Kid’s animated musicals have been popular since Walt Disney dreamt up a way to bring audiences Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. While Disney continues to be a leader in animated musical releases, other production companies have begun to compete. The genre is being expanded from fun adventures to deep, moving, and mature films that are brightly animated. Sing 2 is the perfect example of this growth by taking a great ensemble film with real consequences and placing them in an anthropomorphic world.
Illumination released the animated family movie Sing in 2016. The movie follows Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey), a koala that makes a last ditch effort to restore his theater to its former glory. He produces a singing competition that brings together a house-wife pig, a timid elephant, a troubled-teen gorilla, and a punk-rock porcupine. As the contestants compete, a misunderstanding puts Moon on the hook for more money than he has.
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When the film was a box office success, Sing 2 was quickly green-lit and was released in 2021. After the events of the first movie, the theater is a success with the competitors as regular reoccurring cast members. When Buster Moon is turned down by a talent scout, he and the crew head to Redshore City. In the entertainment capital of the world, catching their big break seems more difficult than anticipated when they must coax a reclusive rock star out of retirement. None of them know that the entertainment mogul, Jimmy Crystal (Bobby Cannavale), is a dangerous wolf that does not like when things don’t go his way. The team must work together to pull off a grand space opera, or they could face dire consequences.
Wonderful Characters
Universal Pictures
The first film set up a great line-up of characters. Rosita, played by Reese Witherspoon, was a housewife wanting to break out of her routine to pursue her passion for singing. When she is partnered with eccentric Gunter, played by Nick Kroll, she is able to open up into a star. Both Rosita and Gunter are seen in the second film shining as themselves without being afraid or hindered. Johnny (Taron Egerton), the gorilla who wanted to break away from his father’s criminal lifestyle, is seen following his own path with the support of his newly rehabilitated father. Ash, a punk-rocker porcupine, played by Scarlett Johansson, was a shininh star being held back by a bad relationship in the first film. In the second, she is seen as a genuine rock star without inhibitions.
The elephant Mina, played by Tori Kelly, overcomes her stage fright and learns to try new experiences in life. Buster Moon learns from his mistakes in the first film and pursues his dreams with everyone’s support rather than by himself. These characters had their own flaws and were relatable on some level. It gave the film an edge on connecting with the audience.
Individual Struggles
While the characters did overcome a lot in the first movie, the second movie changed up the setting. This opened up the world and took the characters outside of their comfort zones. Each of the characters found themselves in a battle with a new struggle.
Mina is cast as part of a romantic duo when she has never had a boyfriend. Then, as she tries to act as if she’s in love, she develops a crush on a local ice cream man. Johnny is sent to dance class with a top choreographer in Redshore City; however, his inexperience leads the choreographer to intimidate him rather than teach him. Rosita, finally getting her chance at a lead role on the biggest stage in her career, she finds herself unable to perform a key stunt due to an extreme fear of heights.
Ash switches from being the one held behind to being given the task of convincing the reclusive rocker, Clay Callaway (Bono), to come out of hiding. While her struggle focuses on an external problem, she must help Callaway to see that he is hiding away from his emotions. He had locked himself away for 15 years following the death of his wife and had even refused to sing again. This gave a heavy subject for the film to deal with.
True Risks
While most of the characters’ stories deal with a risk of personal failure, the entire show comes with a much greater risk. When Moon pitches the musical to Crystal, it was like making a deal with the devil. Moon struggles to keep Crystal happy with the production, even going as far as giving his daughter, Porsha played by Halsey, in the lead role. However, when Porsha shows she has no acting talent, Moon must switch her to a different role, bringing out Crystal’s true colors. Crystal is a dangerous elite that has the ability to put the entire cast in real danger. This even puts Moon’s life in peril.
The Goal as a Cast
The representation of how a close-knit cast works together was extremely accurate. When the cast traveled to Redshore City, they went as a group of individual minds, all focused on a common goal. They were going to audition for Crystal and get their show produced at a large scale. When Moon exaggerates his affiliation with Callaway, it starts a snowball of risks that they all must bear together. The risks of personal failure and mortal peril targeted the individuals; however, the entire cast faced the dangers together. When one was threatened, they all felt it and took it as an attack on all of them. It made audiences feel as though all the characters were a family. Seeing everyone with their own arcs and struggles, but still working in unison is what made this movie a great ensemble film.
