Sing 2 (2021)

Directed by Garth Jennings (The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy)
Starring Matthew McConaughey (The Dark Tower), Reese Witherspoon (A Wrinkle in Time), Scarlett Johansson (Isle of Dogs), Taron Egerton (Kingsman), Bobby Cannavale (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle), Tori Kelly (Sing), Nick Kroll (The Secret Life of Pets 2), Pharrell Williams (Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping), Halsey (Teen Titans GO! to the Movies), Chelsea Peretti (Game Night), Letitia Wright (Black Panther), Eric André (The Mitchells vs. the Machines), Adam Buxton (feature debut), Garth Jennings, Peter Serafinowicz (The Phantom Menace), Jennifer Saunders (Shrek 2), Nick Offerman (The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part) and Bono (Across the Universe)

The heroes of Sing – impressario Buster Moon (McConaughey) and his assistant Miss Crawley (Jennings), singers Meena (Kelly) and Johnny (Egerton), dancer Gunter (Kroll) and triple-threat Rosita (Witherspoon) – are enjoying a string of theatrical successes under the watchful eye of patron Nana Noodleman (Saunders), but dream of translating their show from the New Moon to the bright lights of Redshore City. Talent scout Suki (Peretti) tells Buster that they would not make it in the Vegas-like Redshore, but Moon decides to take the troupe, plus budding rock star Ash (Johansson), and basically break into closed auditions for hotel and theatre magnate Jimmy Crystal (Cannavale). When Crystal rejects their show, Moon and Gunter spontaneously pitch an ambitious sci-fi musical and end up contracted to produce the show in three weeks and make good on Moon’s false assurances that he can secure not only the rights to the songs of reclusive rock legend Clay Calloway, but also Calloway’s personal participation.

The Greatest Showman (2017)

This is a film about PT Barnum, with apparently no tagline; this feels wrong.

Directed by Michael Gracey
Starring Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson and Zendaya

Tailor’s boy Phineas Barnum (Jackman, once he grows up) sets out into the world to make a fortune, so that he can support his childhood sweetheart Charity (Williams) in the manner to which, as the daughter of a great family, she is accustomed. After years of struggle and with two lively daughters to support, Barnum parlays a gift for flim flam into a museum of curiosities, which becomes a huge success after he hits on the idea of including a show featuring living, human ‘oddities’.

La La Land (2017)

Man, the publicity loves that one dance step.

“Here’s to the fools who dream.”

Directed by Damien Chazelle
Starring Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, John Legend, Rosemarie DeWitt

In LA, a series of chance encounters bring struggling actress Mia (Stone) and struggling Jazz pianist Seb (Gosling) into a relationship of towering love and passion. He introduces her to jazz and drives her to follow her dreams. She tries to convince him that his dream is in reach, if he can only let of of its trappings, and inadvertently drives him to compromise his artistic integrity by joining a band led by the non-specifically shady Keith (Legend).

Ballerina (2016)

“Never give up on your dreams.”

Directed by Eric Summer, Éric Warin
Starring Elle Fanning, Dane DeHaan, Maddie Ziegler, Carly Rae Jepsen

The year is 1887 (or 1888; I’m working from how complete the Eiffel Tower is,) and plucky Bretton orphan Felicie (Fanning) dreams of being a dancer in the Parisian ballet. Running away from the orphanage in the company of fellow orphan, inventor and creepy nice guy Victor (DeHaan), she is promptly separated from her stalker, finds the opera and stumbles into a) helping the academy’s cleaner, Odette (Jepsen), and b) a place in the training class, the latter by stealing the identity of standard issue horrible rich brat Camille (Ziegler).

Rebourne: The Producers (2005)

“Come see what all the furore* is about.”

* The poster with a tagline was quite small and hard to read – it seemed to spell this ‘furor’, so I guess it was intended as a play on ‘fuhrer’.

Directed by Susan Stroman
Starring Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Uma Thurman, 
Will Ferrell, Gary Beach, Roger Bart

The Original

A failing producer and an accountant team up to produce a deliberate flop, realising that they can make more money by overselling the show and failing than by having a hit which needs to repay its investors in the first and arguably the greatest film of Mel Brooks’ directorial career. When their deliriously tasteless bomb arrives, however, it crosses the line twice and becomes a runaway success, bringing about their downfall.

Before the new film version, the musical adaptation played on Broadway with much of the same cast.

The Musical

Max Bialystock (Lane) is the falling star of Broadway, producer of flop after flop reduced to romancing little old ladies for funding. When public accountant Leo Bloom (Broderick) looks over his books, he realises that it should be possible to make more money with an oversold flop than a tightly funded hit.