focus on the family movie review sing 2

Common Sense Media

Movie & TV reviews for parents

• For Parents
• For Educators
• Our Work and Impact

Or browse by category:

• Get the app
• Movie Reviews
• Best Movie Lists
• Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More

Common Sense Selections for Movies

50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12

• Best TV Lists
• Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More
• Common Sense Selections for TV
• Video Reviews of TV Shows

Best Kids' Shows on Disney+

Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix

• Book Reviews
• Best Book Lists
• Common Sense Selections for Books

8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books

50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12

• Game Reviews
• Best Game Lists

Common Sense Selections for Games

• Video Reviews of Games

Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun

• Podcast Reviews
• Best Podcast Lists

Common Sense Selections for Podcasts

Parents' Guide to Podcasts

• App Reviews
• Best App Lists

Social Networking for Teens

Gun-Free Action Game Apps

Reviews for AI Apps and Tools

• YouTube Channel Reviews
• YouTube Kids Channels by Topic

Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids Channels for Gamers

• Preschoolers (2-4)
• Little Kids (5-7)
• Big Kids (8-9)
• Pre-Teens (10-12)
• Teens (13+)
• Screen Time
• Social Media
• Online Safety
• Identity and Community

How to Prepare Your Kids for School After a Summer of Screen Time

• Family Tech Planners
• Digital Skills
• All Articles
• Latino Culture
• Black Voices
• Asian Stories
• Native Narratives
• LGBTQ+ Pride
• Best of Diverse Representation List

Multicultural Books

YouTube Channels with Diverse Representations

Podcasts with Diverse Characters and Stories

Common sense media reviewers.

Star-filled sequel has nonstop tunes, mild violence.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Offers lessons in teamwork and perseverance -- as

Encourages teamwork, honesty, persevering to overc

Buster is dedicated to following his dream but als

On screen, characters are a diverse group of anima

Slapstick violence and threats, but no serious/las

A married couple embraces and briefly kisses. Meen

Insults include "stupid," "loser," "idiot," "freak

Nothing in the movie, but plenty of tie-in merchan

Parents need to know that Sing 2 is the sequel to 2016's popular animated musical comedy Sing . Matthew McConaughey returns as the voice of Buster Moon, the starry-eyed koala theater director who, this time around, tries to stage a show at the glamorous Crystal Theater. But it will only work if he can…

Educational Value

Offers lessons in teamwork and perseverance -- as well as a bit of how showbiz works.

Positive Messages

Encourages teamwork, honesty, persevering to overcome personal and professional challenges. Like first movie, emphasizes following your dreams (though some methods used to get there aren't always ethical), but also focuses on dealing with loss, disappointment, grief.

Positive Role Models

Buster is dedicated to following his dream but also lies to reach that dream. He cares for his cast and friends but doesn't always listen to their challenges. Meena learns to come out of her shell a bit, talk to new people. Rosita gets over her fears. Johnny stands up for himself. Clay Calloway rediscovers his love of music. Jimmy Crystal is self-absorbed, cruel.

Diverse Representations

On screen, characters are a diverse group of animated animals, but main voice actors are mostly White (with exception of Pharrell Williams, Letitia Wright, Eric André). Female characters have agency and value, are in the spotlight as much as male characters.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Slapstick violence and threats, but no serious/lasting injuries. Animals get electrocuted. Buster is nearly killed more than once: nearly thrown off a balcony in one scene; in another, he's pushed off a ledge but saved. Someone is temporarily kept locked in a cage. Dance-style stage fighting with a weapon turns aggressive during the live show. A weapon that looks like a gun (but isn't) is used. Miss Crawly's eye pops out from time to time. A few conversations involve a supporting character's grief over the loss of his dead wife.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A married couple embraces and briefly kisses. Meena develops feelings for a boy she meets. A character's nakedness is implied but unseen by viewers (the characters see it). A dance move to "thrust" is suggestive but likely to be picked up only by older viewers.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Insults include "stupid," "loser," "idiot," "freak," "rubbish," "terribly bad," "clearly poor," "go to heck," "dumb."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Nothing in the movie, but plenty of tie-in merchandise/promotions.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Sing 2 is the sequel to 2016's popular animated musical comedy Sing . Matthew McConaughey returns as the voice of Buster Moon, the starry-eyed koala theater director who, this time around, tries to stage a show at the glamorous Crystal Theater. But it will only work if he can convince the biggest pop star in the world ( Bono , in his animation debut) to come out of retirement. Characters use some insult words ("stupid," "loser," etc.), there are moments of slapstick action, and a couple of scenes are violent/scary, like when a main character is nearly thrown off a balcony and later is actually pushed off a ledge (but saved at the last minute). A few conversations involve a supporting character's grief over the loss of his dead wife. A married couple kiss and embrace briefly, and two different characters flirt with love interests. Like the original, the sequel features dozens of hit classic and contemporary songs and has themes of teamwork, perseverance, and following your dreams. Most of the original cast members reprise their roles, including Reese Witherspoon , Nick Kroll , Scarlett Johansson , Tori Kelly , and Taron Egerton . New additions Bobby Cannavale, Pharrell Williams , Halsey , Eric André , and Chelsea Peretti help round out the cast. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (50)
• Kids say (79)

Based on 50 parent reviews

Too dark for my kids - it upset them

What's the story.

In SING 2, talent scout dog Suki Lake ( Chelsea Peretti ) tells theater director koala Buster Moon ( Matthew McConaughey ) that his production isn't exciting enough to merit a spot at the internationally renowned Crystal Theater in Vegas-like "entertainment capital" Redshore City. Buster disregards her criticism and takes his ensemble -- piano-playing balladeer gorilla Johnny ( Taron Egerton ), teen pop-singing elephant Meena ( Tori Kelly ), and pig pals Gunter ( Nick Kroll ) and Rosita ( Reese Witherspoon ) -- on a road trip to audition for the intimidating Mr. Crystal ( Bobby Cannavale ), a prominent producer wolf. A misunderstanding makes Crystal believe that Buster has secured the involvement of Clay Calloway ( Bono ), one of the world's biggest pop stars, to come out of retirement for the musical extravaganza, so he agrees to hire Buster and his crew. Buster enlists porcupine rocker Ash ( Scarlett Johansson ) to help him track down Clay and convince him to be part of the new show. Meanwhile, the original cast deals with learning new skills for Buster's ambitious dream project.

Is It Any Good?

Likely to amuse young viewers, this well-animated if predictable sequel is propelled by another medley of eclectic song covers. Although Sing 2 isn't on par, animated-movie-sequel-wise, to Toy Story 2 , Despicable Me 2, or Ice Age 2 , those who loved the original's music-video quality and are ready for more of the same will find plenty of tracks to play "name that tune" with throughout the movie. The intergenerational song selections range from Gen X favorites like Prince ("Let's Go Crazy") and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs ("Heads Will Roll") to oldies ("Your Song," "Say a Little Prayer") to contemporary hits like those from The Weeknd and Billie Eilish. The real surprise is that Bono and U2 allowed three of their greatest hits ("Where the Streets Have No Name," "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of," "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For") to be covered in the film.

The movie's plot is uneven, particularly since it recycles some of the same themes from the first movie. And the near constant stop-and-start of the musical numbers occasionally lends Sing 2 a frenetic quality that may not work for viewers who are sensitive to sensory overload. Adults who recognize most of the songs will get a kick out of thinking about how the producers managed to wrangle the rights to all the songs -- and how Bono was persuaded to make his voice-acting debut as a grieving rock legend (a lion, of course) who hasn't performed since his beloved wife died. Not all of the returning characters get fully rounded story arcs, but Johnny and Meena each have moments to shine and connect with someone new. There's probably no need for a third film, but audiences who are already fans of the first Sing will enjoy the music and animal laughs.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Sing 2 's role models . What do they do that makes them admirable (or less than admirable)? How do some demonstrate character strengths like perseverance and teamwork ?

What do you think about the continued storylines for the original characters? Which character's arc do you like the most?

Talk about the song selections. Which ones did you recognize? Did you discover any new songs you like?

Discuss why the character of Clay Calloway is so sad. How do grief and loss affect people differently?

Did you notice any stereotypes in the movie? How can nonhuman characters reinforce stereotypes that we typically associate with people?

Movie Details

• In theaters : March 29, 2022
• On DVD or streaming : March 29, 2022
• Cast : Matthew McConaughey , Scarlett Johansson , Reese Witherspoon , Taron Egerton
• Director : Garth Jennings
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Universal Pictures
• Genre : Family and Kids
• Topics : Music and Sing-Along
• Character Strengths : Perseverance , Teamwork
• Run time : 112 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG
• MPAA explanation : some rude material and mild peril/violence
• Last updated : July 16, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

Our editors recommend.

The Muppet Movie

High School Musical

The Secret Life of Pets

Musicals for kids, offbeat animated movies, related topics.

• Perseverance
• Music and Sing-Along

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

Movie Review: Sing 2

"Sing 2" delivers another feel-good story about determination and friendship … and some minor issues parents will want to know about. Read the Plugged In review: https://www.pluggedin.com/movie-reviews/sing-2-2021/ If you've listened to any of our podcasts, please give us your feedback: https://focusonthefamily.com/podcastsurvey/

In 1 playlist(s)

Plugged In Entertainment Reviews

1,293 clip(s)

Social links

Follow podcast, recent clips.

Movie Review: The Fall Guy

Movie Review: Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie

SiYP: Parents Have the Power Over Screens

Sing 2 Review: A Hyper Colorful Musical Sequel That’s Effortlessly Energetic And Engaging

Illumination entertainment’s true crown jewel shines again..

Animated sequels have to be one of the most difficult projects a studio can choose to tackle. Extensive production cycles alone are enough of a hurdle, as the tastes of the audiences who flocked to a movie like Illumination Entertainment’s Sing back in 2016 may have changed in the time since. Five years later, writer-director Garth Jennings has returned with Sing 2 , a follow-up that hopes to defy the odds that usually stand against animated sequels, not to mention jukebox musicals. What results is a hyper colorful entry that’s effortlessly energetic and engaging, as it revels in its love of big dreams and even bigger entertainment.

