Five long years after the release of the first beloved film, “Sing,” Illumination’s animated franchise returns for a second movie that’s just as heart-warming and charming as the last. 

In continuation to the first film, our ever-optimistic koala, Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey), and his all-star cast of singing animals launch their most dazzling stage extravaganza yet. 

The film starts off with talented stars Rosita (Reece Witherspoon),  Johnny (Taron Egerton),  Meena (Tori Kelly) and Gunter (Nick Kroll) performing their local  “Alice in Wonderland” theater production.  These ambitious animals decide to take their success a step further and bring their show to the Vegas-like city of Red Shore to show off their skills.  

After being brutally turned down by the intrusive wolf and antagonist of the film, Jimmy Crystal (Bobby Cannavale), Buster convinces Jimmy to finance an elaborate sci-fi stage musical entitled “Out of this World.” However, this agreement was based solely on his promise to lure legendary rockstar lion Clay Calloway (Bono) out of 15 years of seclusion to make an appearance.

The first thing that really caught my attention about this film is the use of well-known songs and celebrities voicing the characters. With Matthew McConaughey being a favorite actor of mine, I was thrilled to discover that he was voicing the main role of the animation. The soundtrack of both popular and catchy songs helps the movie appeal to younger audiences and makes it much more enjoyable to watch. 

As the film continues and the production of the musical unfolds, the cast is faced with many new obstacles. The crew attempts to live up to their promise and convince the all-time famous Clay Calloway to perform alongside them. While Buster, who does not actually know Clay like he said he did, ventures off with Ash (Scarlett Johanson) to try to get him to sign on, the others have their own travails to overcome while the production lurches forth. Originally, Rosita is set to star as the main role in the show, but she becomes too scared to perform the dangerous stunt that comes along with being the lead. She is almost immediately demoted and replaced by Jimmy Crystal’s daughter, Porsha (Halsey).

The animation truly is a visual and musical delight for the audience. The way the producers created such a colorful environment and how they gave the characters overly passionate personalities made all the difference. The film efficiently integrates the musical numbers into the storyline, so you’re not just treading water until the third-act concert sequence.

After a long journey of hope and chaos, opening night finally arrives for the show where everything goes predictably out of control before the climax in which Clay makes a triumphant return to the stage. The audience went crazy over the performance and the crew’s status skyrocketed as they became a well-known performing group in the big leagues. 

The overall storyline of “Sing 2” was both uplifting and cheerful. I thought it was quite the cute film and a definite must-watch for a family movie night. The way they portrayed these characters and their ambition to never give up on their dreams really sets the tone and gives off a good lesson to the audience. “Sing 2” shows that you can achieve your wildest dreams and make any goal a reality.