Fridge / Sing 2

Fridge pages are Spoilers Off. You Have Been Warned.

Fridge Brilliance

• Norman is a lot more awake and aware than in the first movie. Why is this? Originally, Rosita was a stay-at-home mom, and Norman was likely spending extra hours at work to ensure the family was cared for. Now Rosita is also working as a performer, making this a two-income household. Norman can scale back his hours, knowing that his family will still be cared for.
• Suki's comment about how Moon Theatre couldn't perform in Redshore City wasn't talking about Redshore City entirely - it was more about Crystal's ridiculously high standards.
  • Additionally, she isn't entirely wrong - many shows in real life Las Vegas often have something to try and give some kind of familiarity to help bring audiences in. Plenty of "America's Got Talent" stars have found some success in Vegas, but they were always advertised as being from "America's Got Talent". Some performers even perform in America's Got Talent shows that act as a compilation.
• In a similar vein, when the Moon Troupe first arrive in Redshore City, they are bluntly refused entry by Crystal's secretary. Despite her initially coming off as dismissive and "snotty" in Ash's words, the secretary is then shown to be quite friendly and casual when greeting the janitor (actually Meena in disguise) and when speaking to other animals that do have appointments. Bending the rules for the Moon Troupe would not fare well if Crystal found out, so the secretary is perfectly justified turning them away, for both their sake and her own. The fact that Crystal never catches on that Buster and his troupe snuck into the auditions without consent is likely the only reason that the secretary didn't get fired - or worse - for unintentionally letting them in.
• Klaus's whippings and his constant cutting remarks that are intentionally meant to destroy his self-esteem over a period of several hours - for several weeks - take quite a toll on Johnny over time. In addition to all that, another reason why Johnny might not have reacted well to his Misery Builds Character teaching methods is because he might have been reminded of all the pressure his father put on him as well, when he was pushing him to be a gangster in the previous film.
• It took a while to realize that in a way, Jimmy is Buster's Foil, namely when it comes to auditions. Think back to how Buster handled auditions. For all his flaws, he was willing to let everyone who showed up try-out. He let them have as long as they needed to perform, even when he didn't quite like their acts. And he ultimately let them know up front and personal if they were chosen or not. Meanwhile, you've got Jimmy who only lets certain people audition, cuts them off prematurely if he doesn't approve, and can do so at the literal touch of a button.
  • What's more, their backgrounds might have something to do with their differences. Jimmy is shown to be obscenely wealthy and literally has the luxury to turn down performers he deems unworthy. Buster on the other hand comes from very humble beginnings, to the point where he used to sleep in his desk drawer, and his theatre and finances in the first film were in such disrepair that he couldn't even afford a buzzer.
  • In addition, their surface-level personas give very different first impressions to their characters. Buster is prone to being a pragmatic and sometimes dishonest manager to get his foot through the door, though still has his performers and clients' best interests in mind and has every intent of trying to back his ridiculous promises somewhere down the line. Jimmy meanwhile puts on the front of a warm if perfectionist celebrity figure in public, but in reality is a vicious gangster who obsesses over self-image. This is best shown in how they both treat Porsha, especially when Buster "fires" her. Despite Porsha making a scene and indirectly putting him in danger, Buster gladly asks her back for the troupe's secret performance and assigns her a different role that better reflects her performing abilities, fully supporting and encouraging her all the while. Although Porsha's "firing" initially seems to provoke a Papa Wolf response from Jimmy, it's revealed that his only concern is how badly this debacle will look on him and he lashes out at Porsha over it, making her feel even worse, and even when he does see her performing well in the climactic performance, he demands she get down and even tries to physically pull her off the stage before Buster intervenes.
