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First Viewing Plot: A musical version of Charles Dickens's story of a miserly misanthrope who is taken on a magical journey.

There is already a bit of hatred online for this one, but I'm not overly sure why. I was greatly looking forward to Spirited due to the presence of Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell, plus it was directed by the reliable Sean Anders - I remember seeing behind-the-scenes videos for this over a year ago and desperately wanting to see it. Luckily, the finished movie delivered on my expectations. There are plenty of high-energy musical numbers, I love the central conceit of Scrooge-like transformations being the job of an afterlife corporation, many of the jokes land, the bromance between Reynolds and Ferrell is top-notch, and it's not entirely predictable. It is too long at over two hours, and it does feel its length as it's stuffed with plenty of narrative material, but it gets enough right to compensate for its shortcomings. The movie looks positively gorgeous, with slick visuals and strong production values - plus, the aesthetics of each set-piece are decidedly different, so there's ample variety to the visuals to prevent boredom from setting in. It does enough to justify its existence with so many other previous cinematic interpretations of A Christmas Carol having been made, with a fun sense of invention. When it comes to festive movies, the big question is "will I watch it again?" Happily, the answer for this one is a resounding yes. I wouldn't say it will become an annual tradition, but I certainly look forward to revisiting it. Also, yes, I watched this on premiere night because I wanted to see it ASAP, so the festive viewings have started in mid-November this year.