With the New Moon Theater thriving, and the contestants from the previous talent show forming a cast/family to keep things going, Buster Moon ( Matthew McConaughey ) is literally living his dream. That’s a dangerous place for a young koala to be, especially when he has set his sights on impressing and auditioning for the infamous Jimmy Crystal ( Bobby Cannavale ), a big wig wolf who has an eye for entertainment as sharp as his teeth. It doesn’t take long for things to get out of control, as Buster promises his cast and he can woo long retired rockstar Clay Calloway (Bono) out of retirement. 

Setting up Sing 2’s story almost feels like remaking the first film’s struggles into a brand new obstacle on the course of destiny. Thanks to the Vegas-style setting of Redshore City, some welcomed additions to the already all-star cast, and an assortment of music that everyone can enjoy, Garth Jennings’ return to animal musicality keeps the heart and the spirit of his previous film alive. That said, there are some minor drawbacks to the "bigger, better" playbook that's mined this time around. 

The jukebox is refilled with songs for children and parents alike in Sing 2. 

Jukebox musicals depend on songs that can easily be thrown together into one overarching story. In stories like Mamma Mia , the thematic structure is less giving, as the entire tale is governed by those tunes. Sing 2 , much like its predecessor, already has the advantage of only relying on the show within the show to make sense, and there’s no problem adhering to that formula the second time around. 

Mixing pop classics, a couple of more obscure songs, and needle drops from Billie Eilish as well as Ariana Grande , the jukebox in operation in Sing 2 will see adults excited to dig in. Engaging in an eclectic musical catalogue will keep everyone listening for the next new and exciting cue that comes on the soundtrack, as cast members like Taron Egerton, Reese Witherspoon, and Scarlett Johansson lend their voices to unique renditions of classics and modern hits. 

Johansson’s porcupine Ash gets a special honor in Sing 2 , as her role revolves around a significant addition to the rotation. As she tries to convince Bono’s Clay Calloway to come out of retirement, that subplot is used to integrate U2 classics as story fodder. The more pop-friendly, hyper colorful landscape of the adventures in Redshore City takes center stage this time around, but Scarlett Johansson ’s performance and vocals on those songs are some of the more emotion based notes in this sequel.

Characters aren’t so much the focus of this time around, as story and showmanship take the lead. 

In Sing , one of the most unexpected triumphs was the emotional motivations of the large cast of characters. Using the talent show to win us over with various attitudes and musical stylings, the focus was more on the hearts of those characters and less on the world around them. Sing 2 doesn’t discard that notion entirely, but it does shift the focus significantly away from the animal cast we’re continuing to follow.

For example, we do get to see harried mother turned stage star Rosita ( Reese Witherspoon ) personally deal with the pressures of learning a new, stunt laden show that pushes her to her limit. The conflict that arises from Buster being pressured to recast her with Jimmy Crystal’s daughter Porsha (Halsey) might have been more significantly covered, if things played a little closer to how the movie’s predecessor laid things out. Instead, that thread is more of a recurring challenge to the overall show, rather than Rosita personally. If Sing was about trying to make stars out of contestants, Sing 2 is more focused on getting the show on the road. 

Such a shift in dynamic is something that could collapse an overly ambitious sequel, as changing things up can only go so far. Perhaps that can be attributed to Sing 2 being built specifically for fans who know these characters, and can remember the previous struggles they went through. That approach still leaves this new adventure wanting for a little more emotional depth, as even the Clay Calloway subplot isn’t enough to make up for that change. 

Most animated musicals wish they had the show stopping finale that Sing 2 busts out — and many have tried.

With the show being “the thing” in Sing 2 , our characters do get to grow and develop through their rehearsals. It’s just that instead of serving their personal and professional goals equally, the balance is tipped slightly towards the latter. Pressure mounts on the actual show itself not to be lame, otherwise the huge finale to which everything is obviously leading could fall flat, killing the vibe the entire movie has been cultivating.

Energy is key, and Sing 2 has it to spare; which can get really annoying if an animated film, especially a sequel, loses its way in the story process. The greatest success to which this project can lay claim is that it somehow takes an animated jukebox musical, uses every color it can think of in its aural and visual canvas, and seizes the audience’s attention from the first number. As far as “the show,” no steps are lost, no beats missed, and the musical finale that closes it all out is a total knockout that should leave viewers smiling from ear to ear. In this component to the overall formula, "bigger and better" works like an absolute charm. 

Even something as simple as hearing Bono sing “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” hit harder than usual in Sing 2 , and that’s because the show that Buster and his crew put on at the end actually works. The visuals can be as striking as any expert animator can conjure, but if the flow isn’t there, it’s all for naught. Many animated musicals have tried to have an ending as impressive, yet cohesive, as Garth Jennings has provided with his new sequel, and the result in this one is impressive enough that fans should be left hoping the director pulls off a hat trick. 

Animated storytelling continues to progress past a point where simple stories and catchy songs are married to entertain children. Movies like Sing 2 represent this medium of storytelling at its finest, allowing all audiences to be entertained in the same fashion and experience the same level of delight. Though it may not be as deep as its predecessor, this is a follow-up that still honors the original, and tries for something new but still familiar. It works like a charm, providing an over-the-top delight that families can enjoy this holiday, before or after checking out any other big blockbusters that might be showing in the theater next door. 

Mike Reyes is the Senior Movie Contributor at CinemaBlend, though that title’s more of a guideline really. Passionate about entertainment since grade school, the movies have always held a special place in his life, which explains his current occupation. Mike graduated from Drew University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, but swore off of running for public office a long time ago. Mike's expertise ranges from James Bond to everything Alita, making for a brilliantly eclectic resume. He fights for the user.

M. Night Shyamalan's Trap Is Worth Seeing, But I Have Some Big Issues With Its Third Act

As A New Casting Rumor About The Hunger Games Prequel Runs Around, Fans Have A Fascinating Theory About What Another Returning Character Could Be

‘Little Bit Of A Battle’: Anyone But You’s Director Reveals How He Fought For Sydney Sweeney Movie’s Theatrical Release

Most Popular

• 2 The Acolyte Season 1 Finale Director Opened Up To Us About Shooting That Major Death Scene
• 3 As A New Casting Rumor About The Hunger Games Prequel Runs Around, Fans Have A Fascinating Theory About What Another Returning Character Could Be
• 4 The Cool Record NCIS' Sean Murray Is Expected To Break In Season 22
• 5 'It Was A Crazy Idea To Me:' A Winning Disneyland Ticket Was Scrapbooked For 40 Years Before A College Student Used It For A Sweet Graduation Trip

Down The Hobbit Hole Blog

5 Lessons from Sing 2 – Parent Review and Discussion Questions

5 Lessons from Sing 2 Parent Review  written by the on December 23rd, 2021 .  This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.  

Know Before You Watch Sing 2

Quick sing 2 parent review summary, sing 2 parent review: .

• -Why Watch Sing 2-

-Is Sing 2 Appropriate to Watch With Your Kids?-

5 lessons from sing 2 by character, sing 2 discussion questions.

Movie : Sing 2 Rating : PG Genre : Childrens, Animated, Drama, Comedy Length: 1 hr 52 mins. Age suggested : 6 and up Release Date : December 22nd, 2021 Warnings : Mild Peril, Slightly inappropriate jokes, Some songs with adult content.

Picking up from where Sing left off, Buster Moon is set on making it big in the big city (equivalent to Las Vegas). When he is faced with utter rejection, Moon is even more motivated to prove himself and his crew. Through some underhanded tactics, he gets in front of the most powerful musical producer. Moon talks his way into a musical, but does his mouth write checks that his act can’t cash?

*** Contains Mild Spoilers ***

– why watch sing 2 –.

Sing 2 has the same overall feeland plot of the first Sing movie. So, if your family enjoyed that movie, this one should also be enjoyable. In some ways, Sing 2 actually shines a bit more than the original. Many of the characters get there own unique subplot that ultimately culminates with the final performance. Each of these subplots have there own life lessons that are simple and digestable for kids of most ages (See our Lessons from Sing 2 by character below).

Visually, this movie has a good contrast of cute characters and stunning visuals (especially during performances). This does a great job at remaining family friendly while also keeping the attention of young viewers. On top of all of this, even though some of the songs can be a bit inappropriate, the soundtrack is quite fun and fitting for the movie. Overall, this isn’t a movie that’s going to change your life, but it provides a fun little family time that everyone can enjoy.

Keep reading for lessons from Sing 2

Sing 2 does contain some mildly disturbing imagery as Buster Moon seemingly is thrown to his death twice (He is saved both times) and there is also some mildly scary imagery in the opening act as an animal spins his head on a dark screen. Like Sing 2, there is some potty humor, such as, the animals being surprised to see another animal naked (nothing is actually shown).

Sing 2 uses a lot of modern day music throughout the film. Although actually cuss words are covered, there is a decent amount of innuendo in many of the songs. Despite all of this, there really isn’t anything too gratuitous in this film and should be able to be enjoyed by most everyone in the family.

-Rosita- Lessons from Sing 2

Despite her fear of heights, Rosita is able to come through in the nick of time. This happens not because of any self-realization, but from a split second choice that had to be made in order to save a life. Rosite teaches us that bravery is in all of us.

-Johnny- Lessons from Sing 2

Johnny was struggling with self-confidence as his overly harsh dance instructor broke him down. It was only when Nooshy, an amazing street dancer, began to teach him that he began to thrive. Johnny teaches us about equity. Doing the same thing for every person will not help everyone thrive. Sometimes we need specialized attention or help to really help us grow.