  • There is also a strong contrast in their management styles. Buster in several areas is a pushy, often dishonest micro-manager, though Character Development between the two films shows he treats the Moon Troupe as his equals, taking in their opinions and even sacrificing control of the production to a member when it proves productive (e.g. promoting Gunter to creative consultant after he pitches "Out of This World", keeping Ash close as a confidant to help resolve the dilemma with Clay Calloway, and then immediately listening to Clay's advise when he joins, showing that he values Clay as a person and not just a big-name commodity as Jimmy does, and consequently warming Clay's opinion of Buster). Jimmy on the other hand is a dark extreme of "My way or the highway", he erupts the instant someone doesn't do what he told them, ignores any excuses or negotiations, and his closest personnel are scared Yes Men who try to prevent the worst consequences of his nastier qualities happening behind his back. Buster's livelihood (and literal life) is saved because he has a close unit of colleagues and friends with the freedom and will to back him up, while Jimmy's livelihood is destroyed when his own unit get sick of covering for him (especially after seeing that Buster is willing to die in order to support his own).
• The film pulls a Bait-and-Switch with Buster and Jimmy to punctuate their dynamics, it seeming like Buster lying about Clay Calloway will be what gets him into hot water. Instead Jimmy, though angry, gives him a second chance, which Buster quite vigorously uses to atone and meet his lofty promises, only to reach Jimmy's Rage Breaking Point anyway over a rather stupid misunderstanding with Porsha. However, Jimmy's chief outrage with the fiasco, that Buster seemingly made it look like he had a "talentless loser of a daughter", would have likely happened anyway due to Jimmy shoehorning Porsha into a role her talents were not suited for nor did she have the maturity to cooperate over. Buster's misunderstanding was in fact caused by him trying to resolve it and prevent Porsha from looking like a buffoon on stage (and inevitably enraging Jimmy anyway). While Buster getting into a vendetta with Jimmy over a Liar Revealed conflict would have made Buster Unintentionally Unsympathetic, Buster fixing that mistake, but it happening anyway over an embarrassment with Porsha is, in more layers than one, completely on Jimmy.
• Tied to this, all of Jimmy's closest associates are Foils for the members of the Moon Troupe who work closest with Buster in this film:
  • Ms. Crawly and Jerry are both blindly loyal personal assistants to Buster and Jimmy respectively, doing almost any job to maintain their employers' well being without question. However while Buster cares about Ms. Crawly, is empathetic when she screws up, and even encourages her to show more authority, Jerry is a full on Sycophantic Servant to Jimmy's Mean Boss. Ms. Crawly also tends to have warm relations with the rest of the Moon Troupe due to having a docile, helpful personality that branches beyond Buster (except that one time) while Jerry's skulking around Jimmy tends to leave him and Suki contemptuous of each other.
  • Ash and Suki are basically damage control, the most willing to question either manager's directions and, despite their occasional bluntness, the most emotionally intelligent member of either group. However Buster does ultimately listen to Ash and cooperate with her, enabling her to cover for him by convincing Clay Calloway to join the production through gentle coercion. Ash's music talent was also recognised and nurtured by Buster in the first place. Suki on the other hand is a full-on Steamrolled Smart Guy, being a talent scout for Jimmy requires her to be a soul-crushing perfectionist, and outside of that she is treated as little more than a second Jerry (to her chagrin), stuck trying to negate Jimmy's worst actions behind his back until she finally grows a backbone and turns on him.
  • Gunter and Porsha are the most passionate and creatively endowed members, despite their childlike and hyper-energetic personalities as well as their key weaknesses as performers (questionable singing for Gunter, acting for Porsha). The difference being that Buster immediately pays notice of Gunter's talent when he successfully pitches to Crystal, and promotes him to creative consultant, effectively compromising with him to make a good production despite both their eccentricities. Meanwhile Jimmy only puts Porsha in the production to stop her whining and to keep Buster in line, otherwise paying little attention to how her performing talents (and weaknesses) could affect the production unless they risk publicly embarrassing him. This is taken further when Buster does the same for Porsha as Gunter and gives her a role compatible with her talents, and Jimmy is still too angry with her and Buster to take notice.
  • Both characters also somewhat chaotically make their artistic talents known during an unexpected moment, however while Gunter unknowingly gets Jimmy's attention by politely chiming in his creative pitch as a means to get the whole group a show, Porsha abruptly forces her way into the lead role and gets her father to force Buster's hand. Noticably, Porsha's Character Development is marked by her accepting a smaller but even more vibrant Fun Personified role, something not far off what Gunter was playing in the earlier Alice In Wonderland production.
