“There’s a heightened sense of delight because we’ve all been so locked away”: An interview with director Garth Jennings on creating Sing 2

Astonishingly, 2016’s Sing was British writer-director Garth Jennings’s (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) first animated film. The feature cleverly capitalised on the world’s obsession with talent shows (with the UK’s Pop Idol and The X Factor having spawned seemingly endless iterations and spin-offs) with an ensemble of brilliantly realised, animated animal characters voiced by some of cinema’s best-loved names (from Matthew McConaughey to Reese Witherspoon, Scarlet Johansson to Taron Egerton), who brought to life a wickedly irreverent script. Sing stuck gold, resonating with kids and adults alike around the globe.

Now, six years later, Jennings is back. And, much like his lead character, theatre owner Buster Moon (McConaughey), he’s chosen not the rest on his laurels but go even bigger and bolder with his sequel. So while Sing 2 hangs onto many of the elements that made the first film such a success (a jukebox of classic tracks, intricate animation in explosive colour, a genius range of flawed but relatable characters that offer each viewer someone to connect to), it’s also more ambitious and brings fresh blood onto its roster, including U2’s Bono, singer Halsey, Letitia Wright and the brilliant Bobby Cannavale as the ruthless music mogul Jimmy Crystal.

The Upcoming had the pleasure of speaking with Jennings ahead of the film’s release, who told us about his own personal journey to making the original and sequel, how he got the likes of Bono, Halsey and Pharrell Williams on board with his already all-star cast and why now, more than ever, he thinks the “infectiously fun journey” of his film is just what audiences need.

Sarah Bradbury

Sing 2 is released nationwide on 28^th January 2022.

Watch the trailer for Sing 2 here: