Director: Garth Jennings, Christophe Lourdelet
Distributor: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Duration: 110 minutes
Sing 2 (Blu-ray) – Movie Review
When the original Sing movie was released in 2016 it won over the hearts of many thanks to its goofy and likable characters. The musical performances were top-notch, and this new animated movie was filling a hole in an oversaturated market of ‘samey’ films. Sadly, it seemed that after the first movie the series was left to its own devices and was doomed to fade to the background. Five years later, however, Buster Moon and his loveable band of singers made a return and once again managed to captivate audiences around the world. Now we were lucky enough to receive a physical review copy, and we certainly did enjoy the sequel. We did, however, find it less impressive than the original film.
After the happy ending of the first film, Buster Moon’s (Matthew McConaughey) theater is booming once again. It seems that every show is easily sold out and that everyone is enjoying their time in the spotlight. Nonetheless, Buster thinks his performers can do even greater when they are allowed to perform in the big city. Sadly, Suki (Chelsea Peretti), a professional talent scout, thinks Buster’s productions are not ready for a bigger venue. Even so, Buster is determined to present his troupe to Mr. Crystal (Bobby Cannavale), who happens to be the biggest producer out there. Little did Buster know that Mr. Crystal is a shady figure with a short temper.
The flow of the movie is basically the only thing that holds it back from being just as good as the original. While the 2016 movie also had the same length, it did have a lot more content to process when it came to setting the stage for all the different characters. For some reason, it seems to be the goal to make movies longer and longer, and for animated movies, this is often what drags down the experience. In this case, the movie progresses at a too slow pace, and there are many scenes that feel redundant. It feels as if the directors wanted the movie to be longer to make sure every character would get its time in the limelight, but it ends up damaging the overall experience. Nonetheless, the film does build further upon the foundation of the first movie, and it does throw a few new interesting characters in the mix. That being said, the new characters’ personalities remain quite shallow throughout the course of Sing 2, which is also a shame. We do have to compliment the visual artists for this movie, as not only the characters are once again very nicely animated, but the sets are absolutely amazing. More than once our focus shifted to take in the backdrops, rather than focus on the story.
Most of the cast members of the first movie have returned for this sequel but also many new stars have joined the already impressive voice cast. Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Tori Kelly, Nick Kroll, Garth Jennings, and Taron Egerton all flesh out the characters they voiced in the first movie, and they do so splendidly. New cast members include Chelsea Peretti, Bono, Halsey, Bobby Cannavale, and many more. These new actors all go hand in hand with their characters, but we do have to mention that Peretti’s character Suki felt a bit bland when looking at the rest of the very colorful and unique characters in the world of Sing. Bono, like him or not, is certainly skilled in his own field, but his voice acting skills felt a bit lacking compared to the other veteran voice actors. Stealing the show here was Halsey, who puts down a stunning performance both as an actress and a singer.
The Blu-ray version of Sing 2 comes with loads of special features. You’ll be able to see two short stories revolving around several of the main characters of the film, but you’ll also get sing-along clips, and drawing tutorials, and you’ll be able to get to know the cast members behind the cute and furry animals that we see in the film. As a whole, most of the content is directed toward a younger audience, but even adults can join in on the fun. We very much liked the short cartoons, but the extra child-friendly content is certainly a plus for the younger viewers.
Conclusion
Sing 2 is a nice sequel to the original 2016 movie, but it fails to deliver an equally as captivating story. We loved the offset of this story, but the pacing felt off, and the movie was simply around half an hour too long. We absolutely adored the ‘set-building’ for this film, as well as the special features included when buying a physical copy. If you enjoyed the original, you’ll certainly find this second movie entertaining as well. If a third part is released, we hope the film sticks more to the core of the story and doesn’t try to needlessly drag things out. That being said, this one is fun for young and old.
Sing 2 (Blu-ray) - Movie Review,
No Comments