Sing 2

Sing 2 is a computer-animated musical comedy film produced by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures. This is a sequel that serves as a continuation of the 2016 film Sing. This movie is written and directed by Garth Jennings, co-directed by Christophe Lourdelet, and stars the ensemble cast consisting of Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Taron Egerton, Tori Kelly, Nick Kroll, Jennings, Peter Serafinowicz, Jennifer Saunders, and Nick Offerman, reprising their roles from the first film. New cast members include Bobby Cannavale, Pharrell Williams, Halsey, Chelsea Peretti, Letitia Wright, Eric André, Adam Buxton, and Bono.

Sing 2 had its world premiere at the AFI Fest on November 14, 2021, and was theatrically released in the United States on December 22, 2021, in RealD 3D, by Universal Pictures.

Plot
Can-do koala Buster Moon and his all-star cast of animal performers prepare to launch a dazzling stage extravaganza in the glittering entertainment capital of the world. There's just one hitch -- he has to find and persuade the world's most reclusive rock star to join them. What begins as Buster's dream of big-time success soon becomes an emotional reminder of the power of music to heal even the most broken heart.

Why It's Activating Piggy Power

 * 1) Amazingly beautiful animation that is a big step up from the first film. In fact, it's shockingly comparable to that of a live-action film. Illumination is known for having good animation like most other animation studios, yet this movie takes it to the top.
 * 2) Great voice acting as usual with newcomers such as Bono, Halsey, Pharrell Williams, Letitia Wright, etc.
 * 3) Many hilarious moments, like various animal characters getting rejected during Jimmy Crystal's audition, Buster's disguise plan, the piglets raiding a buffet, and Miss Crawly's encounter with Clay Calloway.
 * 4) The characters are still pretty likable much like in the first movie and the same goes with the new characters.
 * 5) *Porsha at first starts off as a spoiled brat who appears to be a typical Daddy's girl-like character. But she ends up helping out Buster for the show later on and ends up being on Buster's side.
 * 6) *Clay Calloway is a retired rock star who used to be a player until his wife died. It was really hard for Clay to get back in the spotlight due to his trauma, but he eventually warms up. After learning about Buster attempting to escape Redshore City, he says to him that he should never run and hide as he did after losing his wife.
 * 7) *Though predictable due to his looks and behavior, Jimmy Crystal is a threatening villain and is by far the most threatening villain in the Sing franchise and possibly even in all Illumination movies to the point where he can become legitimately terrifying at times. What we mean by threatening is that he attempted to kill Buster not once, but twice, yet thankfully he failed.
 * 8) We get to explore more from the world of Sing. Rather than just taking place where Buster and his friends live, we get to explore Redshore City, which looks impressive from a visual perspective.
 * 9) Incredible soundtrack with some of the songs being good covers sung by various characters. Much like the first film, it uses songs as one of the methods to get into musical numbers and transitions.
 * 10) Before the movie, the Illumination logo is a lot different from their previous ten films. Rather than the Minions just simply appearing in front of the logo during the opening, they end up singing the company's name in their own language with the Illumination logo appearing at the very top above the Minions, then it shuts off at the last minute. Even though the Minions can be a bit annoying for some and charming for others, this was still interesting what Illumination did with the logo. Maybe some of the company's next few films could have characters from a different movie doing what the Minions did in prior films, or this can end up being the defacto variant.
 * 11) Gunter had a wonderful idea for Buster Moon's show. As silly as it sounds, he decided to help Buster Moon to create a space-themed show that would feature Clay Calloway. The idea has gotten to the point where his pitch was chosen instead of Buster, who would eventually stick with Gunter's idea.
 * 12) *Speaking of Gunter, he is surprisingly even funnier and more hilarious than he was in the first film.
 * 13) Some of the characters from the first film now face some new challenges.
 * 14) *Buster Moon wants to make his theatre more known to Redshore City to impress an entertainment mogul while attempting to recruit a reclusive rock star to perform for Buster. Now he wants to follow his dreams a lot more. Then there is the other story arc about how he wants to escape from the city after getting in trouble with Crystal. Thanks to Clay, Buster gets back on his feet no matter the circumstances.
 * 15) *Rosita is afraid of heights. While Porsha briefly takes over her role as the main lead of the musical, Rosita does feel rather concerned about the change. Later on, she goes back to being the main character of the play, even saving Buster's life by facing her fears.
 * 16) *Johnny wants to dance due to Gunter's pitch where he is seen in a battle. However, he hates his practice due to Klaus treating him badly as a newcomer. It wasn't until Nooshy helps Johnny to train for the dance without having to let Klaus teach him.
 * 17) *Meena has been put into a romance scene where she does not have any good chemistry with Darius. Later on, she meets an ice cream vendor named Alfonso, who is also an elephant, whom she falls in love with. Meena decides to still dance with Darius despite this, imagining that her partner is Alfonso.
 * 18) It picks up where it left off showing signs of continuity from the first film. Nana helped Buster buy the lot in the first movie before the theatre was rebuilt, and she does get to appear as a side character. She even encourages Buster to go recruit his friends from the first movie and go to Redshore City.
 * 19) The Out Of This World musical that Buster in the gang put up reveals the biggest and strongest moments for the characters.
 * 20) *Johnny ends up doing well at his dance number, thanks to his lessons with Nooshy.
 * 21) *Rosita faces her fear of heights, by jumping at the last minute to save Buster Moon.
 * 22) *Clay finally gets to shine after 15 years of not playing, or even listening to his songs. And who could not forget the covers?
 * 23) Just like the first movie, it knows when to be funny and when to be more grounded.
 * 24) The beginning of the movie is quite mysteriously good and atmospheric. It starts off with Meena who appears to be in the dark woods. She then falls and sees a small door. You then realize that the entire opening is a cute performance based on Alice in Wonderland.
 * 25) The scene where Johnny gets to reunite with his dad from the first movie is touching but also becomes hilarious after the gorilla gang gets to be security guards.
 * 26) Good ending: Buster Moon and his friends pleased the audience only for Crystal to get arrested after he showed up on the stage. Buster is then offered to perform in another theater.
 * 27) It provides many good morals, such as:
 * 28) *Do not give up working hard at your dreams because Buster wants to go to Redshore City as well as other characters facing problems (like Rosita developing a fear of heights).
 * 29) *Hiding does not help thanks to Clay.
 * 30) *Dealing with loss, disappointment, and grief as it's never the end of the world.
 * 31) *The scene where Clay is about to perform with Ash is also sends a good message that music can even heal the broken heart.
 * 32) The incredible direction that Garth Jennings did in the first film is at its best in this new film.
 * 33) The movie includes multiple cameos from characters who appeared in the first movie. For example, the J-Pop singing band of red pandas, who made an appearance in the first movie, make an appearance in the scene where Ash performs in a rock venue.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Despite being executed well, its plot does feel similar to the first film.
 * 2) For some reason, Eddie and Mike don't appear in this movie. In Mike's case, it's obvious because he got in trouble with a group of bears due to his ego for money, possibly having skipped town or been eaten (and possibly because Mike’s original voice actor, Seth MacFarlane, is busy working on Family Guy and American Dad!). However, Eddie's case is especially notable since his Nana appears while he isn't even mentioned (outside a brief cameo on a magazine cover), plus the movie didn't give a reason why he should be absent, he should have gotten a post-credits scene.
 * 3) Some character designs are reused much like its predecessor, such as some turtles that appear in this movie. This is common with most of Illumination's movies, however.
 * 4) The humor, while great, can be mediocre and a bit inappropriate like the infamous scene where Crystal gets off from his bed naked albeit off-screen.
 * 5) During the audition scene, there is a slightly creepy scene of a face painted lemur which may scare some children.
 * 6) Despite being the most threatening, Crystal is a pretty predictable villain, from his looks all the way down to his behavior.
 * 7) Klaus is unlikable as he is strict with Johnny during training. He even attempted to fight Johnny onstage until the latter defeated the former and gives respect to Johnny.
 * 8) Porsha can be a bit annoying for some.
 * 9) The chemistry and interaction between Meena and Darius is poor, though this is justified as being somewhat intentional as Meena didn't want to fall in love with Darius, instead falling in love with Alfonso.

