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Ryan Reynolds, Will Ferrell dance through the streets of Boston in ‘Spirited’ trailer

The movie musical based on "A Christmas Carol" was filmed in the Boston area in 2021.

Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell in "Spirited." Apple TV+

October 12, 2022

Apple released the first teaser trailer for its upcoming holiday movie “Spirited,” a contemporary musical take on “A Christmas Carol” starring Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds, and Octavia Spencer that was filmed in the Boston area in 2021.

“Spirited” tells the story of the Ghost of Christmas Present (Ferrell), who selects one “dark soul” to be visited by three spirits each Christmas Eve, according to a plot synopsis provided by Apple. His chosen curmudgeon this time around is Clint Briggs (Reynolds), who “turns the tables on his ghostly host,” forcing Present to contemplate his past, present, and future. Spencer, meanwhile, plays a good-natured coworker of Briggs, a la Bob Cratchit in Charles Dickens’ novel.

“Spirited” was filmed in the Boston area from July to October 2021, with scenes shot in Boston, Braintree, Devens, Everett, Framingham, Lynnfield, Melrose, Weymouth, and Worcester.

In the teaser released Wednesday, silhouettes of Reynolds and Ferrell perform a complex tap routine as part of a dancing scene that was filmed on the streets of Boston in September 2021. The trailer also shows glimpses of scenes filmed at the South Shore Plaza in Braintree.

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Reynolds is no stranger to the Boston area, having spent two months here in 2019 while filming the upcoming adventure-comedy “Free Guy.” Reynolds also filmed the 2009 romantic comedy “The Proposal” in Massachusetts, and first connected with his wife, Blake Lively, while filming “R.I.P.D” in Boston in 2011.

Ferrell has history in Massachusetts as well, having previously teamed up with “Spirited” director Sean Anders to film “Daddy’s Home 2” in the state.

Along with Ferrell, Reynolds, and Spencer, “Spirited” stars Sunita Mani (“Everything Everywhere All At Once”), Patrick Page (“In the Heights”), Joe Tippett (“Mare of Easttown”), Marlow Barkley (“Single Parents”), and Jen Tullock (“Severance”).

“Spirited” features original songs by the Oscar and Tony-winning duo of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (“La La Land”) and choreography by Chloe Arnold (“The Late Late Show with James Corden”).

“Spirited” will open in theaters Nov. 11 before streaming on Apple TV+ on Nov. 18.