A sequel to the 2016 family-friendly comedy about an ensemble of singing cartoon animals, “Sing 2” does not disappoint. With a variety of well-known actors and actresses including Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon and Scarlett Johansson, playing the voices behind these animals, the “Sing” series creates an appeal to an audience of all ages. “Sing 2” continues this appeal with the addition of U2 lead singer Bono, as well as Halsey and Pharrell Williams taking on roles. 

The film opens with theater owner Buster Moon (McConaughey) trying to impress a talent scout from the city with their musical. The scout leaves halfway through and tells Buster they would not fit in with the talent in Redshore City, the equivalent to real-world Las Vegas. Offended by the scout, Moon gets his group together and convinces them to travel to Redshore City and prove the scout wrong. 

The group initially gets rejected once again, until the hotel owner Jimmy Crystal (Bobby Cannavale) overhears one of the singers, Gunther (Nick Kroll), talking about an idea for a sci-fi musical. Crystal ends up loving the sci-fi idea, but only agrees to it when Moon says he can get famous singer Clay Calloway (Bono) to star in it. Moon knows he is taking a large burden upon his shoulders, knowing Calloway has not been seen by the public in over 10 years, but directing a musical in the famous Crystal Tower Theater is a dream come true, and he will do anything to make it happen. 

Similar to the first movie, Moon comes across several problems including issues with his singers learning their roles, Crystal’s daughter wanting the lead part, and the biggest complication: getting Calloway to star in the musical. Johnny (Taron Egerton), the singing gorilla from the first movie, has trouble learning how to dance for his performance, while Rosita (Witherspoon), the singing pig, has to conquer her fear of heights if she wants to fight Porsha Crystal (Halsey) for the lead role. Will the group get their act together before the performance deadline or will they crack under the pressure?

A huge contributing factor to the film’s success is the variety of music on the movie soundtrack. With pop hits like “Can’t Feel My Face” by the Weeknd, “Boyfriend” by Justin Bieber, “Break Free” by Ariana Grande, and “Cake By The Ocean” by DNCE, viewers can not help but sing along. The movie also plays two songs by Shawn Mendes, “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back” and “Señorita,” as well as other hits like “…Ready For It” and “Look What You Made Me Do” by Taylor Swift, “Girl on Fire” by Alicia Keys, “A Sky Full Of Stars” by Coldplay, and lastly “Your Song Saved My Life” by U2.

Released on Dec. 22, 2021, “Sing 2” has already made $293.6 million at the box office, being the first purely animated movie to surpass $100 million since 2019. With the combination of popular music and a wide variety of well-known actors and actresses, the success can only go up from here.