Illumination has managed to stand-out from animation studios such as Disney and Dreamworks with an interesting mix of family friendly films. They don’t attempt to out-do their sister company’s quantity of films, instead they take time to create stories that will reach thousands of viewers worldwide with strong characters, a picturesque quality of animation and strong filmmakers driving the stories of their films. Filmmaker Garth Jennings was brought in to create the film Sing several years ago which was a great success, but it has taken the studio a long time to develop a sequel which has only just come out.
Sing felt so inclusive with a lot of emphasis on a plethora of characters who all struggle with self-confidence in some way shape or description. Whether it was Taron Egerton’s Johnny whose family don’t accept him as a singer or Tori Kelly’s Mina whose shyness prevents her from following her dreams. These character arcs are re-introduced in this sequel, Sing 2. They’re further explored too as Johnny struggles to meet the expectations Buster Moon has for him and Mina has to discover something that she has not felt before. Yes, this is a family film but having these characters explore their own personal struggles and anxieties helps make them more relatable.
In terms of design the quality of the animation has been greatly increased. We’re lucky that animation studios are putting more and more resources into their technological departments by hiring more graphical animators to help create worlds which we have not seen on the big screen before. The majority of Sing 2 takes place in the fictional Redshore City, which is basically an exaggerated version of Las Vegas. The City feels alive with billboards and background characters shining through the scenery. The scope of the animation lends a certain cinematic appeal and it draws you in whereas other films by Illumination fail to do so sometimes.
The highlight of the sequel is the soundtrack. If you’re a fan of pop music, like myself, then you will thoroughly enjoy the wide range of songs from artists such as Elton John, Billie Eilish, Coldplay and U2, with a certain singer from U2 playing an important character in the film too. The film comes alive towards the end of the film where the heart and soul of the film lies. The only problem is that you can see where the film is going from the moment they arrive in Redshore City, and the ending is spectacular but also slightly distracting with the villain of the film attempting to stop the show even though you know the outcome. This is after all a family film, but it is fun!
★★★★☆
4/5
Sing 2 doesn’t take a lot of risks, but it does increase the scale of the story and the visuals are expanded upon too. All the voice actors bring their characters to life by making them flawed and human, taking a more personal approach to developing them in this sequel. Sing 2 is a great sequel and a great musical with a lot to enjoy and love. Illumination has another winning franchise up its sleeves and it’ll be interesting to see where they go from here.
Thanks for reading today’s blog!
Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions
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