Movie Review: Sing 2

Sing has to be one of the only franchises created by Illumination which I find a genuinely strong product.  Rather than focusing on childish gags and visuals I think the main allure of these films is they present some well-established characters who go through natural growth as the film progresses. I was really impressed by how the film managed to juggle musical numbers and humours yet relatable writing hand in hand all throughout. When comparing Sing 2 to it's predecessor I feel it manages to build upon the strong foundations of the original very nicely but it does falter in some moments. 

Directed and written by Garth Jennings, the film features the return of all the main characters from the original film  along with their respective voice actors. After the events of the prior film Buster Moon and the theatre gang are seeking bigger and bolder enterprises and that takes them to Redshore City.  There they find themselves with an opportunity to set up a bigger and bolder musical production under the funding of media mogul Jimmy Crystal. That in itself is essentially the premise behind of the film. There's small subplots littered throughout which include Johnny learning to dance, Rosita overcoming her fear of heights, Meena falling in love and so forth but the main subplot that the film is pivoted around is Ash and Buster's aim to get retired singer Clay Calloway to perform in the production. It's not just the original characters who get coverage here either, Sing 2 introduced a collection of new characters who stand side by side with the regular cast and do a great job setting an impression.

In terms of narrative, I liked the movie for the most part. I like how it didn't reset any of the development or achievements the prior film set up for these characters. These characters all feel present and responsive in this new narrative too. I just wish the movie would try to explore their characters a bit more. What I appreciated about the first film is they had life issues outside of the theatre production which the film took time to develop and showcase in line with their musical performances.  In Sing 2 it feels the musical production takes more precedence in these characters development than their actual lives do. I feel the only character who get's substantially balanced development is Clay Calloway who has a lot of emotional baggage he's struggling to deal with in the wake of his wife's death.  The musical production storyline at least feels bigger and grander this time around. I like how there's more set pieces to it all and there's a much more fun and inviting feel to the new setting and choreography. 

Visually the animation  work for Sing 2 stands out superbly. While I don't really rate Illumination in terms of their storytelling quality most of the time, they have a consistent animation style which is improving over time and that's clear as day here. Character's are animated in such a vibrant and lively fashion and you can easily read the emotions being broadcasted off of them all. Motion and imagery are also constantly impressive in the movie. Seeing the scale of environments and the detail littered all around the scenes being shown it's mesmerising in all the right ways. I'm also a big fan of the song choice here. With the original Sing I felt like there was a overabundance of "songs of the period" in the movie which didn't often link in with the overall narrative. While I think there's still a few songs which emulate the same situation in Sing 2, I do appreciate the range here and it does feel like there's more songs linked to the narrative this time around.

Sing 2 while it doesn't hit every mark on the board, does manage to reproduce the same positives of the original film. It does it's best to reach for higher ground for the most part but It's easy to notice some missed opportunities with further exploring these characters. On a whole though Sing 2 does have a lot of things with praising and it manages to deliver a symphony for the whole family to enjoy.