-Meena- Lessons from Sing 2

Meena is thrust into a romance scene with an over-confident yak who insists that he is an utter heartthrob. When Meena finds a fellow elephant ice cream vendor, she instantly has a crush on him. Meena teaches us that love can look different for everyone and that we need to have confidence to talk with our crush.

-Clay Calloway and Ash- Lessons from Sing 2

In the most emotional story of the film, Clay Calloway has officially retired 15 years prior after the death of his wife. Since then he has become a complete recluse and has pushed everyone out of his life. It takes the compassion of Ash, who insists on staying with him even if he doesn’t help their musical. We see compassion and understanding from Ash. From Clay, we learn about overcoming grief as he learns that he can perform in her honor rather than pushing down his sadness.

-Buster Moon- Lessons from Sing 2

Buster Moon is a bit complicated as he pretty consistently lies and fenagles his way to achieving his goals. In a way, we learn good and bad lessons from Moon. On one hand, we learn that we have to persevere and push through obstacles to achieve our goals. On the other hand, the lesson seems to be that the ends justify the means. Even though he does find himself in some peril, ultimately everything works out just fine for him.

Themes to Discuss : Perseverance, Confidence, Legacy, and Romance

• Which character was your favorite and why?
• Why didn’t Clay Calloway want to sing anymore? What convinced him to return?
• What was your favorite song from the movie? Did you know it before you saw Sing 2?
• Why was Johnny struggling to learn his battle dance? What helped him learn it?
• Would you like to watch “Out of This World?” Which planet/scene would be your favorite?
• Who’s story did you enjoy the most throughout the film?

Thanks for reading our Lessons from Sing 2 . Before you go, check out these other posts:

-Lin Manuel Miranda’s animated musical: Vivo

– Encanto Lessons and Parent Review

– Ron’s Gone Wrong Lessons and Discussion Questions

Down The Hobbit Hole Blog and Lessons from Sing 2 Review   use affiliate links. We only link products we think you’ll like and you are never charged extra for them. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. We also use cookies to gather analytics and present advertisements. This allows us to keep writing discussion questions and telling ridiculous dad jokes. Find our other  reviews  with discussion questions here. Our posts about  faith  here. And our posts about  family  stuff here.

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, chaz's journal, great movies, contributors.

Now streaming on:

Christmas-themed horror stories are perennially popular so allow me to offer up a brief but terrifying vignette along those lines. Picture, if you will, an ordinary adult-type person who has decided to spend a couple of hours over the holidays taking in a new movie and is going over the listings to see what is playing at the local multiplex. Raves for the lovely “ Licorice Pizza ” certainly make that one seem enticing, for example, as does the combination of William Shakespeare , Joel Coen , Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand in “The Tragedy of Macbeth.” They might be curious to see how “ The Matrix Resurrections ” reboots that franchise for a new age and if their tastes are a bit on the racier side, “ Red Rocket ” might be just the thing. So many films out there to choose from but after a few moments of idle speculation, our hapless protagonist is jolted back to their hellish reality and ends up uttering the terrifying words that I fear will be said far too often this season—“Okay kids, let’s go see “Sing 2.””

I suppose I should confess up front that I do not recall anything about the original 2016 film, except for a moment in which a cartoon pig voiced by Reese Witherspoon briefly sings Taylor Swift ’s “Shake It Off.” This means that either I never actually saw the original or I did and, aside from that one bit, managed to completely escape my mind in the interim. If it is the former, there is nothing in this hacky and brutally bland piece of product that makes me feel as if I missed anything. If it is the latter, then I am both relieved and hopeful that it too will quickly fade from my memory as well.

Having saved his local theater through a singing competition that brought together a wide variety of characters, each one with a dream and an easily recognizable recent Top 40 hit in their heart (okay, I took a quick peek at Wikipedia), ambitious koala theatrical impresario Buster Moon ( Matthew McConaughey ) now has an even bigger dream for himself and his troupe of performers—pigs Rosita (Witherspoon) and Gunter ( Nick Kroll ), porcupine rocker Ash ( Scarlett Johansson ), shy gorilla Johnny ( Taron Egerton ) and shyer elephant Meena ( Tori Kelly )—and that is to go to the Vegas-like city of Red Shore and put on a new show at the lavish entertainment complex run by hotel tycoon Jimmy Crystal ( Bobby Cannavale ). Although the actual audition is a bust, Buster convinces Jimmy to finance an elaborate sci-fi stage musical entitled “Out of this World” based solely on his promise to lure legendary rock star lion Clay Calloway (Bono ... yes, Bono) out of 15 years of seclusion to make an appearance.

While Buster, who does not actually know Clay, ventures off with Ash to try to get him to sign on, the others have their own travails to overcome as the production lurches forth. Rosita is set to star in the show but when she's too scared to do a dangerous stunt, she's demoted and replaced by Porsha (Halsey), who cannot act but who can do the stunt and, perhaps more importantly, is Jimmy’s daughter. Johnny gets into a “ Whiplash ”-style battle of wills with a domineering choreographer and winds up taking lessons from street dance Nooshy ( Letitia Wright ). As for Meena, her character has to kiss someone at one point, something that she has never done before, and she feels no attraction whatsoever to her egotistical scene partner ( Eric André ).

Eventually, opening night arrives for the show (which suggests “Barbarella” without the lucid plot) where everything goes predictably out of control before the climax in which Clay makes a triumphant return to the stage. This leads the audience in the film to cheer wildly and the audience in the theater to speculate as to the machinations required to convince Bono to sign on to not only appear but to contribute a new U2 song to the soundtrack as well.

In essence, “Sing 2” is little more than a cross between a lesser Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland vehicle and one of those end-of-year Spotify announcements that people post online to let others know they've listened to Billie Eilish a lot over the past 12 months. Although there are plenty of subplots to be had, there is precious little story driving the enterprise and writer/director Garth Jennings could not care less about such details. The humor is little more than noisy slapstick, the stabs at pathos are almost offensively contrived, and by building a story in which artistic success is equated with glitzy presentation it weirdly undercuts its own message regarding the singular power of music at every turn.

Instead, Jennings is only interested in cramming as many songs into the mix as possible with no other thought governing the selection of tunes other than that they be familiar. The opening, for example, takes the orgiastic excitement of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” and reduces it to meaningless cartoon pablum and that's only the first of numerous musical crimes committed here. The only one that kind of works is Halsey’s take on “Could Have Been Me” by The Struts. But since rocking out is Halsey's day job, that isn’t particularly startling.

Because it doesn’t contain any sex, violence, or bad words and because it is filled with adorable anthropomorphic animals, many parents will no doubt take their kids to see “Sing 2” on the theory that there's nothing bad for them in it. In fact, I would argue that the sheer laziness on display of this soulless exercise in franchise extension is far more damaging. The best family films capture the imaginations of younger viewers and teach them the power of storytelling in ways that can affect them for their entire lives, possibly inspiring them to create their own stories as well. By comparison, “Sing 2” serves no other purpose than to waste a couple of hours. If "Sing 2" teaches them anything, it is to plan for a future in negotiating music licensing for films—hopefully for ones better than this one.

Now playing in theaters.

Peter Sobczynski

A moderately insightful critic, full-on Swiftie and all-around  bon vivant , Peter Sobczynski, in addition to his work at this site, is also a contributor to The Spool and can be heard weekly discussing new Blu-Ray releases on the Movie Madness podcast on the Now Playing network.

Now playing

Doctor Jekyll

Clint worthington.

The Devil's Bath

Simon abrams.

Sorry/Not Sorry

Matt zoller seitz.

The Vourdalak

Tomris laffly.

Harold and the Purple Crayon

My Spy The Eternal City

Christy lemire, film credits.

Sing 2 (2021)

Rated PG for some rude material and mild peril/violence.

110 minutes

Matthew McConaughey as Buster Moon (voice)

Reese Witherspoon as Rosita (voice)

Scarlett Johansson as Ash (voice)

Taron Egerton as Johnny (voice)

Bobby Cannavale as Jimmy Crystal (voice)

Tori Kelly as Meena (voice)

Nick Kroll as Gunter (voice)

Halsey as Porsche Crystal (voice)

Pharrell Williams as Alfonso (voice)

Nick Offerman as Norman (voice)

Letitia Wright as Nooshy (voice)

Eric André as Elwood (voice)

Chelsea Peretti as Suki (voice)

Bono as Clay Calloway (voice)

Garth Jennings as Karen Crawly (voice)

Adam Buxton as Klaus Kickenklober (voice)

Edgar Wright as Additional Voices (voice)

• Garth Jennings
• Gregory Perler
• Joby Talbot

Latest blog posts

I’ve Got A Way With Young People: 25 Years of Dick

The Unloved, Part 128: Cobweb

Shadow of the Erdtree Expands Scope of One of the Best Games of Its Era

Losers Win: Guardians of the Galaxy Turns 10

Movie Review: Sing 2

Illumination has made its business telling beautifully animated stories; vocals are as animated as the images on the screen. Story-wise, they peaked with the nefariousness of Gru and his minions in the first “Despicable Me.” Villains haven’t become as fun-loving since Gru. However, Illumination reached deep into their soul (no pun intended, Pixar), and in 2016, they tapped into the consciousness of the moving going public, getting our feet to tap to “ Sing ,” where stage fright keeps a troupe of animals from their dreams. Back for a second round, Buster Moon, Rosita, Ash, Meena, and the rest of the gang are back to swoon you in “ Sing 2 .”

Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey), having pushed through his stage fright in “Sing,” is poised to put on a new show. It’s a solid production with one little problem: critics, not unlike me, shoot the showdown before it has a chance to get off the ground. Suki, the critic, says that Buster wouldn’t even make it in Redshore City. Undeterred and believing that he has what it takes, he gets the band back together (I think I need to watch “The Blues Brothers” soon), and they all trot off to Redshore City in the hopes of making it big.