• Jimmy also darkly contrasts how families are a pivot for many of the characters' musical careers, either to honor them (eg. Buster), be inspired by them (eg. Clay), or rebel against them (eg. Johnny). To compare, Porsha is barely an entity to Jimmy over his career and publicity, while her mother is a total non-entity.
• Fridge-Heartwarming: Remember what Buster said in the prologue of the first movie? It was about how as a child, his original dream was to be an astronaut, at least until he decided to run the Moon Theater instead. "Out of this World" unwittingly fulfills his initial childhood dream of going into space, if vicariously through his team. Looks like both of Buster's dreams have come full circle.
  • A space-themed production also makes an amusing nod to how often sequels tend to involve travelling to outer space.
• Clay and Ash have something in common outside of being rock stars: their baggage with love. Ash's ex-boyfriend essentially cheated on her behind her back. Meanwhile, you have Clay who dealt with the broken heart of losing his wife. While it may not seem similar, both of them were deeply affected by their respective broken hearts. Ash initially couldn't sing properly, and Clay retired for fifteen years. If anything, Clay is a version of Ash who didn't heal from her personal wounds.
  • Adds further Fridge Brilliance (and a bit of Fridge Sadness) to when Clay pulls a Swapped Roles and pushes the troupe not to let Crystal intimidate them into hiding their whole lives. He sees much of himself in Ash and doesn't want her to mirror him to a fault, leading him to become a similar voice of empathy in that moment. Even the fact it affects Buster into pep-talking the group reflects him instigating Ash bonding with Clay in the first place and being the whole reason the two have a bond and career together.
  • This is also reflected in their names: ash being something that is left after a fire, clay being something that is exposed to fire in a kiln when it's used to make pottery. Both of them have been burned by life in one way or another, but this only makes it more meaningful when it's Ash who is able to help Clay move past his grief—no longer hard and brittle, but able to be reshaped into something with more give and malleability. The symbolism of their being paired up in a Character Arc together almost has to be intentional.
  • Clay was emotionally crippled for over fifteen years by the lack of faith in his talent without his wife's support, believing he is now just a forgotten relic. Ash being his self-proclaimed biggest fan is already prophetic to Clay's legacy proving him wrong, given Ash is a teenager, Clay wasn't even active during most of her generation.
• While the theater animals are sneaking around Crystal Entertainment, risking getting in trouble for trespassing, an anxious Johnny repeatedly scans their surroundings to make sure they haven't been spotted. Later, when Buster warns the rest of the group that Mr. Crystal will be sending his goons after them soon to kill them, Johnny is the one who's watching the door to their hotel room - checking to see if the coast is clear for them to leave - until they all get distracted by an interview Jimmy is doing on TV. Being a lookout was Johnny's old position in his father's gang, and in times of danger, some of those old instincts start to kick back in.
• During his talk show interview dismissing the Troupe as talentless amateurs, Crystal never mentions the very valid fact that Moon sold him the show under false pretenses - namely, pretending to know Clay Calloway and promising to get him in the show - despite this being a much more legitimate and sensible way of getting rid of Buster than outright murdering him. While the public may have taken Crystal's side knowing this, Crystal would have been seen either as a victim, or just a gullible fool for falling for Buster’s far-fetched con. For someone as obsessed with his image as Crystal, this perception would have been just as damaging to his reputation as outright ridicule.
  • Buster himself had also just revealed that Clay had finally agreed to take part, and he was on his way to them at that very moment. If Jimmy had tried to publicly expose Buster as a fraud, Clay could have sided with Buster's troupe and claimed to have been in league with them the whole time, potentially humiliating Jimmy even more. From his perspective, killing Buster and his entire troupe, Clay included, was the only way to thoroughly avoid any damage to his image.
  • His claim that Buster and his troupe weren't good enough for the big leagues is also a suitable alibi for them to conveniently disappear. If he had exposed Buster as a con artist and mentioned Calloway's involvement in the scam, it would have become an infamous story and the public would want to know more about it, allowing Buster to further embarrass Crystal and raising more questions if he and his friends - Calloway included - did suddenly turn up missing or dead. Whereas if he claims the Moon Troupe simply weren't up to his standards, they'd just fade into obscurity and the public would forget they even existed, making it much easier for Crystal to target and kill them all.
