Sing 2 (Me) (Kids)

There's nothing new in Garth Jennings' Sing 2 but that's not really the goal here. It's all about small bums on seats, and if the crowd for this preview screening is any indicator, that's what they'll get. The kink of 'peopling' the film entirely with cartoon animals, in the vein of Zootopia or Kung Fu Panda, gives the animators and writers a lot to play with. Realism is not an issue here, and fair enough. If you have someone use an apple as a false eye, narrative rigour is the least of your concerns.

This film sees koala impresario, Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) still running his theatre show from the first Sing, but aiming higher. After a snooty talent scout leaves a showing of Alice in Wonderland, Moon gathers the cast (Scarlett Johansson, Reece Witherspoon, Taron Egerton, etc.) and heads to Redshore City to try out for media guru, Jimmy Crystal (Bobby Cannavale). Drawbacks (obviously) appear throughout but eventually, they're tasked with putting on a sci-fi musical, 'Out of this World', the brainchild of camp German pig, Gunter (Nick Kroll). The caveat is that music legend, Clay Calloway (Bono) must be in it. Only, they haven't asked him AND he's a famous recluse. 

The story rides these peaks and troughs in a pretty formulaic manner, and the outcome isn't in any doubt, but again, that's not what this type of film is going for. Warm fuzzies and animated slapstick are on the bingo card and each get a check mark. The thematic keynotes of humility (Porsha Crystal, voiced by somebody called Halsey - ask your kids?), grief (Calloway) and perseverance (Moon, Rosita and the whole cast) stick out like hazard lights, avoiding any nuance.

There were a couple of catchy tunes - a bit of Prince, a dash of Steve Winwood, a pinch of System of a Down, and a whole dollop of stuff this 80s child had never heard of. The voice cast are solid to great, with highlights being Leticia Wright, as street dance cat Nooshy; Dr. Buccles, as monkey Klaus Kickenklober; Peter Serafinowicz, as Big Daddy gorilla; and Kroll's Gunter (following on from his theft of the first film). Having Bono as the music legend might have some people with musical taste raising an eyebrow, but really, I wonder who else could have fit the parameters. Voice-wise, Tom Waits or Iggy Pop would have been good shouts, but their songs aren't as well know as U2s. Bryan Ferry? Morrissey? Robert Plant? Come to think of it, Jagger probably would have been my pick, but Bono worked well enough, schmaltz notwithstanding.

Dads-eye view - mildly diverting, occasionally annoying.

Kids-eye view - fun, noisy and interesting.

Sing 2 opens in cinemas on Boxing Day.

See also:

The whole Calloway angle reminded me of the underseen Brad Pitt sci-fi, Ad Astra (2019), directed by James Gray, and the progression from Sing to Sing 2 put me in mind of the (not great) fitbah films Goal! The Dream Begins (2005), directed by Danny Cannon and (strangely) Michael Winterbottom, and Goal II: Living the Dream (2007), directed by Jaume Collet-Sera. And there was a third of those, too. A heads-up for Sing 3?

(Film stills and trailer ©Universal, 2021)