Sing 2
review by Bobby Blakey
In 2016 Son of Rambow director Garth Jennings along with co-director Christophe Lourdelet brought the animated film Sing to the theaters starring Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, and Taron Egerton, Tori Kelly, and Nick Kroll. Now Jennings is returning to the series with Sing 2 bringing along most of the original cast along with some new additions in Bobby Cannavale, Pharrell Williams, Bono, and Halsey. Can this latest entry hit all the right notes or will it not be a song worth singing?
Sing 2 follows Buster who has turned the New Moon Theater into a local hit, but he has his eyes on a bigger prize: Debuting a new show at the Crystal Tower Theater in glamorous Redshore City. But with no connections, Buster and his cast—including harried mother pig Rosita, rocker porcupine Ash, earnest gorilla Johnny, shy elephant Meena and, of course, porcine provocateur Gunter—have to sneak their way into the world-famous Crystal Entertainment offices, run by ruthless mogul wolf Jimmy Crystal.
The first film hit all the notes and entertained so of course when it does well at the box office you know they get a sequel. With this one I wasn’t sure where they could really go to make it work or if it was something I even cared about. I must say I ended up having a lot more fun with this sequel than I expected to and I contribute a lot of that to them not only sticking to the things that worked the first time around, but also making it feel bigger.
Make no mistake this movie isn’t breaking down barriers in the world of animation, but it delivers everything you could want in this story like heart, laughs and of course plenty of music. This time around getting to see the characters thriving in their new shows helps to instantly elevate where they came from in the first film. This limits the need for a big build up as expected
and in turn allows us to dive right in. Even with that they are looking to get bigger so the catalyst to the story is the same once again, but gone is the struggles and deceit from the first film and instead a whole slew of new issues.
The voice cast all do a fine job with both the acting side and musical performances although I am always put off with the big changes to popular music, but would be lying if I said they didn’t visual entertain still. The animation is once again beautiful and filled with all the vibrant colors and fun designs we got the first time around. It is truly a feast for the senses all around.
Big props to director Garth Jennings for not only his directing duties, but also voicing the most hilarious character in this film Miss Crowley. She has so many great moments this time around that had us laughing out loud and even a funny gag during the credits involving her glass eye. If you like the first film then you will no doubt have a ton of fun with this one as well. There isn’t anything overly new that really pushes the franchise forward, but that’s not really the point. This is a film just about these talented characters trying to find their stage to perform and I think as long as they can find it people will be entertained.
Decide for yourself and check out Sing 2 when it hits theaters on December 22nd from Universal Pictures.
