NBC News culture critic Ani Bundel on Saturday called out films like Spirited and Scrooge: A Christmas Carol to glorify the “cruel corporate czar.”
Spirited and Scrooge: A Christmas Carol are musical adaptations of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Bundel wrote that both adjustments “hit the wrong key”.
“But both versions’ insistence on preaching this secular billionaire-turned-benefactor myth at a time when the news is rife with opposing stories means that both musical adaptations have struck the wrong key,” she wrote.
Bundel, in her critique of the films, suggests that neither version wants to admit that the “cruel corporate czar” or the Scrooge-like character is a “bad person”.
Cast members Octavia Spencer and Will Ferrell attend the premiere of the film ‘Spirited’ in London, Britain on November 15, 2022. Portal/Maja Smiejkowska (Portal/Maja Smiejkowska)
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“In a year when almost every monopoly seems to be laying off workers, a hard-hearted billionaire’s cathartic compensation makes cultural sense. But none of the films are willing to even admit that their cruel corporate czar is a bad person, as if the producers are afraid to offend the rich men who run their respective streaming services,” wrote the NBC News critic.
Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds, Octavia Spencer and more star in Spirited on Apple TV+. Ferrell plays the Ghost of the Christmas Present and Reynolds plays Clint Briggs, a reimagined Ebenezer Scrooge.
NBC’s Bundel also argued that the entertainment industry’s failure to recognize “societal change” is “more worrying.”
“More troubling is the entertainment world’s refusal to acknowledge societal change. The story of Dickens is timeless for a reason, and there should be room now to create a version that speaks to the current moment. Too bad none of them know how.” Bundel continued.
A sign is pictured in front of the NBC headquarters in Rockefeller Center in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, the United States, 16 January 2020. Portal/Carlo Allegri (Portal/Carlo Allegri)
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Spencer spoke about preparing for the musical in November.
“I had no idea what it takes to do a musical because here’s the thing, we all sing every day,” she said. “I don’t see myself as a singer but I thought I could probably make it because when you sing with the radio you sound so good don’t you? You hit the notes, but you realize you’re singing very low. They wanted a microphone, so I figured I could use my little radio singing voice… and vocal coach Eric Vetro said, ‘Yes, I’m going to need you to sing – project!'”
After working with Reynolds on Free Guy and The Adam Project, Shawn Levy will direct Deadpool 3. (Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images)
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Reynolds said earlier this year that he and the cast went to a seven-week theater camp to prepare for the musical.
Hanna Panreck is Associate Editor at Fox News.