- “Listen, you're not the only one who lost something. We all did. I mean, I lost any chance of ever speaking to my dad again over this show.”
- ―Johnny trying to cheer a down-hearted Buster Moon up after the destruction of Moon Theater
Johnny is a main character in Universal•Illumination's 2016 animated feature film Sing and its 2021 sequel. He is a British-accented mountain gorilla who dreams of becoming a famous singer rather than follow his father's criminal footsteps and be in his gang, but would later try to impress him, after befriending Buster Moon and the other selected ones by hosting a show, and make his father proud.
Background
Personality
In Sing, Johnny is introduced as a soulful gorilla whose singing voice and passion for music are in direct opposition to his role in his father's bank robbing crew. Deep down, Johnny wants to be a singer but knows that his alpha-male father would disown him if he knew the truth.
Though he loves his father, he doesn't want to follow his footsteps in becoming a bank robber, though he's not able to speak his mind in front of him. After receiving a slot in Buster's singing competition, he tries to balance between his piano lessons and driving lessons for the upcoming heist, which leads to the failure of the heist and the subsequent arrest of his father and his crew.
When visiting him in prison, he gains the courage to reveal his true ambition, though it leads to Big Daddy disowning him, though Johnny promises to bail him out, showing that he still loves him. This almost leads Johnny to sink to his father's level by stealing the prize money, though he changes his mind upon finding Buster's positive opinion on him, deciding to win the money fairly.
After the Moon Theater's destruction, during the show in its ruins, he still misses his father as evidenced during Ash's performance. He is relieved when Big Daddy visit him after breaking out of prison, repentant for his actions to his son, while also proud of him, much to Johnny's happiness, allowing him to carry on with his singing career.
Physical appearances
Johnny is an anthropomorphic mountain gorilla with brown eyes and black fur. He is taller than most of his fellow contestants and has a muscular build. He wears a black leather jacket, a green undershirt with a yellow lightning bolt and stars, blue jeans, and dark blue shoes.
In Happy Holidays From Sing, Johnny wears brighter blue jeans and a red-and-white striped undershirt beneath his jacket.
In Sing 2 He still wear a black jacket but with a dark green forest undershirt with a orange and black fire flames on the front, with dark blues jeans and still have his dark blue shoes on his feet.
Powers and Abilities
- Singing Skills: While he was raised to do criminal things under his father's orders, Johnny had the voice of a natural born singer, which was something that Buster Moon saw in him. Despite being dragged into crime spree, Johnny always enjoyed singing, including while he was standing guard at the beginning of the movie. When he joined the singing contest at Moon Theater, Johnny's dreams were about to become true when he sang foe the people and let his spirit spread out to people that adored his singing, which would also lead his father to leave his criminal life for good, becoming of his son choosing what he always wanted to become.
- Skilled Driver: When Big Daddy and his goons were plotting to steal gold, Johnny was chosen to be the getaway driver, replacing Barry who didn't mind his boss' son taking his place as the getaway driver. While practicing his getaway driving, his dad was not impressed with it and said he was too soft on the corners, causing Johnny to do his best, which became successful. Johnny would also drive to make in time to the moon theater during the rehearsal for Nana Noodleman's visit and had to drive back to pick up his dad.
- Skateboarding Skills: While not performing at skateboarding in front of people, Johnny was shown to be good at it, while heading to Moon Theater for the singing competition. When Johnny had a breakdown, due to Klaus' abuse towards him for his failed dancing lessons, and accidentally broke his skateboard in half, but luckily, he managed to busy himself a new one.
- Dancing Skills: When they were all in Redshore City preparing an upcoming show called Out of This World, featuring the return of Clay Calloway, Johnny chosen by Buster Moon to be an alien warrior that led a gang of other alien warriors at dancing, which would also lead Johnny to become a dancer, that he was briefly impressed with, but would give it a try. But while doing his best, Klaus freaked him out too much, causing Johnny to fail the test, but got help from the street dancer Nooshy, and during the show, Johnny successfully approved his dancing, earning the respect from Klaus.
