Sing 2 movie review: A cute film but doesn’t become more than that

Language: English

Like most holiday/festival movies, Sing 2 is bright and cheerful. It’s family-friendly, and the anthropomorphic characters are cute. What it’s missing is the feeling of warmth that most holiday movies envelop you in. 

The sequel of the 2016 movie Sing, this one gets the characters back together to perform a show in Redshore City (the animal version of some kind of Las Vegas and Los Angeles-mix). While the first version showed the creation of the group, this one is more about how they follow their dreams to become major successes in showbiz. 

Mr. Buster Moon, the koala (voiced by Matthew McConaughey), is a theatre owner who has put together a group of actor-musicians who now want to play the big league. This group includes Rosita, a pig (Reese Witherspoon), who’s supposed to be the star of the show; Johnny (Taron Egerton), a gorilla; Ash (Scarlett Johansson), a porcupine; and an elephant called Meena (Tori Kelly). When a scout, Suki (Chelsea Peretti), rejects them, they somehow get themselves to Redshore City, where they convince music mogul Mr. Crystal (Bobby Cannavale) to let them do a show. They have the budgets and the production crew- and only one caveat. They have to get Cary Calloway (Bono), a grumpy lion and pop-star-recluse who has not been seen in the last 15 years, to be the star of the show they put up, called Out of the world. Well, not the only caveat, as they realise when they start working. 

On paper, this sounds like a decent premise and a fun watch. And it is, in some parts. It’s cute. The animation and 3D effects are good, as you would expect from a renowned company like Illumination. The songs are great and don’t feel overused. The colours are fascinating- especially Calloway’s house and the final set and elements for the show they put up. It’s also interesting to see how the writers have shown the translation of a small local show to a commercial vehicle of success. The intricacies and ruthlessness of commercial production are hinted at, especially in contrast with a more innocent and small-scale way of creating art. The pressures faced by Moon, as he directs and leads his show to success in a place where he is out-of-depth, are relatable and often funny. 

Unfortunately, neither the story nor the characters are strong enough to make this movie a compelling watch. There’s only so much you can do when you’re just going for cute, and that shows here. I feel that character motivations and actions need to be clearer- why does Suki go against Mr. Crystal? What exactly is the relationship Porsha has with her father that makes her so eager to rebel? Why are people acting snobbish and rude in Redshore City? All of this is vague. This is what makes the scene where Rosita faces her fears to save a friend so significant for me- it is an excellent example of how simply character psychology can be shown, but something the movie refuses to do for the most part. Since the story doesn’t make you feel for the characters or root for them, there is no relief or joy when they succeed. You don’t feel the warmness that comes with an underdog victory I felt it more when Johnny defeats his stubborn and arrogant dance teacher than when the band goes on to perform the show in larger and more popular venues victoriously. 

I’m also a little frustrated by the ordinariness of the story- it’s nothing we’ve not seen before, except this one has anthropomorphic protagonists. When I came back home after watching the movie, my partner asked me, “How was it?” and I said, “There was no meaning”. He laughed- but I stick by my point. I felt that the movie didn’t explore any deeper themes and didn’t try to find an exciting way to tell the story. It wasn’t even entertaining enough to make you forget yourself and your surroundings for two hours just under the story, the characters, and the dialogues. 

I understand that everyone wants something friendly to watch during the Christmas break, and this might be a good one-time watch if you’re ok with your movies being just cute. If not, though, there’s always something better to watch in the theatres or your laptops. 

Sing 2 is running in theatres.

Rating: 2.5/5

Shreemayee Das is a writer and a stand-up comedian. She writes mostly on cinema and culture. You can find her on Instagram and Twitter @weepli.

 

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