To expand upon my quick thoughts in the video, Sing 2 is a computer-animated jukebox musical comedy film written and directed by Garth Jennings. A sequel to the 2016 film Sing, the film features the returning voice talents of Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Nick Kroll, Taron Egerton, Tori Kelly, Nick Offerman, and Jennings. Newcomers include Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Pharrell Williams, Letitia Wright, Eric André, Chelsea Peretti, and Bono. The story is set sometime after the first film and shows Buster Moon’s theater has become very popular in Calatonia. However, when a talent scout tells Buster that his plays are not fit for the Las Vegas-inspired, Redshore City, he takes his theater troop there to sneak into an audition with entertainment mogul Jimmy Crystal. After they fail the audition Jimmy gives Buster’s troop another shot after hearing Gunter’s pitch for a space-themed show featuring Clay Calloway, a rock star who has not been seen in 15 years.

Like the first film, Sing 2 is aimed towards kids. The story is relatively weak with the main aspect of bringing Clay Calloway out of retirement being all too easy. There are a lot of plot devices that require the audience to take a leap of faith and just check all logic at the door which is easy with an enemy to feel about talking animals. Sing 2 is very fast-paced and you don’t have time to get to know the characters as they are now. Buster Moon has a mission and the film is all about him completing that mission. Seeing as Sing came out in 2016, it felt like the studio wanted to reacquaint the audience with the characters by having them go through the same exact problems that they had in the first film. Buster wants more for himself, Johnny feels out of place, Meena gets stage fright, etc. Doing this is a mistake because it feels like we are rehashing some of the same plot elements instead of moving the characters forward.

Also, some characters are inexplicably missing from the sequel. Eddie, Buster’s best friend, and Nana’s grandson is nowhere to be seen let alone mentioned. This was strange as his character was a major player in the first film. It’s understandable for a scheduling conflict to prevent an actor from returning to a film, but with animated films if there is a scheduling conflict or if anything else happens they can always re-cast the voice. If they didn’t want Eddie in the film a line to explain his absence would have been nice as well.

The animation is decent and the covers of all the songs genuinely warm the heart. That’s a thing about jukebox musicals; if the story is not good enough for you, at least you’ll love the music. The music is also very diverse, encompassing pop, rock, old, new, etc. Another interesting aspect about animated films is that you’re not always sure who’s voicing who unless they have a very distinct voice or you have researched the characters beforehand. For example, Halsey voices Porsha. Yet, for most of the film, I thought Porsha was voiced by Margot Robbie. The character sounds a lot like Harley Quinn and I’m not familiar with Halsey’s music.

Overall, this film is nowhere near as enjoyable or fun as the first. The first film did not need a sequel and unfortunately, this film came about two years too late. I give Sing 2 a Solid 6/10. There’s no need for a Sing 3, but knowing how these films tend to resonate with younger audiences and make a lot of money, we’re going to get another sequel or spin-off at some point.