Writer-director Garth Jennings returns to the stage, orchestrating one disaster scene to the next. No, the film isn’t disastrous, but the feeling of disappointment sets in quickly after being panned and coincidentally dragged across half the city by Suki (Chelsea Peretti). The opening sequence and the closing number are visually the best bits of the film. Jennings, who also voices Miss Crawly, does an excellent job of bookending the story. It’s the bits in the middle, which feel like a take on Frank Oz’s “The Muppets Take Manhattan”: we are our own worst enemy sometimes, especially when we put ourselves out there.

The passion Buster Moon feels for his works seeps into our hearts; we believe him when he says he can mount a production the likes no one has ever seen. Jennings puts extra emphasis on the supporting characters as they zoom into a Las Vegas-like Redshore City where they come face to face with Jimmy Crystal (Bobby Cannavale), the media mogul behind Crystal Entertainment, who demands a lot and takes no prisoners. Cannavale leaves an impression, and I assure you it’s not from his security guards shoving anyone. There’s a toothsome slinkiness to his character. It isn’t on the same level as Gru, but Crystal is a memorable character.

The supporting voice cast comes on strong; Reese Witherspoon’s Rosita has natural fears she needs to overcome, which leads to a conflict with Jimmy’s spoiled daughter, Porsha, voiced by Halsey. Scarlett Johansson rocks as Ash, a punk rock guitarist. Interestingly, I related the most to Tori Kelly’s Meena as she has her performance issues to overcome, attracting the attention of Alfonso, voiced by one of the franchise’s newcomers, Pharrell Williams. There’s an endearing quality between Meena and Alfonso, which the story, fortunately, doesn’t abandon.

“Sing 2” shines because it reminds us that we need each other, no matter what species of the animal kingdom or humanity from which we come. We can’t go it alone. To that end, Spike Jonze’s Jerry, Jimmy’s assistant, and Jennings’ Miss Crawly are given the most to do within the story – they both do what they must to protect their bosses.

It is where Miss Crawly is concerned. See, the production needs a big act, and only one will suffice: Clay Calloway, a lion, and a former rock legend are secluded. The story gives the details, but it is Miss Crawly who first makes overtures and an impression, driving her sports car like the wild animal she is . . . I’m getting carried away. Ash is the link between Buster and Calloway, and she steps up to the plate admirably, one of the film’s highlights.

Taron Egerton is back as Johnny, and he’s up to his antics. At the same time, Nick Kroll’s Gunter squares off with Adam Buxton’s Klaus Kickenklober (tee hee, what a creative character name!), a dance instructor who squares off with Gunter as he tries to teach him the finer points of dancing. Letitia Wright’s Nooshy draws Gunter’s attention in the right way.

Each character in “Sing 2” has an important role to play. But it feels like it’s shouting “Places!” every five minutes and drags down what would be an otherwise brilliant story. There is no “I” in teamwork, something Buster understands. Our dreams and aspirations won’t ever come true if we don’t try, and the film’s emphasis on teamwork is every bit as important as the fantastic contribution by Bono.

Buster Moon should be this story’s nucleus. The character is present at the beginning and the end. However, Garth sidelines him as each supporting character comes into their own. The focus on the secondary characters should work as a strength, but it also causes me to question Buster’s worth ethic. Was Suki right? Of course not. Buster pulls a magic act; he is the vision, and he needs his team to get the job done, but he doesn’t feel like Kermit in “The Muppets Take Manhattan.”

“Sing 2” reminds us that as much as we need each other, we are our own best cheerleaders, and if we aren’t willing to see the wolf for what it is, we’re going to get swallowed whole. It takes strategy and vision to see the dream through, something the story doesn’t lean on enough. In this case, as much as I liked Mr. Crystal and adored Clay Calloway, the film focuses too much on individual challenges and not the production as a whole.

Even though the kid in me appreciated “Sing 2,” our internal struggles are our greatest enemy; we have to push every day.  Yet, we need a wolf to convince us to move on. If you’re unwilling to do it, you won’t make it in Redshore City.

Or anywhere, for that matter.

Share this:

• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!

About the author: ben cahlamer.

One Comment

[…] Sing 2 appeals to families in the dysfunctional theatrical circuit. Hotel Transylvania: Transformia, the fourth film in Sony’s animated film series, is now Amazon Prime. […]

Leave A Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Find Family Movies, Movie Ratings and Movie Reviews

Sing 2 Parent Guide

The storyline in this muddled movie feels like it exists merely to move the action from one pop song to another..

Theaters: After his hit small town show, stage director Buster Moon sets his sights on the big city and even bigger musical productions.

Release date December 22, 2021

Run Time: 112 minutes

Get Content Details

The guide to our grades, parent movie review by savannah sillito.

After finding success in their small city, Buster Moon (voiced by Matthew McConaughey) and his crew have their eyes set on a bigger dream: performing in Redshore City (their world’s equivalent of Las Vegas). After facing a few setbacks, the team has the chance to create a show for one of the biggest producers in town. There’s just one stipulation: they must convince a reclusive rock star to come out of retirement and join them.

When Sing came out in 2016, I didn’t expect much. (Illumination is, after all, the studio that gave us Minions. )In spite of that, I loved it! It was an original story with fun characters, great jokes, and interesting musical numbers. Going into the sequel, I tried to keep my expectations under control, knowing that animated sequels are almost never as good as the original. And unfortunately, my instincts were correct. Sing 2 fails to live up to the heights of its predecessor and has nothing interesting to say.

The screening I attended was packed with small children. Usually in that situation you can expect lots of laughter at any mildly humorous (or gross) moment. The utter silence in that theater speaks volumes to the lack of humor in this movie. There are a handful of funny moments, and a few heartwarming ones, but overall, it’s a bit of a slog to get through.

On a more cheerful note, there’s less negative content in this installment than in the previous one. The only thing concern is some mild peril related to threats the antagonist makes to Buster’s life, but that gets resolved rather quickly. Low levels of negative content are matched by muted positive messages in the narrative. There are some vague themes around hard work, persistence, and following your dreams, but they never coalesce into anything poignant or memorable. Kids will probably be entertained enough by the colorful visuals to at least sit still for a while, but parents will find little to applaud.

About author

Savannah sillito, watch the trailer for sing 2.

Sing 2 Rating & Content Info

Why is Sing 2 rated PG? Sing 2 is rated PG by the MPAA Rated PG for some rude material and mild peril/violence.

Violence: There are mild slapstick antics, such as falls and hits. Two characters are knocked unconscious by an electric fence. A musical number involves characters pretending to battle with sticks. A character repeatedly shoots another character with a paintball gun. A character threatens to throw someone off a roof and later attempts to follow through on that threat. Sexual Content: A married couple kiss. A character is implied to sleep in the nude, but nothing is shown. Profanity: Mild insults including “loser”, “idiot”, and “stupid”. There is one use of a term of deity. Alcohol / Drug Use: None.

Page last updated May 31, 2022

Sing 2 Parents' Guide

What obstacles do the characters need to overcome to follow their dreams? How do they each grow as people as they solve these problems?

Loved this movie? Try these books…

Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees tells the story of Gerald, a giraffe whose spindly legs make dancing difficult – until he hears his own music. Another creature dreams of dancing in Brontorina by James Howe and Randy Cecil. In this story, a dinosaur dreams of becoming a ballerina and persists despite the obstacles in her way. All animals are musicians in Wild Symphony by Dan Brown and Susan Batori. (In an added bonus there is a free interactive smartphone app which provides recordings of the songs that go with each page.) Miss Clucky’s Song by Davonne Conley and Remesh Ram features a determined chicken who thinks it's time that someone other than the rooster had a chance to awaken the farm with song each morning.

Related home video titles:

In the original film, Sing , a koala bear named Buster Moon owns a theater in financial jeopardy. In a last bid to save the building, he plans a talent show and invites everyone to audition.

In Happy Feet, a penguin is discouraged because he can’t sing like everyone else in his flock. He can dance, but that skill is less valued…at least for now. In the sequel, Happy Feet Two , the next generation decides that singing and dancing is tame: they want to fly.

Cuban music takes center stage in Vivo, featuring a kinkajou who happily performs in a Havana plaza with his dearest friend. But when fate takes a turn, the young bear has to take an urgent trip to Miami.

Sing 2 Movie Review – An entertaining and fun sequel

Once More With Feeling

Sing 2 is a really fun movie. It’s not particularly deep, nor does it reinvent the wheel or do anything differently to other animated flicks. Quite simply, this is an expansive sequel, taking the framework from the first movie and adding fanciful decorations and bigger dance numbers to boot.

It doesn’t always fire on all cylinders, and some of its songs lack the same emotional resonance the first film had, but as a parent watching with two kids, smiles plastered on their faces, this one is well worth a watch. The only thing surprising here is quite how long it’s taken for a sequel to surface.

When Sing dropped back in 2016, it banked a healthy amount at both the domestic and international box office.. It’s one of the better Illumination efforts in recent years, alongside Despicable Me, and with a star-studded cast, it certainly boasts the big names to back up its solid writing. Fast forward 5 (or 6 depending on when this has been released in your country!) years and the gang are back, bigger, badder but not necessarily better than before.

The story here largely takes the same ideas from the first – including the best jokes – and spins that into a story that tests each of our characters in different ways. All the usual suspects are back, led bu Buster Moon who itches for bigger things beyond his small theatre back home.

When an opportunity to impress an out-of-town critic goes amiss, Buster convinces the gang to up and move to the big city, determined to impress the notoriously strict and business savvy Mr. Crystal. He wants them to perform for the big crowds, and he’s the ticket to do that. Unfortunately, Buster’s promise also comes with the unwanted pressure of convincing retired rock-star Clay Calloway to come back and join them.

Of course, everything that could go wrong does go wrong. Rosita’s hopes of becoming lead star are dashed by Mr Crystal’s daughter Porsha. Johnny struggles to learn his dance moves from an overbearing teacher, while Meena is paired with a terribly narcissistic and rude singer.

