It's a tale as old as time: Hollywood finds an original hit and quickly turns it into a budding franchise. Such is the case with Sing, the 2016 animated film that won over audiences with its singing animals and their delightful mix of cover songs. Five years later, Universal is finally ready to release Sing 2, and the result is somewhat disappointing, at least in the sense that it resembles the original movie in a lot of ways. Once again written and directed by Garth Jennings, the Illumination feature is sure to get audiences bobbing their heads and tapping their toes, but one has to wonder if it could've pushed the envelope a bit more. Sing 2 doesn’t offer enough originality to truly make it stand out, though those who got a kick out of the first movie will find plenty to love.
Set years after the first movie, Sing 2 finds opportunistic koala Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) once again reaching for the stars. He's eager for the company at his now-thriving theater to receive even greater acclaim on a bigger stage. When a talent scout (Chelsea Peretti) coldly tells Buster his group doesn't have what it takes, he rounds up the familiar faces from the previous film and brings them to Redshore City (this world's version of Las Vegas). In no time, Buster cons media honcho Jimmy Crystal (Bobby Cannavale) into staging an epic sci-fi musical. The problem? Buster doesn't have much of said show worked out, nor does he have its biggest name: legendary rock star Clay Calloway (Bono). Since the death of his wife, Calloway has become a recluse on his tucked-away estate. It's up to Buster and rocking porcupine Ash (Scarlett Johansson) to bring him back to the land of the living.
Jennings' script includes some beautifully heartfelt moments between Ash and Calloway, and it is their storyline that forms the emotional backbone of Sing 2. Unfortunately, it doesn't truly get started until later on in the film and it's short-changed by frequent cuts back to Out of This World, the show Buster is trying his hardest to bring to life. As a finished product, Out of This World allows for some fun animation, giving Sing 2 an opportunity to expand upon its visuals in a big way. Where Sing 2 falters a bit is with its characters. Of the core group, Ash is the only one to receive a substantial storyline that builds upon her growth from the first movie.
Johansson's strong vocal performance keeps Ash as one of the best characters in the ensemble. Meanwhile, everyone else reverts back to who they were in Sing. Crooning gorilla Johnny (Taron Egerton) and kindhearted elephant Meena (Tori Kelly) perhaps suffer the most as their arcs are just slight deviations on what they had before. Johnny struggles to learn a new talent once again (this time dancing, aided by Letitia Wright's Nooshy) while Meena finds herself clamming up in the face of romance. Reese Witherspoon's Rosita, now able to balance her home life with her starry dreams, ends up sidelined by the plot Jennings gives her, which sees her replaced by Jimmy's ditzy daughter (Halsey, a great addition). Finally, Buster doesn't appear to have learned anything from his frequent conning in Sing, leaving him to hit the same beats he did before.
As a result, Sing 2 doesn't offer much that wasn't already a part of the first movie. At its core, the film is still about a bunch of animals trying to put on a show involving some beloved tunes. Now, this will hardly bother Sing 2's target demographic; young audiences will still get a kick out of watching animals sing Taylor Swift and Shawn Mendes. When it comes to its soundtrack, Sing 2 is stuffed to the gills with needledrops to the point where it makes this year's Cruella feel tame. In the first half, this makes the movie feel more like a music video than an actual film. Perhaps if the plot was stronger, or deviated more from the original, there could be enough there to make it stand proudly on its own as a great animated sequel.
That isn't to say that Sing 2 isn't fun. The returning voice cast has no issues settling back into their old characters and the climactic performance of Out of This World will have audiences singing along. Ash and Calloway's big moment in particular elicits chills. But since 2016's Sing was a fairly original musical, its sequel didn't do enough to justify itself. Should there be a third movie, one has to hope it will push the boundaries of what a Sing movie can be. There's still enjoyment to be had here, even if it feels too much like déjà vu.
Sing 2 releases in theaters on December 22. The film is 112 minutes long and rated PG for some rude material and mild peril/violence.
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