SING 2

“Meet the Animators” Featurette

You wanted an encore, and now you got one.

Buster Moon and the rest of the gang are back in Illumination’s crowd-pleasing sequel, SING 2. Just like any other great follow-up, SING 2 takes what you love about the first one and brings it to a whole level. This time around, there’s more music, more singing, more dancing, and (of course) more Ms. Crawley. As you’re moving and singing along to SING 2 from the comforts of your home, be sure to check out “Meet the Animators” – one of the many featurettes included in our SING 2 “Outtakes & More” section.

A movie like SING 2 starts out as nothing more than an idea. SING 2 director Garth Jennings says that the crew “hasn’t made it easy for themselves. Making a film is a really ridiculous thing to do. It doesn’t exist, and you’re having to dream it up and believe that it will be great.” Ironically, this franchise is all about dreaming big dreams. That is why it was of the utmost importance to have the right talent onboard to make those dreams a reality. Thankfully, the animation team over at Illumination took centerstage when it came to putting on an unforgettable show for everyone to watch and enjoy.

As you’ll see while watching this SING 2 exclusive look, there are many people involved in the production stage of an animated film. Some of the behind-the-scenes talent you get to meet are SING 2’s very own character animators. If you don’t already know, these individuals are essentially responsible for puppeteering the characters you see onscreen. When a character like Ash (voiced by Scarlett Johannsson) is seen strumming a guitar, or when someone is busting a move like Gunter (voiced by Nick Kroll), you have animation experts like Basile Heiderscheid and Annike Pienaar metaphorically pulling the strings offscreen.

With actors like Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon primarily doing voicework for their respective characters, it is up to the animators to imbue Buster and company with life and emotion. Garth Jennings goes on to say that “I can see the personality of a lot of our animators in their shots.” This is because many of the animators used their own movements and gestures as reference when rigging the characters in their scenes. Character animator Charlotte Kristof admits that she kept a mirror on her desk so that she could have the characters she was animating mimic her to a tea.

Further along in this extra, the cast and crew unanimously agree that Garth Jennings himself is another guiding force in the making of the film. Nick Kroll says “If you have a positive attitude or you show excitement about what you’re doing, I think it only helps everybody else make the thing that you’re making.” In this featurette, you can definitely see that Garth Jennings brought a unique brand of energy and enthusiasm to the project. Jennings knew exactly what he wanted, but he also let his crew have some of their own creative liberties. With the unequaled talent of the movie’s animators to the directorial spirit of Garth Jennings, SING 2 surely deserves a round of applause.

Want a backstage pass for everything SING 2? Get VIP access like this when you buy the film on 4k Ultra HD, DVD, Digital, or Blu-ray^TM*. 

*Bonus features are only available at select digital retailers. Check the retailer for details.