There are other subplots going on here too, glued together by the hilarious performance of Miss Crawly. Her jokes are easily the highlight of the entire movie and effortlessly move between subplots and characters with great aplomb.

There’s a good variety of jokes in here too, with some silly slapstick for the kids actually given a decent amount of set-up beforehand. There’s one joke early on involving the group infiltrating the auditions by posing as cleaners. As they mop the floor, the room grows silent. Another group arrive, step through the doors and immediately slip over. Jokes like this really help give the film a bit more creativity than the usual simple gags you’d expect.

I won’t spoil all the comedy here, but suffice to say there are also some recurring jokes too that fans of the first film will enjoy. These laughs continue right the way through to the final performances. Alongside that are a decent number of songs, which largely fall into the pop category, as one may expect. There’s nothing wrong with that of course, and expect to find songs from Halsey, Ariana Grande and more dotted across the run-time.

Visually, the film looks fantastic. Some of the CGI work is actually exemplary. The best example of this comes from Clay’s mane, which looks honestly stunning. I found myself marveling at the fur during his scenes, such is the quality.

Not everything in Sing 2 works, and at times the narrative does falter. The whole Clay Calloway subplot is pretty underwhelming and despite a few nice moments, doesn’t really go anywhere. The resolution with Mr Crystal is a bit contrived too, while Johnny’s feline companion is given next to no backstory or arc, despite featuring prominently on the third act of the film. There are other, niggling problems with parts of the script but given how entertaining this movie is, it’s quite easy to overlook.

And that is ultimately the big draw with this film. Sing 2 is an entertaining sequel and good value for its 100 minute run-time. Fans of the original should love the inside jokes while those after a bit of escapist entertainment should equally find enough to like here with these lovable characters.

Feel free to check out more of our movie reviews here!

• Verdict - 7/10 7/10

Leave a comment

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Where to Watch

Images & Screenshots

Sing 2 Review

menu ▼ ▲

• Latest News
• Apps and Tracking News
• Media Releases
• Media Coverage
• Archived News
• Archived Events
• By Age Suitability
• By Classifications
• By Date Added
• By Collection
• On Streaming
• KBYG Weekly
• About CMA movie reviews
• By Platform
• Privacy Check
• Apps can track: privacy tips and checks
• Apps containing loot boxes
• Children and Gambling Watch List
• About CMA app reviews
• Smart Beginnings
• Choosing Movies for Children: a guide
• Scary Stuff
• Screen Violence
• Healthy Game Play
• Working with your child and their Digital Privacy
• Healthy Sleep
• Current Campaigns
• Media Codes, Guidelines and Standards
• How to complain
• Email your concerns
• Our submissions
• Board of Directors
• Annual Report
• Become a Member
• Sponsors and Supporters
• General Resources
• Privacy Law and You
• small screen
• Parent Guides
• Useful links
• eBook - Quality Play and Media in Childhood Education and Care
• Current Research
• Research Archive
• Researchers who focus on Children and the Media

Short takes

Not suitable under 5; parental guidance to 8 (violence, scary scenes, themes)

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details of classification and consumer advice lines for Sing 2
• a review of Sing 2 completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 20 December 2021 .

Overall comments and recommendations

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• use of violence
• material that may scare or disturb children
• product placement
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie’s message

A synopsis of the story

Buster Moon (voice of Matthew McConaughey) dreams of making it big and taking his show from Moon Theatre to Redshore City. Turned away by a talent scout who sees little potential in his small group of underdogs, Buster hatches a plan to audition for Mr Crystal (voice of Bobby Cannavale) himself. With the help of his friends Gunter (voice of Nick Kroll) and Ash (voice of Scarlett Johansson), Buster promises a show that will be out of this world. In order to seal the deal, he also promises that the renowned and reclusive rock legend Clay Calloway (voice of Bono) will take part in the performance. Mr Crystal agrees to give him a shot but reminds Buster what he stands to lose if he fails. Failure looks like it might be a real possibility when Johnny (voice of Taron Egerton) struggles to learn the choreography; Rosita (voice of Reese Witherspoon) develops a fear of heights; Meena (voice of Tori Kelly), who has never been in love, must perform a romantic scene with Darius (voice of Eric Andre), a self-absorbed playboy buffalo; and despite their best efforts, Clay Calloway adamantly refuses to perform with them. Though all the odds are stacked against him and countless obstacles come his way, Buster refuses to give up. He keeps trying; he encourages others and looks for creative ways to overcome challenges. Even when it looks like all of their hard work will be wasted, Buster’s team comes together to put on a performance the likes of which Redshore City has never seen and one that it will never forget.

Themes info

Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.

Corporate greed; Materialistic entitlement; Abuse of power and corruption; Reclusiveness as a means to cope with grief.

Use of violence info

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

There is some violence in this movie, including:

• Buster is tossed off the side of a car where he flies into a channel filled with water. He lands on a whale who blasts him into the air and he lands back in the water.
• Clay Callaway shoots Buster’s assistant with paintballs. She is hit repeatedly as is her car. One of her eyeballs is dislodged and an apple is jammed in its place.
• Buster’s assistant crashes her car into a tree in her desperate attempt to get away from Clay Calloway.
• A dance master hits his students with sticks every time they make a mistake and even sometimes when they don’t.
• Two characters are electrocuted by a fence.
• Mr Crystal tries to throw Buster off the top of his building. He is interrupted and threatens to finish the job later.
• Mr Crystal’s thugs threaten to kill Buster and his friends. They chase them through the hotel, trying to capture them. It is widely believed that Mr Crystal will kill them all.
• The dance teacher fights with a dancer on stage, purposely trying to trip him up and humiliate him.
• Mr Crystal throws Buster off the top of a performance platform where he would have plummeted to his death but Rosa saves him at the last minute.

Material that may scare or disturb children

Under five info.

Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:

• Clay Callaway is initially shown as a scary, reclusive, shadowy figure who is violently protective of his privacy. He terrifies another character, looks menacing and acts unmerciful.
• When Mr Crystal gets angry at Buster his face contorts into an evil mask. He doesn’t bother to conceal his rage as he screams at Buster, claws his desk and threatens to kill him (Buster) if the show is not everything he has been promised that it will be.

Aged five to eight info

Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:

• Buster is completely terrified as he hides from Mr Crystal’s thugs who have been tasked with finding and killing him. His friends begin to panic as well when they clearly become targeted too.

Aged eight to thirteen info

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

• Nothing further of concern.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in this movie:

• No actual product placement was noted, however, the music of many well-known artists is featured: Ed Sheeran, Alecia Keys, Whitney Houston, Shaun Mendez and Camilla Cabello, to name but a few.

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

• Meena is told that she must gaze at another character like she is burning up with love.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:

• Mr Crystal jumps out of bed, naked. Audiences see the back side of his legs and the horrified faces of his guards who get a full frontal view.
• Meena is freaking out about a romantic scene that she must do for the show as she has never kissed anyone and must now do so before a vast audience.

Use of substances

• None noted.

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

• Lowlife loser.

In a nutshell

Sing 2 is an animated adventure with a loveable cast, fabulous soundtrack and powerful message about not giving up and following your dreams. Suitable for all but the youngest viewers, this is a film that the whole family can enjoy together.

The main messages from this movie are that you must fight for what you believe in and that great things are destined for anyone who dares to follow their dreams.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

• Persistence
• Helpfulness.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

• Giving up on what you know to be right.
• Listening to those who would put you down and tell you that, “you can’t” and that, “you will never be good enough”.
• Hiding away and refusing to use your talent as a means to cope with the loss of a loved one.
• Bullying others; threatening them; making things much more difficult than they ever needed to be and when the end product is successful, attempting to steal the glory for yourself.

Movie Review Search

Tip: Leave out the first A, An or The

Alphabetical:

Age suitability:.

Selecting an age will provide a list of movies with content suitable for this age group. Children may also enjoy movies selected via a lower age.

Classifications:

Date added:

About our colour guide.

Content is age appropriate for children this age

Some content may not be appropriate for children this age. Parental guidance recommended

Content is not age appropriate for children this age

CMA thanks the Romeo family for its support

Children and Media Australia (CMA) is a registered business name of the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM).

CMA provides reviews, research and advocacy to help children thrive in a digital world.

ACCM is national, not-for-profit and reliant on community support. You can help .

ABN: 16 005 214 531

Movie Reviews

App reviews.

• © Children and Media Australia 2012 - 2024

Similar to Plugged In Entertainment Reviews

1 Focus on Parenting Podcast

Focus on the family, 1 focus on the family with jim daly, 1 dumteedum - a show about bbc radio's 'the archers', roifield brown, 1 classic film jerks, classic film jerks, 1 the class of 1989, the micheaux mission / the podglomerate, 1 what to watch, entertainment weekly, 1 binge mode: marvel, 1 all relative: defining diego, somethin' else / sony music entertainment, 1 bald move pulp, 1 film sack, scott johnson, podcasts worth a listen, plugged in entertainment reviews « » movie review: sing 2.

Buster Moon and his singing animal friends return to take their shot at the big time. Lessons about friendship and determination abound, though a few songs here might raise parents’ eyebrows a bit. Read the Plugged In review: https://www.pluggedin.com/movie-reviews/sing-2-2021/ If you've listened to any of our podcasts, please give us your feedback: https://focusonthefamily.com/podcastsurvey/

1345 episodes

Movie Review: Sing 2

Plugged In Entertainment Reviews

115 subscribers

published 2+ y ago

All episodes

Welcome to player fm.

Player FM is scanning the web for high-quality podcasts for you to enjoy right now. It's the best podcast app and works on Android, iPhone, and the web. Signup to sync subscriptions across devices.

Quick Reference Guide

"Faith and Love Overcome Fear and Grief"

What You Need To Know:

Miscellaneous Immorality: The storyline of one character’s dead wife could upset some viewers, and the villain is intense at times and could scare younger viewers.

