Good afternoon everyone! Today, after a long time of us being absent from this particular animation company for a while, we now return to the world of Universal, and Illumination. Of course we’re talking about the very animation company that made the Despicable Me movies, The Secret Life Of Pets 1 & 2, The Lorax, the 2018 animated adaptation of The Grinch, and 2016’s Sing. Well, today, the characters of the 2016 film, Sing (which was released back in December of that year) made another big screen debut once again in December of this past year, in 2021, in an attempt to make things bigger, and better? Did our friends Buster Moon the koala, Ash the hedgehog, Rosita the pig, and the rest of the animal gang succeed in their mission, or was the world better off just seeing them in 2016’s Sing? Let’s find out, as we dive into reviewing Sing 2!
Plot: Sometime after the events of Sing 1, the optimistic koala Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughy), and his animal theater friends are beginning to thrive at the Moon theater. But soon after, an opportunity arises for Buster Moon, and his employees to perform a show in front of at a place called Redshore City, a fictional city that’s like the real life city of Las Vegas. Jimmy Crystal (Bobby Cannavale), a wolf that is the head of the entertainment industry in Redshore City, agrees to have Buster Moon, and his team perform a space show, on the condition that they convince a rock star lion named Clay Calloway (Bono) to be part of the show in three weeks. With some rehearsing, and attempting to convince Clay Calloway to be part of their show, Will Buster Moon the koala, Ash the hedgehog (Scarlett Johansson), Rosita the female pig (Reese Witherspoon), Gunter the male pig (Nick Kroll), Miss Crawly the lizard (Garth Jennings), Meena the elephant (Tori Kelly), and Johnny the gorilla (Taron Egerton) succeed in making a great new show, and going to new heights, or will Buster, and the gang wish that they had just stayed in their comfortable position at the Moon theater?
Now, as many of us know, sequels are not always as good as their predecessors, whether they be sequels that go to theaters, or the bigger hit sequels that hit theaters. However, especially when it comes to some sequels that come to theaters, there are those rare to fewer sequels that succeed in being as good, if not better, than their predecessors. Well, be not afraid, ladies and gentlemen, as Sing 2 is one of those rare to fewer sequels that succeeds in being just as good, maybe even better than the first Sing film. First of all, as you watch this film, you can tell right off the bat that Sing 2 is trying to go to bigger heights than the first film tried to reach. Did this film succeed in that regard? Very so! Granted, some of Moon’s methods of trying to get himself, and his gang to certain heights weren’t exactly the best. Still, despite that, there are ways in which you can understand where Moon, and his team are coming from. The characters are also well done even this time. Yes, the old characters from the first film were well written. However, in this sequel, not only is that the case in this sequel, but there seems to be even more buildup to some of them this time around time. What’s more is that you get to even see a newer side to some of the older characters that we didn’t get to see quite nearly as much in Sing 1. Props to the makers of this sequel for showing proof that that’s part of what helps make a sequel just as good, if not better, than it’s predecessors, or, in this case, just predecessor. And, of course, how could I not mention even a little bit about some of the newer characters like Jimmy Crystal’s daughter Porsha (Halsey), Nooshy (Letitia Wright), Klaus Kickenklober (Adam Braxton), and some of them? Be it positively, or negatively, these characters get some really amazing character arcs. Likely because of the fact that, like the first Sing film being nearly two hours long, these arcs work amazingly well in this sequel that’s nearly two hours long as well. I mean none of them probably would have worked as well had this film only been say 90 minutes long, or something like that, had films like Sing, and Sing 2 been released 10-20, maybe 30 years ago. However, because these films were released in just recent years, and the filmmakers were willing to go so far as to make them both around two hours long, having quite a few characters crammed in especially this sequel, ends up working as miraculously well. That’s saying something especially for either an animated movie, or an animated sequel, wouldn’t you say? Then again, many animated films have come so far in that regard in recent years (Sing, 1, and 2, Zootopia, and Moana, anyone?). Oh, and another thing to mention! Sing 2 ends up having better developed villains this time around. Not to say that the villains in Sing 1 were poorly developed, or anything like that. Still, when it comes to the villains of this sequel, they end up having very good memorabilia. Well done, Universal/Illumination! Additionally, the animation is also phenomenal, particularly when we have a couple musical sequences that occur around the middle to end of this film. Nevertheless, the animation is overall just as awesome, maybe even better than in the first Sing movie. Still, it’s really in certain musical moments around the middle to end of this film that seem to serve as the stand out moments. So much so that it wouldn’t be surprising if people were to compare those moments to the stunning animation in a scene such as when “Firework” plays in DreamWorks Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (which of course came out almost a decade ago). Oh, and another thing! Even if most of the songs in this film will be ones that people had heard before, how could you still not like the songs in this film? The film is also incredibly funny at times. Finally, Sing can provide some really good lessons in terms of teaching us that trying to please everyone in the world is not always the best idea, people can’t always be trusted, and that people should be angry, but not sin in the process.
And that’s my review for Sing 2. If you’ve at least seen the trailers for Sing 2 , but never seen the movie itself, I’d highly recommend that you do so. You know that feeling that many of us got with the trailers for Zootopia, where we expected it to be enjoyable for the most part, but not expecting to be as full of craft, and heart as it was? Well, as astonishing as this may sound, you will oddly enough probably find yourselves feeling that way after you walk out of seeing this Sing sequel, Sing 2. It is really fun, has incredible animation, has great, and likable characters, both old, and new alike, and provides some really great morals. I would say that if you can, definitely make it a point to see Sing IN THEATERS before it leaves, and goes to video. Sing 2 is undeniably one of those films that deserves to be seen on the big screen itself! After watching it, you won’t regret it. In fact, you’ll find yourself surprised by how fun this film is on the end.
Final Grade: A+
Matthew’s Animated & Live-Action Movie Reviews 