• All this also gives sense to why Crystal, despite being livid about Buster lying about Clay in the first place, was still willing to calm down and give him a second chance, since at that point there was still a possibility of covering this up before anyone found out and avoiding any humiliation. The misunderstanding about Porsha getting fired, while a far more petty grievance, had already caused a lot of scandal and embarrassment for Jimmy, with nothing able to soothe him until the show turned out to be a hit, thus potentially putting him under good publicity again.
• At first glance, "Soy Yo" by Bomba Estereo seems like an odd music choice for the chase scene where the theater animals escape Mr. Crystal's hotel security, especially since it has such a breezy and saucy tone, but there is a deeper meaning to it. The Spanish lyrics of the song are all about having faith in yourself, staying true to yourself, and learning from your failures, even while other people hate you and want to tear you down. Not only has that kind of message been one of the main themes of the "Sing" franchise since day one, but it's especially relevant in this instance, since the song's placement comes right after Buster and his crew have decided to push forward with their show and prove all of their critics wrong about them (especially Jimmy Crystal).
• Porsha's performance in the last act was incredible, despite how little time she really had to prepare for it, like less than 24 hours. However, this made her fit right in with the Moon Theatre. They proved they could pull off an incredible show with such a short time frame because each member is determined to make it work. Porsha showed she had the talent and passion just like the rest of them with flying colors.
  • Porsha also comes quick when Miss Crawly comes calling once again. Why would she respond to Ms. Crawly of all people? Miss Crawly probably actually did push her to work more.
  • Since the green alien's song was originally "Look What You Made Me Do," Porsha had likely already rehearsed "Could Have Been Me" as the astronaut, popping the balloons on stage with the staff weapon she defeated the "alien monstah" with. If that is indeed the case, after the casting change she adapted to her improvised costume, popping them with a fingertip instead and displaying her newfound confident panache: What was once ugly and frightening turns beautiful and friendly at her lightest touch.
  • The team improvising a new full performance for Porsha also sticks since it was shown early on that Gunter was capable of brainstorming through new ideas at lightning pace. While Buster had to simmer it down to keep their project consistent, it likely came in handy with a last minute change.
  • Additionally, the number demonstrates Buster's fluent ability to showcasing the best qualities out of his performers, not just in their talents (in this case focusing on raw singing and performing over Porsha's Bad "Bad Acting"), but personality, taking who seemed like merely a ditzy Spoiled Brat and presenting her as Fun Personified in spite of having a soul-crushing Jerkass of a father, basically her personality in its most positive light. Even the monsters transforming into friendly colorful creatures at her mere finger press symbolize this.
• The final self-reflective song of the film is "Your Song Saved My Life", which is a fitting choice. Because through their constant efforts to pursue their dreams, the theater animals have not only managed to change their own lives for the better, they've also had a positive impact on the lives of the people around them along the way. Nana Noodleman has come out of seclusion and regained her old love for the world of musical theater because of Buster's crew. Nooshy has gained a brand new circle of friends and a nice stable job working with the Moon Theater troupe. Marcus, Stan and Barry have been inspired to turn their lives around because of their love for Johnny. Porsha and Suki no longer have to live under Jimmy Crystal's oppressive shadow, now that they've thrown their lot in with the theater animals. And Clay has decided to come out of retirement and rejoin society again for the first time in years, now that Ash has helped him start to move past his grief. In a more literal sense, Rosita's song actually did save Buster's life earlier in the movie, when she saved the koala from falling to his death halfway through her performance.
• Ash may not be working at the New Moon Theatre like the other contestants in the start, but it's clear she still shares the same spirit as they do. This is subtly demonstrated at the rock club when she performs "Heads Will Roll", which just so happens to use the Character Catchphrase of the Queen of Hearts in the chorus ("Off with your head!"), and the Theatre was performing a rendition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland around that time.
• Marcus' first choice of actions upon capturing Jimmy Crystal? To sternly and unflinchingly drag him down kicking and screaming and watch the cast (Jimmy's daughter included) get a standing ovation. As soon as Buster is out of Jimmy's reach, he even lets him go while he cheers his own son. Considering Marcus' character arc in the first film, he wasn't just detaining Crystal, he was trying to show him how a good father treats their kid's talent.