Critical response
The movie got mixed-to-positive reviews from critics but was very well received by audiences and fans of the first film.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 69% of 111 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Second verse, same as the first: For audiences that enjoyed the first installment, Sing 2 should prove another endearing diversion." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 49 out of 100 based on 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare average grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale (the first Illumination film to receive this grade), while PostTrak reported 91% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 78% saying they would definitely recommend it.

Box office
As of January 27, 2022, Sing 2 has grossed $129.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $112.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $242.3 million. On January 8, 2022, it became the first animated film of the COVID-19 pandemic to cross $100 million at the U.S. and Canadian box office as well as the first film since Frozen II to reach this milestone. It also became the highest-grossing animated film of 2021.

Accolades
The film was nominated for an Annie Award for Best Animated Feature and a Kids Choice Award for Favorite Animated Movie.

Trivia

 * There is a Comcast commercial related to Sing 2 which featured the song Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).
 * Porsha had a bit of a buzz on the internet due to her being a female wolf.
 * Sing became the third Illumination film to be a franchise, after Despicable Me and The Secret Life of Pets.
 * This is the first Illumination film to be released on digital through video-on-demand just 17 days after its theatrical release.
 * So far, the longest Illumination film.
 * Clay Calloway's name serves as a tribute to real-life musician Cab Calloway.
 * When Klaus Kickenklober is talking to Johnny and Nooshy they repeat, verbatim, the "riffraff, street rat" exchange from Disney's Aladdin. Unusual as the films are the properties of different studios.
 * The scene where Ash argues with a venue owner for underpaying her for her performance has a parallel to Scarlett Johansson's legal conflict in 2021 with the Walt Disney Company when she complained that the company underpaid her concerning the theatrical release of the film, Black Widow.
 * Snowball from The Secret Life of Pets is referenced in the movie as the gorilla gang wears masks (which also appear in the first movie) that resemble the character.
 * The first animated feature film to star Letitia Wright, Chelsea Peretti, and Bono.
 * The first Illumination film to be released in the 2020s.
 * The Latin American Spanish dub had Puerto Rican singer Chayanne's voice, Clay.
 * The movie was originally supposed to be released December 25, 2020, but due to The Croods: A New Age taking that slot, it was shifted to July 2, 2021, before finally settling on December 22, 2021.

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