Sing 2 is the sequel to the widely popular Sing, which came out back in 2016. Sing captured the hearts of many people with its charm, great character development, and of course, those amazing covers of popular songs. Sing 2 hopes to capture that same magic the first one did. I am here to say it does just that.
Sing 2 picks up back at Buster Moon’s (Matthew McCaughey) theater where his troupe is performing a production of Alice in Wonderland. Unannounced to him, there was a talent scout in the audience (Chelsea Peretti). Moon thinks this is an opportunity for him and his group of angelic singers to leave his little theater and make it in Red Shore City, the film’s equivalent of Las Vegas.
Sing 2 brings back a lot of the original voice cast from the first film: Taron Egerton, Reese Witherspoon, Nick Kroll, and Scarlett Johansson, among others. That being said, there are a few new characters voiced by heavyweights in the music industry as well as an established character actor. Mogul Jimmy Crystal and his daughter are voiced by Bobby Cannavale and Halsey, respectively. Cannavale’s Jimmy Crystal runs a huge entertainment company in Red Shore City and he’s looking for the next big act to feature at his hotel/casino. He’s basically a cross between Donald Trump and Simon Cowell. He even has his red buzzer for when doesn’t like an act so he can buzz them off of the stage. Halsey’s character is a fledgling singer who is trying to make it big as well. The third new character worth mentioning is rockstar Clay Calloway voiced by the legendary Bono.
All the characters have their own subplots within the film. Each little story within the bigger overarching story shows different sides of the characters and allows the voice actors to do more with their characters. Take for instance the elephant (Tori Kelly) is nervous about a dance sequence and she might have found a love interest in the form of an ice cream scooper. The film makes enough room for all of the characters to shine brightly. The one hour and fifty-two minute runtime is like a normal movie which is about a half-hour longer than most animated films. That allows for more character development.
Sing 2 goes down a similar path as Sing one but is actually a bigger version of said story. Everything’s bigger in Red Shore City so the characters and the story are also bigger. The animation is also very gorgeous in Sing 2. Illumination has been killing it with the animation stylings of their films like The Secret Life of Pets, The Grinch, and the Sing films.
This film captured the hearts of viewers similar to the first one with a lot of amazing covers including some U2 songs, and many, many other songs from popular artists. The songs are the foundation that this film stands on. Various duets, group sing-alongs, and solo performances mix up all the amazing songs throughout the film. That’s one of the reasons why I love this film and the original.
Sing 2 doubles down on what made the first one so popular with children and families alike. It pulls on the heartstrings while also being very accessible for fans of great music. The voiceover work, the animation, and the many song covers are all terrific. This series knows where its bread is buttered, and it’s the music. After all, the title is Sing 2 so the singing better be very good and I have to say, even in small bites, the singing is amazing in Sing 2.
4 1/2 stars
Dan Skip Allen
From the Fourth Row! 