With all that has happened throughout the world within the past two years, Illumination director Garth Jennings has graced the holiday season with a joyful animated jukebox musical five years after the release of Sing. The indefatigable Buster Moon (voiced by Matthew McConaughey) and his ragtag band of performers returns in Sing 2, a colorful tale of perseverance and much-needed positivity drenched in familiar songs and a hefty dose of heart. It’s a simple continuation on a theme, but with the beloved characters from the original story making steps toward further growth and a lot of fun and frenetic animated scenes, it’s a welcome brief respite from real-world troubles and will have the audience clapping and singing along throughout.
Buster
Moon’s theatre troupe has been performing to sold-out crowds, but their
small-town show is too pedestrian for a visiting talent scout from the big
city, prompting Moon to hijack an audition with entertainment mogul Jimmy
Crystal (Bobby Cannavale) and improvisedly talk himself into a hugely ambitious
space-themed stage show starring reclusive rock star Clay Calloway (voiced by
U2’s Bono), for which he has only three weeks to prepare. The trouble is, he
doesn’t really know Calloway – who has not performed since his wife’s death
fifteen years prior, he has no ending planned for the story and is, as usual,
flying by the seat of his pants because he genuinely believes in his people and
their talents. Complicating matters are the various struggles of his cast, from
Johnny (Taron Egerton) attempting to learn his dance combat moves from a
drill-sergeant choreographer to Rosita (Reese Witherspoon) developing a sudden
fear of heights and the involvement of Crystal’s daughter Porsha (voiced by
Halsey) who can’t act her way out of a paper bag demanding the starring role.
The real heart of the film is punk porcupine Ash (Scarlett Johansson), whose compassionate wisdom helps Calloway work through his grief with his own music – which, in this universe, is the music of U2, playing a triumphant spine to the body of the denouement in particular. For his part, Bono plays the aging musician with a palpably world-weary despair, a stand-in for the viewer wondering how music can save a soul and rekindle a long-forgotten fire, particularly in a world of disappointment and grief.
As
in the first film, the diegetic performances of songs that are familiar to the
real-world viewers lift up the characters’ feelings and forge a connection to
the story in a unique way. It’s an interesting method to bring the world of
Moon and his group together with the audience in the human theatre, who mostly
know this music already and thus feel they can celebrate or mourn with the
characters in an intimate way. The various branches of the narrative, following
several characters as they do, come together in a satisfying way (if a tidy one
– but this is, after all, a fun family comedy), and there is a sense that this
oddly lovable group can make anything happen if they just put their minds to it
and stick together.
This
isn’t a revolutionary – or possibly even really necessary – sequel, but perhaps
that’s precisely the point. Sometimes, to sit back with snacks and enjoy the
antics of some colorful animated animals and sing along under one’s breath to
U2, Coldplay, and Elton John is a perfect distraction from all the worries and
woes of the world. For its part, Sing 2
is enjoyable and upbeat, the animation is bright and bubbly, and it may be just the thing to kick off a very merry
holiday season.
--Dana Culling
