Revisit the heartfelt fun of “Sing” (2016), with “Sing 2.” PHOTO CREDIT: people.com
When “Sing” first came out, I watched it with my younger brother and immediately fell in love.
The kid’s movie quickly became the main topic of my friend group in high school at the time. We were mesmerized by the characters and storyline and we brought it up at every possible moment.
The first film follows a group of singing animals, mainly a koala named Buster Moon who owns a failing theater. He loves his business, so he creates a singing competition with a huge cash prize reward to bring attention and customers to the theater.
The movie follows Buster, a mouse named Mike, an elephant named Meena, a pig named Rosita, a gorilla named Johnny and a porcupine named Ash. Together the crew ends up saving the theater while dealing with difficult issues like social anxiety, trying to reclaim independence as a mother, dealing with a cheating partner and grappling with family involvement in crime.
The characters and plot were dynamic and three-dimensional so I was very excited when “Sing 2” was announced. I was nervous though, as a lot of fantastic standalone movies are plagued by the second movie never reaching the potential of the first, but this fear was dispelled minutes into the movie.
In the sequel, Buster Moon’s theater is thriving but fails to impress a talent scout who comes to watch a play. The group seeks out a media and entertainment tycoon, a wolf named Jimmy Crystal, who agrees to fund their play because of a misunderstanding about Clay Calloway. He thinks the group can get Clay, a rock star lion who hasn’t sung in years, to be in the play. The main conflict is trying to convince Clay to come out of hiding but also touches on subplots like stage fright, first loves, struggling with something you’re passionate about, dealing with the death of a loved one and, similar to the first movie, a criminal villain involved in the play.
I love this series because of how intersectional and complex the story is. Most movies have one central theme or moral you resonate with at the end of the credits, but with “Sing” you follow each character’s individual burdens and learn insightful lessons from each and every one of them.
The song selection is also great, a lot of songs are showcased in the audition scenes when there are short clips of different animals singing to popular songs, from Adele’s “Hello” to Taylor Swift’s “…Ready For It?” and it creates a fun mashup of well-known songs.
My favorite new character was Crystal’s daughter, Portia, who sings “Girl on Fire” by Alicia Keys while flying on suspended wires around the set, which resembles planets in the galaxy. Halsey voices Portia, and her performance combined with the imagery of the scene gave me goosebumps that stuck with me even after the movie was over.
I also enjoyed watching the storyline with Cal Calloway. I cried when I learned about his wife who passed away, and I cried again when he performed on stage and found happiness in his music again.
Overall, “Sing 2” does a great job of making you laugh, cry and feel like a kid again. It’s one of my favorite movies and I think it will be forever. If you haven’t seen either of the “Sing” movies, what are you waiting for?