Sing 2 (2021)

Let’s be very clear—this is an animated musical that is long on slapstick humor and short on plot driven dialogue. There was a song in it that was on the Oscar short list for Best Song, but it did not make the final cut. I make a very big effort to watch all of the Oscar nominated movies in advance of the ceremonies, despite the fact that I rarely watch the awards themselves. It is just a way to keep current and the moves are largely quite good. I rarely have regrets, even though I don’t love everything. Then later, sometimes much later, I try to go back and watch some of the short listed movies that didn’t make the final cut, because those too are often very good, especially the documentaries and the international movies. This, however, is not a movie that I would highly recommend. Here is the scoop. With his theatrical company a local success, Buster Moon (a koala) is dreaming of bigger things. Unfortunately, when a talent scout dismisses their work as inadequate for the big time, Buster is driven to prove her wrong. With that goal in mind, Buster inspires his players to gamble everything to sneak into a talent audition in Red Shore City for the demanding entertainment mogul/mobster Jimmy Crystal. Against the odds, they catch his interest with the lie that they personally knowing the reclusive rock star, Clay Calloway, who has not been seen in 15 years. Once hired they face a tight production window with only a vague story idea and dire consequences for failure, Buster and his friends must all stretch their talents put on a show against all odds. But, this being an animated feature, it all works out.