 the music takes another turn, with dazzling piano arpeggios. At 1:36 we get another pause in the music for a one-liner before the music returns t 1:40—this time with vocals. Finally, at 1:43 we are full bore into the musical aesthetic, now with Reynolds, Ferrell, and a cast of dancers thrown headlong into a choreographed sequence. A final montage is interrupted by a falling man at 1:55—note how Ferrell breaks the fourth wall at 2:01, commenting how “none of it’s real anyway.” This is in keeping with a recurring aspect of Reynolds’ style, starting with the Deadpool series and continuing into the meta-commentary found in last year’s Free Guy.

Overall, the trailer successfully treads a lot of ground—from an homage of trailers past, to more dramatic and epic fare, then the tropes of comedy trailers, and finally, to the unique character of a proper musical. What’s unique about this is the way it eventually finds its way to an ultimate identity as a musical in an irreverent, non-linear way. This is arguably much the same way that Reynolds seems to approach filmmaking as a whole, and resonates with his identifiable approach as humorist.

Spirited debuted November 18th on Apple TV+ after a brief theatrical run.

— Curtis Perry