- Intelligence:
Appearances
Sing
Johnny in Sing.
The son of a mobster called Big Daddy, Johnny is expected to follow in his father's criminal footsteps. However, his true passion is singing, which he initially doesn't have the confidence to admit to his father due to fear of his father's disapproval. Johnny was first seeing singing "The Way I Feel Inside" in the alley standing guards, until cops were approached and nearly spotted him after hearing his singing. But when the alarm goes on, he picks up his walkie and tries to warn the others that the cops were in, his dad and the gorilla robbers jumped out of the window with bags full of money and were then chased by the cops. While escaping, Big Daddy pulled Johnny up to the truck and berets him for not keeping a lookout and told him to put his rabbit mask.
When he finally decides to take a chance to follow his dream by auditioning for Buster Moon's singing competition, he goes to the audition and sings "Stay With Me". After finishing his audition, he runs past Meena and wishes her good luck. At first, Johnny is passed over in favor of a giraffe Daniel, but when Buster is unable to talk to the giraffe without a megaphone, he changes his mind. During the competition, Johnny takes every measure to keep his involvement with it a secret from Big Daddy. This causes tension for Johnny as he simultaneously commits himself to relearning the piano and practicing his getaway driving for his father's upcoming heist.
Because the day of the heist coincides with a rehearsal, Johnny leaves his post, his speeding to the Moon Theater causing two cars to collide. Buster finds his performance of "All of Me" fairly lackluster and suggests that he play a backup song, which he admits he hasn't practiced for yet. Unfortunately, he becomes stuck in a traffic jam built up from the earlier car accident. With Johnny's absence, Big Daddy and his gang are caught and arrested.
Visiting Big Daddy in prison, Johnny finally confesses that he wants to be a singer, not a criminal. He is devastated when Big Daddy disowns him, even though Johnny swears to bail him out. At night, Johnny breaks into the Moon Theater to steal Buster's prize money for the bail payment, but has a change of heart after glancing at Buster's callback list and seeing that Buster labeled him a "Natural born singer". Instead, he asks Miss Crawly to give him extra piano lessons.
Johnny's goal to free his dad is dashed when he and the other contestants learn Buster lied about the prize money, shortly before a flood destroys the theater. Afterward, he tries to visit his father in prison again without success. However, Johnny (along with the other singers, except Mike) finds it in his heart to forgive Buster, and states his desire to perform even without a prize. To cheer Buster up, Johnny also tells him that everyone has lost something while doing the competition, using his family troubles as an example. He helps the others build a stage for a show in the theater ruins while continuing to practice his piano lessons.
In Buster's concert, Johnny is the second to perform after Rosita. He plays the piano while singing his backup song, Elton John's "I'm Still Standing", and pulls off a great performance. His triumph is bittersweet, however, as Johnny is still sad that his bond with his father is beyond repair. He turns out to be wrong when Big Daddy (after seeing him perform on the prison TV) breaks out of his cell and comes to the theater to reconcile with his son, he tells Johnny how proud he is of him and apologizes to Johnny for selfishly disowning him. With the cops closing in, Big Daddy takes his leave to return to prison, with Johnny promising to visit him often. Johnny, having successfully fulfilled his dream of becoming a singer with his father's approval, attends the grand opening of the New Moon Theater.
Love at First Sight
Johnny is practicing a song on the piano when Miss Crawly's nostalgic daydream is interrupted by Johnny banging on the keys, spooking her, and causing her to fall. After helping her up, she tells him that that song reminds her of the good old days of romance and dancing, and how she wishes to be young and in love again. Johnny assure her that it's never too late for love and introduce her to online dating. He helps create a profile for her and is somewhat shocked at how quick it was for other animals to start sending messages.
Sing 2
Johnny performs with his costars as the Mad Hatter in Alice In Wonderland, in a showing meant to impress talent scout Suki Lane, who is looking for performers to put on a show at the Crystal Tower Theater, owned by Jimmy Crystal in Redshore City.