More Detail:

SING 2 is an animated musical comedy that follows the events of the story of the first movie, SING. The koala bear named Buster Moon finally has a thriving theater and wants to take his show to the next level, with the cast of the first movie including the colorful and upbeat performances of Meena the Elephant and her friends Rosita, Johnny and Gunter.

Although they sell out another show, Buster’s very anxious because Suki, one of the most well-renowned theater reviewers, is coming. With a positive review from her, Buster and his team could make it to the big leagues and perform in the bustling Redshore city. However, after half the show, Buster notices that Suki is making her way to the exit.

Suki says that Buster’s show is good for local theater but would never sell in Redshore City. Buster, ever-persistent, learns that Suki’s boss, Jimmy Crystal, is holding auditions in search of the next big show, but Suki again talks him down and even says he’s not good enough to succeed.

Buster is distraught. However, after a talk with the stern yet caring Nana Noodleman, he’s reinvigorated to show Jimmy Crystal a great musical play no matter what. Ash, who is performing rock concerts on the side, agrees to help Buster and her friends. After some persuasion from Rosita, the rest of the team joins them on a bus to Redshore City.

Buster is determined to perform for Crystal, but before they can even start singing, Crystal dismisses their act as boring and cliché. However, on their way out, Gunter mentions his idea for a space musical and catches Crystal’s attention with the mention of the famous rock legend Clay Calloway. Buster runs with Gunter’s mention of Calloway. He says Gunter’s space musical will also include Clay Calloway’s first performance in years.

Crystal knows that a show with Calloway will be the biggest show in Redshore City. He agrees to give Buster and the team whatever they need to make Gunter’s ideas come to life on stage. However, there’s only one problem. No one has seen Clay Calloway in 15 years.

Buster sends the faithful Ms. Crawley to find Calloway as he tries to make sense of Gunter’s ideas for the show. Buster is on the verge of putting on the show of a lifetime, but Crystal becomes more threatening when Calloway is nowhere to be seen on set. Moreover, the show’s leads, Rosita, Meena, and Johnny, are all struggling to have confidence in their roles. Buster and the team must rely on one another as they face their fears. Will Buster be able to pull off the show of a lifetime?

SING 2 is a colorful, funny, heartwarming movie that stresses overcoming fear and grief through love, family and courage. Several characters struggle with their own obstacles but face their problems and overcome them with the support of close friends. Writer/Director Garth Jennings deftly uses the movie’s music to convey the emotions of the characters, like all good musicals do. His story is also well-paced and superbly written. Ultimately, love and faith conquer fear. There are also some brief Christian elements, including a song about praying for one another. SING 2 has moments of peril, an intense, scary villain, and some minor objectionable content. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for younger children.

• Artistic Reviews
• Testimonials
• Free Pass/Newsletter
• Member Login

I have subscribed to ScreenIt for more than a decade. I check in every week to take advantage of their amazing services. Not only does their site provide a glimpse of exactly what content a movie offers, I've found the “Our Take” reviews and ratings for each movie to be right on the money every single time. I've referred dozens of friends to this service because my #1 resource for deciding whether or not to show a movie to my kids, or to see one myself, is ScreenIt.com! Josh Nisbet Director, State of CA Public Sector

I signed up to get Screen It weekly reviews a long time ago, when my kids were young and I wanted to know more about movies before we went to a theater or rented. Now one child is in law school, other in undergraduate, and I still read the weekly Screen Its! It helps me know what my husband and I want to see or rent, and what to have waiting at home that we all will enjoy when my "kids" come home. I depend on Screen It reviews. They usually just present the facts and let me decide if the movie is appropriate or of interest for my family and me. Thank you for providing that service, Screen It! Patti Petree Winston Salem, NC

I have 4 children who are now in college. I signed up for Screen It when my children were pre-teenagers. Often my children would ask to see a movie with a friend and I wished I could preview the movie prior to giving permission. A friend told me about ScreenIt.com and I found it to be the next best thing to previewing a movie. The amount of violence, sexual content, or language were always concerns for me and my husband as we raised innocent kids with morals. We constantly fought the peer pressure our kids received to see films that in our opinion were questionable. With the evidence we received at Screen It, our kids couldn't even fight us when we felt a film may have been inappropriate for them to watch. Thank you, Screen It. Continue to make this helpful service available to everyone, but especially the young parents. Christine Doherty Machesney Park, IL

Screenit.com is an amazing resource for parents, educators, church groups or anyone who wants to make an informed decision whether a movie is suitable for their viewing. The reviews and content descriptions are so detailed I am mystified how the reviewers can put them together. Scott Heathe Vancouver, BC

I love screen It! I don't know what I would do without it. It is well worth the membership. Before we take our son to the movies we check it out on screen it first. Thank you SO much for making it. Keep up the good work & keep 'em coming!!! Patrina Streety Moreno Valley California

Reviewed by: Blake Wilson CONTRIBUTOR

Animals in the Bible

Music in the Bible

The power of music to touch hearts

Prequel: “ Sing ” (2016)

A fter opening the “New Moon Theater” to rousing success, Buster Moon (voice of Matthew McConaughey) is looking to take his shows to the next level. What could possibly be bigger? Why, Redshore City of course! (this universe’s version of Las Vegas) However, a talent scout for one of the city’s theaters gave them a negative review, so should they stop trying? No. Buster and his performing crew immediately take a bus to the city, with hopes of landing an audition.

After successfully sneaking into one of the city’s most prestigious entertainment venues, Buster and the gang immediately fail their audition (along with almost everyone else that comes that day). Just as they are about to be pushed off stage, Gunter (voice of Nick Kroll) comes up with an idea that interests the judge. A science fiction musical with music by the legendary Clay Calloway. Buster reluctantly goes along with the idea, and the theater head (voice of Bobby Cannavale) gives him three weeks to get Calloway and the show together.

Of course, this means taking Gunter’s idea and putting it into a real show in that amount of time. And, to make matters worse, Calloway hasn’t performed in 15 years and has been off the face of the earth due to dealing with unexpected loss. Can Buster and his crew pull this show off?

Entertainment Value

First, “Sing 2” has some very colorful and solid animation. It’s a step up from the original in terms of overall character design and creativity, while the backgrounds shimmer with a mix of Las Vegas and Dr. Seuss-inspired enthusiasm. The overall stage show is a hoot, with several well-choreographed elements as well.

The voice acting and singing is strong overall. Similar to the first film, McConaughey portrays his character with a convincing showman attitude. Reese Witherspoon, Tori Kelly, Scarlett Johannson and Taron Egerton are also on point with their characters as well, with each one getting at least one spotlight musical moment. Out of the new characters, Cannavale portrays the villain quite well, while Letitia Wright and Bono are fantastic in their roles (though the former seems a little bit sidelined here). Halsey has a couple of scene-stealing singing moments, but her character wasn’t necessarily my favorite. Thankfully, her character does go through some maturing as the film progresses.

The story, however, as a whole, isn’t quite as emotionally compelling as the original film. The only part of the storyline that manages to pull at the heartstrings here is Calloway’s backstory, though it is lightly touched on. The characters, in the meantime, are given challenges, but they are not quite as down-to-earth as the original film. Another issue I had with the film is that there are too many songs used as background music here. It’s to the point where there’s pretty much no musical score.

However, the comedy is on point, and led to several laugh-out-loud moments. A couple of interesting twists late in the game add extra suspense as well. The pacing, mostly, remains light on its feet and quick.

Positive Messages

The film’s main message involves the importance of chasing your dreams, no matter what obstacles are in your way. Despite being told over and over that they “aren’t good enough”, Buster and crew push through until they reach their goal of having a show in Redshore City. Of course, pursuing any dream isn’t easy, and “Sing 2” shows that there will always be naysayers and those who are unsupportive.

There’s also a strong message on overcoming fear. Two characters learn to overcome their fears through the encouragement, love, and patience of others around them. The Bible says, “Do not fear”, 365 different times. However, my favorite verse about persevering in the face of fear is Joshua 1:9, which encourages us…

“Be strong and courageous, do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” — Joshua 1:9

FEAR, Anxiety and Worry —What does the Bible say? Answer

Negative Content

LANGUAGE: There’s no obscene language in the film, but there are a few close calls. Someone is told to “go to heck”. We hear several other uses of “heck” and “oh my gosh”. Unfinished uses of “what the…? and name-calling are used also.

VIOLENCE: A villain threatens Buster on a handful of occasions, snarling at him and eventually throws him from precipitous heights a couple of different times. Johnny breaks his skateboard in half in frustration. A car crashes into a couple of places. A couple of characters are electrocuted by a fence and pass out. A character is whacked by wooden sticks on a few occasions. One is barraged by paintball gun bullets in one scene. However, other than Mrs. Crawley comedically losing her glass eye from time to time, no one is too badly hurt.

ADULT CONTENT: In a questionable moment, Meena is required to kiss a love interest in the show. She clearly is nervous and hesitant to do so, and says she would not want to kiss a stranger. However, Buster does not heed her request. Meena does, however, fall in love with a friendly ice cream vendor (voice of Pharrell Williams ), and pretends she is performing the song with him. Elsewhere, Mr. Crystal wakes up apparently naked in one scene (we see a furry chest and legs, and an assistant screaming from seeing it). A couple of characters kiss. A tiger is seen in underwear. One narcissistic character is introduced with a sultry, hip-swaying musical intro, and comments on how girls can’t get enough of him. A few suggestive dance moves.

OTHER: A few songs in the catalog are not exactly kid-friendly (“Look What You Made Me Do” by Taylor Swift and “She Bangs” by Ricky Martin are a couple of examples), but most are heard briefly. Mr. Crystal acts selfish, cruel and rude throughout the film. He threatens to cancel the show, then takes credit for it when it succeeds. His daughter starts off being very immature and selfish as well (but she changes her tune). Characters lie . A character constantly corrects another for interrupting him. One female character is given less money for a concert simply because of her gender. Someone says Meena looks like a “goddess”.

