Sommerleigh Pollonais, Senior Writer
Plot: Buster Moon and his friends must persuade reclusive rock star Clay Calloway to join them for the opening of a new show.
Review: While I saw the original Sing I have to admit I don’t remember much about it. There was a singing pig (I remember her singing in a grocery and having a ton of piglets). I remember a gorilla whose family was criminals of some sort. And I remember Seth MacFarlane voicing a rat or a hamster or something. That’s about it. But I also remember the tunes being very catchy not because of their originality but because all of the songs are well-known hits.
So Sing 2 comes along (I didn’t know they were making a sequel) and with slim pickings this early in the year I decided, “Why not?” Well the tunes are still catchy (I’m positive the majority of this movie’s budget was spent on song royalties) and the voice cast is still chock full of well-known talent. But sadly I can already predict that if I couldn’t remember most of the first film I’m going to forget about the majority of this sequel very soon.
From Illumination, the same studio that made the Minions loveable (and then gradually annoying), the visuals are fine; nothing really jumps out at you but it does look just like its predecessor. So if you enjoyed that animation you’ll be pleased with what you find here. The comedy is heavily reliant on slapstick and not so much on sharp dialogue so your enjoyment will rely on where your sense of humour falls. Some of it worked for me, like the “mopping scene” and the lizard driving the Ferrari (no, I’m not having a stroke, this actually happens,) but unlike films like Megamind (which I think is very underrated) or Despicable Me I just don’t see myself happily quoting lines from this like the big kid I am.
Nearly every big budget animation film has a theme or a message so what’s at the heart of Sing 2? I honestly couldn’t tell you. The story continues with the anthropomorphic cast where they are hoping to perform on a much bigger stage. Koala and theater owner Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) takes his troupe of performers—pigs Rosita (Reese Witherspoon) and Gunter (Nick Kroll), porcupine rocker Ash (Scarlett Johansson), singer gorilla Johnny (Taron Egerton) and shy but sweet elephant Meena (Tori Kelly)—to the big city to put on a new show run by hotel bigwig Jimmy Crystal (Bobby Cannavale). Buster convinces Jimmy to finance his musical entitled “Out of this World” based solely on his promise to entice rock star lion Clay Calloway (Bono of U2 fame) out of 15 years of seclusion to make an appearance. Personal stories unfold for each of the performers and…I really don’t think any of it is worth mentioning.
The music will make you tap your toes and sing along but other than that there’s nothing here and no reason I can find for this sequel other than it’s another soulless cash grab. I don’t even think kids will enjoy this beyond maybe having nothing else worth watching at the moment, and maybe because they also like the tunes of which there are many and they break out in one every five minutes. So if you’re looking for something with heart and purpose might I suggest checking out the beautifully executed Encanto (at this point the Academy should just have a Best Pixar Movie Award on standby) and skip this unimaginative effort that is just a Top 40 Billboard line-up in disguise.
Sommer’s Score: 5 out of 10
And you can check out way better animated fare below:
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever, and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes.
Double Tap Baby!