Unimpressed, Suki walks out on the musical before it is over, deeming it not good enough. Later, however, Buster convinces everyone they can still audition for Jimmy with their Alice In Wonderland musical and, after a road trip where they entertain the tourists on the bus while they practice, they make it to Redshore. After Karen, Crystal Entertainment's receptionist, denies them an audience with Jimmy, they sneak past her disguised as janitors and make it to the audition room. They attempt to perform their musical for Jimmy, who rejects them before they can get started, but when Gunter proposes a sci-fi musical featuring songs from Clay Calloway called Out of This World, Jimmy happily grants them permission to put on that show, giving them access to a room at his hotel and a production crew. Buster announces Johnny's role in Out of This World is an alien warrior who participates in a dance battle. His choreographer, Klaus Kickenklober, turns out to be cruel and strict, and Johnny struggles to learn any steps under his harsh instructions and insults.
Johnny later meets a street dancer named Nooshy, whom he begs and convinces to teach him to dance. He takes her to the set where the musical is being produced and introduces her to Klaus, who is unimpressed and offended at the thought of Johnny being taught by someone Klaus considers "riffraff". Nooshy bets she can make Johnny an "amazing" dancer in two days, to which Klaus says he'll eat his hat if she does. While Johnny and Nooshy practice, Nooshy realizes that Klaus has drained Johnny's confidence, and advises him to forget what Klaus told him go with the flow. Johnny thrives under Nooshy's tutelage and is able to master all his steps in the two days Nooshy bet on.
Later, Buster, who was nearly killed by Jimmy, gathers Johnny and the rest of his troupe back to their hotel room to tell them the show is off. Clay Calloway convinces Buster to go on with the show, and when Johnny says they can't put on Out of This Worldbehind Jimmy's back, Buster says that is exactly what he plans to do. Mr. Crystal's bodyguards, who he sent to go after Buster, show up at the hotel room, and everyone follows Buster's order to escape by jumping out the room's window. While they evade the bodyguards, Johnny manages to rescue Miss Crawly, who is too slow to run. They reach a dressing room, in which they prepare to put on the show. Johnny recruits his dad and his gang to act as security and help them defend their performance from Crystal and his thugs.
Johnny sings the first song in Out of This World, A Sky Full of Stars, in addition to playing the piano and dancing. During the dance battle scene, Klaus steals the role of Johnny's rival to sabotage his act. Klaus wins the battle and pins Johnny to the ground, telling him he will never be great. Nooshy, along with the performers, manage to help Johnny regain his confidence and get back up to defeat Klaus. During Rosita's sky fright moment, everyone tries to rescue Buster, who is captured by Jimmy, but Jimmy escapes with Buster in an elevator and almost succeeds in dropping him to his death before he is saved by Rosita. The show is a success, and Johnny and the rest of the cast take a bow. Jimmy attempted to take all the credit, but he turns and noticed that Buster and his friends had already left the stage, and he was hopless on the stage with the audience laughing at him before he was arrested by the police.
Nooshy joins Johnny and the rest of the troupe on their bus ride back to Calatonia. Suki Lane stops the bus to tell everyone that the Majestic Palace Theater wants to put on Out of This World. The cast prepares to perform once again, with Nooshy having a role alongside Johnny this time.
For Gunter's Eyes Only
Sing: Thriller
Relationships
Gallery
Trivia
- He is known as "The Rebel", according to Sing Website.
- His introduction scene is the first of five.
- His rehearsal performance of "All of Me" was the fourth of four.
- His final performance of "I'm Still Standing" was the second of five.
- He used to play the piano when he was younger.
- When Big Daddy was training him to corner drift for the heist, the song playing in the getaway truck was "Hold On, We're Going Home" by Drake.
- Johnny and Meena are the only two major characters that stayed at the Moon Theater overnight, to do something important. In Johnny's case, it was to steal the prize money, and then receive extra piano lessons after changing his mind. Whereas for Meena, it was to help Buster Moon clean up the theater before Nana Noodleman's arrival.