I loved the original “Sing” when it came out 5 years ago. Not only was it a fun, chase your dreams, “let’s put on a show”-style story, it also developed its main characters into ones we could root for. Not to mention, the film had standout singing performances (I listened to the soundtrack for months), some hysterical song choices, and a really solid emotional undercurrent that ran through it. It remains my favorite film that Illumination Entertainment has made so far.

Going into this movie, I know it’s hard to have lightning strike twice. Here, even though the stakes are a little higher, the overall character arcs and heartfelt themes are not quite as prevalent this time around. The character development isn’t quite as strong, and with the exception of the moving plotline involving Clay Calloway’s return to the spotlight, nothing else quite hits the mark like the first film’s storylines did.

That isn’t to say this sequel is a disappointment. It’s still an enjoyable movie. The animation sparkles. The songs are fun (particularly the U2 covers!). Characters are well-balanced and almost no one is left behind in terms of screentime. And there’s a couple of nice encouragements on chasing your dreams and overcoming your fears. Overall, that’s better than average for many (often PC-driven) kids’ movies and TV shows these days.

Parents will need to be aware of a few mild content concerns going into the film. A few song choices and situations may cause some eyes to roll, though it may go over the heads of young viewers. There’s some lying and deceiving behavior here and there. A situation involving one character being asked to have her first kiss onstage is worth noting. And, a minor plotline involving someone overcoming grief might be a bit difficult for some sensitive moviegoers.

In the end, while it doesn’t quite hit the home run of “instant classic” like its predecessor, “Sing 2” is at least a solid double from a quality perspective. For fans of the original, it’s worth a watch. For Christian families (with kids ages 6 or 7 and up) looking for something to watch together, it’s definitely one of the cleaner options out there.

• Violence: Moderate to Minor
• Profane language: Mild— “ Holy moly,” “You can go to heck,” “Gosh,” “What the…”
• Nudity: Minor
• Sex: Mild— married kiss; female performer asked to kiss on stage; some sexy dance poses
• Vulgar/Crude language: None
• Drugs/Alcohol: None
• Occult: None

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers .

PLEASE share your observations and insights to be posted here.

Notice: All forms on this website are temporarily down for maintenance. You will not be able to complete a form to request information or a resource. We apologize for any inconvenience and will reactivate the forms as soon as possible.

• DVD & Streaming
• Animation , Comedy , Kids

Content Caution

In Theaters

• December 21, 2016
• Voices of Matthew McConaughey as Buster Moon; Reese Witherspoon as Rosita; Seth MacFarlane as Mike; Scarlett Johansson as Ash; John C. Reilly as Eddie Noodleman; Tori Kelly as Meena; Taron Egerton as Johnny; Nick Kroll as Gunter; Nick Offerman as Norman; Garth Jennings as Miss Matilda Crawly; Peter Serafinowicz as Marcus; Beck Bennett as Lance; Leslie Jones as Meena's Mother; Jay Pharoah as Meena's Grandfather; Jennifer Saunders as Miss Nana Noodleman; Jennifer Hudson as Young Nana Noodleman; Rhea Perlman as Judith

Home Release Date

• March 21, 2017
• Garth Jennings and Christophe Lourdelet

Distributor

Movie review.

Funny thing about dreams: Everyone has them, yet so few actually achieve them. At least not permanently.

Take Buster Moon, for instance. At the tender age of 6, the koala bear fell in love. The object of his ardor? The theater. Buster found himself mesmerized by the operatic prowess of one Nana Noodleman, a singer whose voice was a thing of captivating, wondrous beauty. So much so, in fact, that lil’ Buster decided right then and there that he would one day own the theater where he’d heard her sing.

One day years later—thanks to the hardworking support of his faithful father—Buster’s dream came true: He purchased the hallowed thespian establishment.

Alas, seemingly fulfilled dreams can be slippery things. And Buster’s mostly-ignored theater is now smack up against those proverbial hard times. He doesn’t have the cash flow to pay grumbling stage hands after the theater’s latest box office bomb. He can’t make mortgage payments, either. It looks as if Buster’s dream is on the verge of going to an early grave.

But necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention. Or at least imitation. So Buster hatches a desperate brainstorm: stage a singing competition for everyone in his palm tree-dotted metropolis, a last-ditch attempt to generate interest in his failing venue.

“A singing competition?” his best friend (and Nana’s trust-fund coddled grandson), Eddie, says skeptically. “Who wants to see another one of those?” Buster remains undeterred: “Real-life talent,” he gushes grandly. “In real life!”

So Buster scrounges up his last $935 and instructs his long-suffering, one-eyed iguana assistant, Miss Matilda Crawley, to type up some brochures offering a cool grand to the winner of his competition. (He figures he can scrape up the other $65 somewhere .)

Miss Crawley dutifully types it all up. Then her one fake eye pops out on the keyboard, adding a couple of zeroes to the prize-money brochure—without her (or Buster) noticing—right before the office’s oscillating fan accidentally disperses the flyers throughout the city.

In a flash, the dreams of animals across town are suddenly, unexpectedly energized.

There’s Rosita, a housewife pig and mother of—wait for it: 25 piglets —whose endless domestic responsibilities and utterly self-absorbed workaday husband, Norman, leave her longing for something … more. Johnny (a stylish, leather-wearing gorilla) is being groomed by his gangster father to do more than just drive the getaway car after heists; but all Johnny wants to do is sing. Mike the mouse has a Sinatra-like voice as big as he is small, with an outsized rodent ego to match. Meena is a teenage elephant so shy she can barely even audition. And Ash is a punk rock porcupine whose boyfriend, Lance, just coldly left her for someone else.

All of these yearning, singing souls (along with scores of other mostly mammalian hopefuls) converge on Buster’s dilapidated old theater, American Idol -style, much to his surprised delight.

But a much bigger surprise awaits almost everyone when they discover that Buster’s prize package is actually a couple digits shy of what was promised on the brochure—a realization that threatens to cruelly crush all of their fragile dreams.

Positive Elements

Though it’s not a Disney film, Sing nevertheless requisitions the Mouse House’s perennial theme of persevering in the pursuit of your heart’s desire. We repeatedly hear the phrase, “Dream big dreams!” Meena’s father tells her, “Be confident!” Likewise, Buster tries to coach Meena through her crippling stage fright, telling the paralyzed pachyderm, “Do what you love. Then you won’t be afraid anymore. Because you’re actually doing it.”

For her part, Rosita has essentially zero support from her always-working, always-napping, never-cleaning husband. But she hangs in there, too, as do the rest of the film’s main characters.

Early on, Buster brims with confidence despite his misfortunes. He tells his bestie, “You know what’s good about hitting rock bottom, Eddie? There’s only one way to go, and that’s up.” Later, a distraught Buster learns that rock bottom is actually a lot lower than he initially thought, but Eddie brims with the same kind of upbeat optimism Buster once embodied. Other contestants seek to cheer Buster up, too.

Johnny has a tense relationship with his father, Marcus. But when the older gorilla sees his son performing on TV (after Marcus has been jailed) he breaks out of the clink and races across town just to hear Johnny sing and to tell his son, “I’m so proud of you!” Though Marcus’s simian jailbreak obviously isn’t a good thing, he willingly returns to his confinement after Johnny’s performance.

Spiritual Elements

Several songs include passing spiritual references. We hear a Sinatra-esque snippet of “Pennies from Heaven.” A version of Cat Stevens’ tune “The Wind” says, “Where I’ll end up, only God knows.” Bananarama’s song “Venus” includes the lines, “Goddess is on the mountaintop/Burning like a silver flame.” Meena belts out Leonard Cohen’s iconic “Hallelujah,” and we hear the lyric, “I’ll stand before the Lord of song with nothing on my tongue but hallelujah.”

Sexual Content

Three female rabbits wiggle and waggle their backsides suggestively, singing these actual lines from Nicki Minaj’s exceedingly racy song, “Anaconda”: “Oh my gosh, look at her butt.”

Though Ash is just a teenager, it’s implied that she and Lance are perhaps living together. At the very least, he has a key to her apartment, and she comes home one day to find him flirting with another pretty porcupine named Becky. Mike successfully woos a rich, pretty female mouse.

For the show, Rosita partners with a flamboyant, German-accented pig named Gunter. He wears a skin-tight leotard that Rosita comments shows a lot of “skin,” and he does something like a striptease to reveal his outfit. Rosita—a mother of 25, remember—isn’t as sensual as Gunter is. He coaches her, “Let the music take control of your body parts.” Rosita eventually takes his advice and dons a similarly “revealing” outfit for the duo’s performance, much to her husband’s wide-eyed porcine amazement and approval. (He gives her a big kiss afterward.)

Elsewhere, a leotard-clad frog has an effeminate accent. Visual gags involve Buster and Eddie wearing Speedo swimming suits as they wash and buff cars with their bodies. Eddie does a hip-thrusting dance.

Violent Content

Slapstick peril and pratfalls abound, but no one ever really gets hurt. A bursting water tank fills a building with fluid, momentarily trapping animals who look as if they might drown before the structure essentially explodes from the pressure and spills them (drenched, but otherwise unharmed) onto the street.

Several reckless car chases careen through the city, causing accidents. Menacing bears threaten to eat the mouse Mike (and nearly succeed twice).

Multiple characters fall from great heights and get accordingly banged around. A light rig crashes on one unfortunate animal, who (in an unexpected nod to realism) is taken away in an ambulance. When Ash the porcupine gets really worked up, she tends to throw her quills, which end up embedded in Buster’s face as well as in members of the audience. (A llama suffers the most harm.) A slug gets stepped on. Buster’s tossed out into the street.

Crude or Profane Language

We hear six exclamations of “oh my gosh,” two of “holy moly” and lone unfinished utterances of “oh my … ” and “what the …” Someone is said to be “artsy fartsy,” while another character is dubbed an “old fart.” Gunter calls someone a “total super-jerk dinkleschplatt.” Other name-calling includes “stupid,” “fool” and “bozos.”

