Will Ferrell gets back to his Christmas ‘Elf’-ish roots alongside Ryan Reynolds in new ‘Spirited’ trailer

By Dan Heching, CNN

Ryan Reynolds has the help of a holiday favorite to get into the ‘spirit’ of the season this year — none other than “Elf” star Will Ferrell.

The pair headline the new Apple TV+ Christmas movie “Spirited,” for which a teaser was released on Wednesday.

In it, the comedic duo start off tap dancing to a festive track, before appearing in a Dickensian street scene evocative of old England.

From there, Ferrell takes Reynolds through various settings and time periods, before introducing himself as the Ghost of Christmas Present.

“Like ‘A Christmas Carol’?” Reynolds responds, in his trademark incredulous tone.

And indeed, “Spirited” is an updated take on the classic holiday fable, with “Free Guy” star Reynolds stepping in as the initially misanthropic Ebeneezer Scrooge.

The film also stars Oscar winner Octavia Spencer, who appears but is sadly not heard in this first teaser.

“Spirited” is far from the first cinematic adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic, which has seen near countless iterations dating as far back as 1938. More recent versions include the dark and gothic 2019 miniseries “A Christmas Carol” starring Guy Pearce and Andy Serkis, and going a little further back, the zany entry “Scrooged” from 1988 starring Bill Murray, Bobcat Goldthwait and Carol Kane.

“Spirited” will debut in theaters on November 11 before streaming globally on Apple TV+ on November 18.

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