• Jimmy's buzzer for rejecting auditions lights the whole stage a fluorescent red. During the climax when Jimmy prepares to drop Buster to his death again, his body is lit with a (much more hellish) red aura. This man kills talent.
• Porsha being easily forgiven by Buster over accidentally summoning her father's wrath on him is given some logic if one remembers that, after Jimmy figures out Buster lied about knowing Clay Calloway, he heavily implies Porsha being in the show is the only reason he didn't try to off him for that. Given Porsha shoehorning herself into the production unwittingly bailed him out of his own antics costing him in the first place, he perhaps felt he owed Porsha a second chance for putting her own foot in it.
  • From their very first meeting, Buster acknowledges that Porsha is genuinely talented, if perhaps not a good fit for the lead role she wanted. While Porsha didn't help matters by overreacting, Linda's report catastrophized their misunderstanding to paint Porsha as a "talentless loser" who wasn't good enough for her father's show. This not only reflected badly on Jimmy, but it also unfairly made Porsha herself the butt of the joke, which was never Buster's intention. Buster didn't just forgive Porsha, he wanted her to prove that Linda's narrative was wrong.
• Gunter comes off as the anomaly of the main cast who doesn't get a character arc or personal obstacle in either film. Gunter however is the Plucky Comic Relief and Funny Foreigner, the guy the others most often just smile and nod at (this is even shown when he first suggests his idea for "Out of This World"). Gunter vindicates himself by successfully pitching the show and resultantly becoming Buster's idea man and Number Two in this film, someone who is non-stop brainstorming and negotiating with the main guy himself, with Buster later even trusting him to think up the finale by himself. Gunter went from the dispensable gag to the one pivoting most of the group's careers (and subsequent Character Development).
• Jimmy seems disturbingly obsessed with killing anyone who wounds his pride by dropping them to their death, despite it not being a remotely more practical or inconspicuous murder method (especially the second time he tries to do it to Buster). Why does he choose it? So the last thing they see is him still on top while they hit rock bottom.
• It's a recurrent plot point both in this film and the previous one that Buster's plays aren't considered good enough to sell, despite his blatant demonstration of talent as a director. However, the sequel's plot exemplifies how pitching is sometimes as vital to getting your foot through the door as talent itself. While the Moon Theatre has a thriving audience now, it's because the events of the first movie left most of Calatonia aware of the quality in performances. For out of town professionals such as Suki or Jimmy, who don't have the time and patience to give them a full chance, they come to the same roadblock. Especially since Buster's works are fairly conservative on paper (pitching another Alice In Wonderland adaptation fails to garner Jimmy's brief interest remotely, even if the Troupe's rendition is pretty creative and energetic when shown earlier). To compare, Gunter's idea for a play is innovative just by description, and has a recognizable celebrity involved, making it much easier to turn heads.
• The two pigs, Rosita and Gunter getting a bigger role (with Norman's larger involvement making three) is quite fitting for a film where the villain is a big bad wolf.
• Meena's family members are among several side characters from the first film who do not return in the second film, because Garth Jennings didn't have a role for them to play in it, though there might be an additional reason for that. All of the side characters who return from the first movie (Nana Noodleman, Rosita's family members, Johnny's family members) are given an opportunity to demonstrate the positive character development they've received since then - how they've grown to respect the Moon Theater troupe a lot more now that they've proven what they're capable of and will back them up in their time of need. Meena's family members don't really need that kind of character development, since they were already super supportive of her potential since day one (to the point where they could sometimes be rather smothering towards her).
• Some of the acts Jimmy buzzes he has a very good reason to do so - ie the chicks will no longer be "cute" in a few years. The magic show and the drums are genuine safety hazards. The roller skating show, while somewhat impressive, can damage the stage. Perhaps Jimmy was thinking that it wasn't anything special - but also "Oh no, this will scratch the heck out of the stage."
