“Guts, stamina, and faith.”
I'll come right out and say it: I watched the kids' movie Sing 2 three times this weekend. Each time, I couldn't get over how much the main message is something that adults need to hear and take to heart, perhaps even more than kids. So let me set the scene for the uninitiated (spoiler alert!).
Our protagonist theater owner gets down and out after a disappointing rejection from a show biz scout. The scout doesn't think the cast has what it takes to make it in the "big time." Amidst his wallowing, a retired actress -- the theater's benefactor -- asks the protagonist if he believes in the show. He wholeheartedly does! She then emphasizes that all he needs is “guts, stamina, and faith.” She reminds him not to worry about the opinions of people who don't know him. <Mic drop.>
The protagonist pulls himself together. He rounds up the cast for a big audition anyway because he's decided they’re going to crash it -- and crush it. Some of the cast members are hesitant. They now doubt whether they're good enough after the scout's rejection. The protagonist convinces them to audition and they nail it! Then he pushes the cast members. Hard. Their skills are tested and stretched to new limits. They're forced to face their fears, tackle demons, and do really hard things for the very first time. They stumble, but they keep forging ahead.
And they nail it. They literally rock. If you haven’t seen Sing or Sing 2, you might not know that the characters in this animated movie are animals. Let's just say that the protagonist theater owner is a tiny koala voiced by Matthew McConaughey and the hero, retired rockstar is a lion voiced by Bono.
But back to the main point: the message of “guts, stamina, and faith” is tried and true. It translates to the message that books and movies emphasize time and time again: we must persevere to conquer The Thing we want to achieve. Because trying to get or achieve The Thing will knock us down and scare us, probably more than once, but we must pick ourselves back up and FIGHT for what we want. We must keep at it even (and especially when!) the odds, the critics, and our imposter voice say we can't or won't achieve it. It won't be glamorous or easy. But we must believe in ourselves to deliver and manifest it. In other words, like the retired actress (a goat!) preached: we must have guts, stamina, and faith.
Quite frankly, the message here is basically the same as the lesson in The Alchemist by Paulo Cuelho, which I reviewed earlier this year (and comes up again in today's book review, below!). Whether we find the message of guts, stamina, and faith in a classic novel or a soon-to-be kids' classic, the important thing is to find it -- and listen to it.
Even better if you do so while singing along and tapping your foot to Bono absolutely slaying it.
*Fun fact: When I was pregnant back in 2016, my husband and I had the great fortunate of attending a Coldplay concert as our dear friends' guests. Their performance of A Sky Full of Stars has always stayed with me. The lights, the crowd, the energy -- it was electric and I was quite literally bouncing in my seat. Fast forward to now. My son's favorite character in Sing and Sing 2 is a gorilla named Johnny, voiced by the immensely talented Taron Egerton. Well, wouldn't you know that Johnny performs a rousing cover of A Sky Full of Stars in Sing 2? It was a special, full circle moment for me to watch this "cover," dance together as a family, and find meaning in the movie, particularly when becoming a mother and creating JMT Speaks were both stars in my sky of dreams.
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