Drug and Alcohol Content

Several scenes take place in a swanky dance club that pictures various well-hoofed animals imbibing what look to be martinis and other mixed drinks. A joke is made about someone’s asthma inhaler being illicit drug paraphernalia.

Other Negative Elements

Buster repeatedly tries to dodge his financial obligations, including paying his stagehands and repaying a bank loan.

Marcus and his gang pull off two heists. The second of those lands that group of guerilla gorillas in jail—mostly because his son, Johnny, abandons his role as the getaway driver in order to go sing. Marcus cruelly tells Johnny (via a jail phone), “How did I end up with a son like you? You’re nothing like me. You never were, and you never will be.” Johnny then tries (unsuccessfully) to steal the supposed $100K prize money in order to post bail for his dad.

While busking with his saxophone, Mike accosts someone who says he doesn’t have any money to contribute. Mike shakes the poor man down and essentially steals a wad of cash from the distraught bystander.

Mike also gambles with a group of ill-tempered Russian bears who are apparently Mafioso. He’s grabbing a pile of cash he’s won from them when they notice an ace hidden in his jacket. The disgruntled grizzlies spend the balance of the movie trying to catch the cheating mouse, who’s often speeding away in a red, Ferrari-liked sports car that he financed after deceptively telling the bank he was on the verge of getting $100,000 (the prize money for the competition that he hasn’t actually won and which doesn’t actually exist).

A nervous animal in one scene loudly passes gas five or six times. There are also nose-blowing gags.

Sometimes you walk out of movies thinking, “Well, that wasn’t what I was expecting at all .”

Sing is not one of those movies.

Sing is exactly what you would expect if you’ve seen the trailer: a lighthearted and inspiring American Idol -style singing competition between animated, anthropomorphized animals. Just like that genre-defining show, each contestant here harbors dreams of singing, and each has the obligatory dramatic or hard-luck backstory. In the end, we’re invited to root for them all.

Like most animated flicks these days, there’s a whisker of bathroom humor and a hair of suggestive material. Animal flatulence jokes will no doubt get the little ones giggling, even as Mom and Dad roll their eyes a bit.

It’s all in the service of that Disney-style ideal of following your heart. Keep dreaming, the movie says. Keep hoping. Never give up, and never give up on your friends. Parents, of course, know that there may be some instances where such starry-eyed counsel is unrealistic. But then again, this is a movie about singing animals, so we probably don’t need to overthink that one.

One area we might not think to think about, however, is the music and musicians represented here. While none of the featured songs are terribly problematic, they do come from a broad range of secular performers with other material that is , such as Katy Perry, Sam Smith, Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj. And youngsters who imitatively Google the latter’s lyric “oh my gosh, look at her butt,” are in for decidedly not-so-innocent shock.

Still, that’s probably the biggest caveat for an otherwise fun film, one that inspires us to hold onto our dreams and that doesn’t assault us with a theater-full of age-inappropriate material along the way.

Adam R. Holz

After serving as an associate editor at NavPress’ Discipleship Journal and consulting editor for Current Thoughts and Trends, Adam now oversees the editing and publishing of Plugged In’s reviews as the site’s director. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children. In their free time, the Holzes enjoy playing games, a variety of musical instruments, swimming and … watching movies.

Latest Reviews

Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie

The Firing Squad

Harold and the Purple Crayon

Weekly Reviews Straight to your Inbox!

Just 7 reasons every parent needs to watch Sing 2 with their kids. Immediately.

So, it’s been a year. Two in fact. But there’s nothing like taking the kids to the local cinema, ordering the biggest tub of popcorn you can carry and catching a heartwarming family movie as an escape from the daily grind.

Choose well and the movie might actually inspire you as well.    

Sing 2 is that movie. In cinemas on Boxing Day, it promises to become an instant classic, just like the first instalment in 2016. 

Buster Moon and his all-star cast of animal performers are back and planning to launch a new stage attraction in the glittering entertainment capital of the world. There's just one problem: he has to find and persuade the world's most reclusive rock star to join them.

My kids are excitedly planning to quickly become reacquainted with the endearing and unforgettable characters they loved from the first movie. Did I mention there’s a tap-dancing tarsier? That too.

Funnily enough, Sing was the very first movie my family watched together. The four of us. 

It’s become such a treasured memory — my daughter giggled and danced along, and my son was mesmerised, so naturally we’re excited to create more happy memories together these school holidays.

Aside from being SO FUN, here are 7 other reasons why you should watch Sing 2 with your kids. Immediately.

WATCH: Sing 2 Official Trailer. Post continues below.

1. You’re reminded to chase your dreams.

Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey), the entrepreneurial koala, has turned the New Moon Theatre into a local hit, but he now has his eyes on a bigger prize — debuting a new show at the Crystal Tower Theatre in the glamorous Redshore City. 

• Share via facebook
• Share via twitter
• Share via whatsapp
• SMS Share via SMS
• Share via e-mail

An Honest Conversation About Mummy Wine Culture

Crap Advice: The Travel Experiment

He’s found his groove again and won't let the fact that he has no connections crush his dream of big-time success.

When everyone tells Buster Moon no, he doesn’t give up. 

Sing 2 is about liberating yourself from the limits that other people place on your dreams (or the ones you place on yourself).

2 You’re inspired to believe in yourself.

When the live show is on the line, it’s Rosita (Reese Witherspoon), the selfless mother to 25 piglets, that will ultimately have to overcome her fears and prove that she’s truly the hero she was always meant to be. 

It’s through strength and perseverance that Rosita gets to accomplish what she puts her mind to. 

3. The power of music.

What begins as a dream of big-time success becomes an emotional reminder of the power to heal even the most broken heart. 

But it’s only the transformative power of music that persuades the world’s most reclusive rock star to come out of hiding and join new friends on stage once again for Sing 2 .

And I totally get it – music is guaranteed to change the mood of my kids in an instant. Arguing in the car? Turn on the radio. After school energy burn? Lounge room dance party. Sing 2  will lift spirits via its catchy tunes and positive message. 

4. The stellar cast.

Music is one of the big stars of Sing 2 , but it’s the cast – who all sing their own parts – that make the movie unforgettable.

Buster is voiced by Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon is harried mother pig Rosita, rocker porcupine Ash is played by Scarlett Johansson, Taron Egerton is earnest gorilla Johnny, and porcine provocateur Gunter is played by Nick Kroll. Tori Kelly, Bobby Cannavale, Pharrell Williams, Halsey and Bono are in there too, each star perfectly cast for their animal alter ego.

5. It’s funny and heart-warming.

It’s a plot full of signature humour and heart that has us coming back for more in Sing 2 . 

We follow the journey of the characters because we relate to their struggles and their determination, and then laugh along with them as they do their very best to succeed, despite the obstacles in their way.

The belly laughs will come from young and old, each audience member finding themselves giggling uncontrollably at the zany characters and their quirky antics.

Image: Supplied.   6. You remember to shake off self doubt.

You’ll leave the cinema, still bopping along to the featured Shawn Mendes tune and feel that courage creeping back. You’ll have a newfound confidence to just DO IT. Because you can – and you’ll be great.

Like me, do you sit and watch someone else do the things you’re more than capable of? Let’s be more like the movie’s inimitable animals and shout it out: “You take all my inhibitions… baby, there’s nothing holding me back!”

7. The spectacular soundtrack.

Sing 2 is a kind of nirvana for music lovers, combining more than 40 (40!) hits from pop to rock, K-pop to Latin, and from artists including Billie Eilish, Drake, The Weeknd, Prince, Taylor Swift, Cardi B and Shawn Mendes.

Bonus for those of my era (I’ll let you guess what that era is) are the three featured U2 classics, plus a new song written by U2 especially for the movie – the first new music from the band since 2019.

If you hear an adult singing and clapping along at the cinema, don't be alarmed — it's probably me.

Join Buster and the gang as they launch a new stage attraction in the glittering entertainment capital of the world . You'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll reignite your love of music. 

Sing 2 is in cinemas Boxing Day. Book your tickets  here !

Feature Image: Supplied/Mamamia.

• entertainment
• upising22021adv1

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience.

Plugged In Movie Review

Dec 30, 2016, movie review: sing.

Sing is exactly what you would expect if you've seen the trailer: a lighthearted and inspiring *American Idol*-style singing competition between animated, anthropomorphized animals. Read our full review on Plugged In Online.

© 1983-2024 Focus on the Family Canada FAQs | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Need Help? Call 1.800.661.9800

• Back to Focus on the Family Podcast Network

Movie Review: Inside Out 2

Does Pixar’s latest live up to the 2015 original? Or are their reasons for parents to be … anxious? You might be surprised by the answers to those questions

Read the Plugged In Review

If you've listened to any of our podcasts, please give us your feedback .

Recent Episodes

• Movie Review: The Fall Guy
• Movie Review: Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie
• SiYP: Parents Have the Power Over Screens
• Culture Remix: This Again?
• Movie Review: My Spy the Eternal City
• Movie Review: Deadpool & Wolverine
• TV Review: WondLa
• SiYP: Converting Overreaction to Interaction
• Culture Remix: Killer Klowns From Outer Space: The Game

• Cast & crew

About to embark on a world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures ... Read all About to embark on a world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, Skye is forced to face her past. About to embark on a world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, Skye is forced to face her past.

• Parker Finn
• Kyle Gallner
• Rosemarie DeWitt
• Naomi Scott

Top cast 10

• Hair Stylist

• Tanya (Costume Designer Woman)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

New and Upcoming Horror Movies & Series

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia Kyle Gallner is the only actor to reprise his role from the first film so far.
• Connections Follows Smile (2022)
• October 18, 2024 (United States)
• United States
• Ellenville, New York, USA
• Paramount Pictures
• Paramount Players
• Temple Hill Entertainment
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

Related news, contribute to this page.

• See more gaps
• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Recently viewed.