• Clay claims his wife Ruby inspired all of his songs. Since Clay is all but stated to be the in-universe counterpart to his voice actor Bono, it can potentially recontextualize some of the latter's songs that are used for the movie. "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" is one example. In real life, Bono wrote the song after a conversation he wished he could've had with his friend and fellow U2 member Michael Hutchence before he was Driven to Suicide. In-universe, it's implied through photographs that Ruby died of a degenerative disease. She was likely in a similar emotional dead end at some point, and so Clay wrote the song as a way to get her out of it. No wonder the song helped him cope with his grief.

Fridge Horror

• Jimmy Crystal does not hesitate for a moment to try to murder Buster Moon in cold blood as a solution to his problems, and he's deadset on carrying out the deed throughout the latter half of the film. All of his employees are constantly walking on eggshells around him, in fear of bringing on his wrath, and none of them (except Suki and, to a lesser extent, Jerry) seem to have any sort of moral issue with helping him kill Moon. Porsha is completely straightforward with her new friends that none of them are safe, because her father and the men who work for him will 100% be coming for them soon. All of this strongly implies that Buster was nowhere near the first person that Mr. Crystal decided to have whacked: he was simply the first one to survive.
• Even without Crystal himself intimidating and threatening them, the Moon Troupe and many performers like them struggle to adapt to the big leagues with issues that have nothing to do with Crystal, whether it be Rosita's fear of heights preventing her from performing more dangerous acts, or Johnny having to endure Klaus' harsh and abusive treatment. With these hardships clearly being commonplace in the entertainment industry, even in real life, it likely has a notoriously high suicide rate, which explains why Jimmy's preferred method of murder is throwing people off his building to make it seem like they jumped.
• Porsha's mother is never seen or mentioned throughout the film, and there's no indication that she's present at all in her daughter's life. Considering how short-tempered and prone to violence Jimmy is, his employees may not have been his only unfortunate victims.
• Both Porsha and Jimmy kickstart the film's climax through their sustained misunderstanding that Buster "fired" Porsha, when he simply wanted to give her a different role, both being too offended and blinded by anger to listen to Buster's reasonable explanations. While it comes off as a repeated Idiot Ball moment, and Porsha's irrational temper is currently much more ineffectual than Jimmy's is, it's also a warning sign that, with Jimmy clearly being her main parental influence - coupled with the apparent absence of her mother ^note Though even if she is around, she may be not be any different from Jimmy or any other positive mentors - Porsha is directly inheriting and mimicking her father's nastier qualities. It also makes her Character Development more meaningful when after rejoining the production, the first thing Porsha does is accept that she overreacted, and after they abandon her father onstage, she's even willing to leave Redshore City for good with Buster and the others until Suki stops them. If the Moon Troupe hadn't come along to be a more positive influence on her, there is a high chance Porsha would have grown up into a second Jimmy.
• So wait, where did the security guards go after the piglets caused a huge distraction at the buffet? Did they all get beaten up by the gorilla gangsters?
  • Seemingly yes. From the looks of things, the reason why Buster and his crew were able to carry out the entirety of their show without being attacked (save for Jimmy Crystal himself, during his second attempt to kill Buster) is because Marcus, Stan and Barry knocked out / incapacitated Mr. Crystal's entire security team backstage. This might also be the reason why Norman and the kids were able to slip back inside the theater just in time to see Rosita's act, instead of being thrown out of the building (in an alternate, storyboarded version of the "Say A Little Prayer" scene, this is indeed shown to be the case).
• Before Jimmy's thugs track down the Moon Troupe to Buster's hotel room, everyone is panicking and desperate to get out as quickly as possible. Except Clay, who just stands looking wistfully out the window while the others start leaving. Considering he just told Buster how miserable he felt running away and isolating himself after his wife's death, and his disappointment at the thought of Buster and the troupe doing the same, it gives the impression that Clay is just resigned to his fate and is perfectly content to let the thugs come and put him out of his misery.
  • Though this crosses into Fridge Heartwarming when Buster does take Clay's words to heart and decides to stand up to Crystal. While the others are unsure about it, and further horrified when Buster suddenly suggests escaping out the window, Clay's spirits in comparison are clearly lifted from the more defeatist attitude he showed before. He's not just amused by the koala's newfound courage, Clay's genuinely proud to see that he's helped someone else learn from his mistakes, and this likewise inspires him to keep on going.
  Clay: I'm beginning to like this guy.

---