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| “ | Look Dad, I... I'm sorry, but I just don't want to be in your gang. I want to be a singer. | „ |
| ~ Johnny admitting his true passion to his father. |
Johnny is an anthropomorphic gorilla and aspiring singer. He is one of the main protagonists of Illumination's 7th feature film Sing and a supporting character in "Love at First Sight", a short included on Sing's home media release.
He is voiced by Taron Egerton, who also portrays Gary "Eggsy" Unwin in the Kingsman series and voices Rian in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and Moomintroll in the 2019 series Moominvalley. In the Japanese dub from the movie, he is voiced by Takuya Ohashi.
Appearance
Johnny is covered in black fur, with exposed gray skin on his face and hands. He wears a black leather jacket over a green shirt with a lightning bolt design, blue jeans, and dark blue tennis shoes.
Personality
Johnny is a gentle and compassionate individual with a deep love of singing. This leads him to take part in Buster Moon's singing competition, as well as offer support towards his fellow contestants. However, Johnny's soulfulness conflicts with the alpha-male attitude of his father Big Daddy, who runs a gang of robbers, and wants Johnny to take a more active role in their heists.
History
Sing
Johnny is introduced serving as a lookout during a bank robbery. He is too preoccupied with singing "The Way I Feel Inside" to do his job properly, and fails to alert the rest of the gang to two rhino police officers. The robbers are able to escape, but Big Daddy scolds Johnny for his negligence, as well as forgetting to wear his rabbit mask.
When flyers for Buster Moon's singing competition are scattered throughout the town, one flies into Big Daddy's garage. Johnny notices it and decides to participate, auditioning with "Stay With Me". At first, Buster rejects him in favor of Daniel the giraffe, but when the koala is unable to talk to him without a megaphone, he changes his mind. Johnny proceeds to keep his involvement with the competition a secret from Big Daddy, and commits to both relearning the piano and practicing his getaway driving for his father's upcoming heist.
Unfortunately for Big Daddy, the day of the heist coincides with a rehearsal. Johnny leaves his post, his reckless driving to the Moon Theater causing two cars to collide. When leaving the rehearsal, he is caught in a traffic jam built up from the aforementioned car accident. Without their getaway driver, Big Daddy and his gang are caught by police and arrested.
While visiting his father in prison, Johnny finally admits that he would rather be a singer than a criminal. Big Daddy promptly disowns his son, though Johnny promises to bail him out. That night, he breaks into the Moon Theater to steal Buster's prize money for the bail pavement, but when he glances at Buster's callback list and sees that the koala labelled him a "natural born singer", Johnny has a change of heart. Instead, he requests extra piano lessons from Miss Crawly.
Johnny's goal to free Big Daddy comes crashing down when he and the other contestants learn that Buster lied about the prize money; the Moon Theater comes crashing down shortly thereafter. However, Johnny ultimately finds it in his heart to forgive Buster and states his desire to perform even without a prize. When Buster regains his motivation to stage a show, Johnny helps construct a stage in the theater ruins. In the open-air concert, Johnny performs his backup song, "I'm Still Standing", and wows the audience. After the performance, Johnny, to his shock, sees his father backstage. Big Daddy, who escaped from prison after watching Johnny on TV, reconciles with his son and tells Johnny how proud he is of him and apologize 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. Having successfully fulfilled his dream of becoming a singer with his father's acceptance, Johnny attends the grand opening of the New Moon Theater with the other performers.
"Love at First Sight"
Johnny practices his piano playing at the Moon Theater while Miss Crawly daydreams about her old romances. The iguana is shocked out of her reverie and falls down when Johnny bangs the keys too hard. After Johnny helps Miss Crawly up, she explains that she was reminiscing, and wishes that she was young and in love again. Johnny tells her that it's never to late for love, and helps her create a profile on an online dating site.
Quotes
Sing
| “ | Guys, listen! Stay where you are. The cops are here... | „ |
| ~ Johnny belatedly warning the gang during a bank robbery |
| “ | Excuse me, Mr. Moon? For some reason, it says I should be playing the piano? Well, I haven't played the piano since I was a kid. | „ |
| ~ Johnny questioning Buster's choice of song selections |
| “ | "Too soft on the corners, Johnny! You're not doing it right, Johnny! Speed up, Johnny! Do it like I showed ya-"AHHH!
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| ~ Johnny imitating his father during getaway driving practice, before realizing he's about to hit him |
| “ | Dad, wait! I'll get the money! I'll get you out, I promise! | „ |
| ~ Johnny vowing to release Big Daddy on bail |
| “ | Sorry, I didn't mean to. I just... Well, I know it's late, but I could really use some extra piano lessons. | „ |
| ~ Johnny asking Miss Crawly to help improve his piano playing |
| “ | 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 Buster Moon up after the Moon Theater's destruction |
"Love at First Sight"
| “ | Oh, come on, Miss Crawly! It's never too late to romance. Have you ever heard of online dating? | „ |
| ~ Johnny responding to Miss Crawly's wish for young love |
Songs Performed
- "The Way I Feel Inside"
- "Stay With Me"
- "All of Me"
- "I'm Still Standing"
Trivia
- During the Moon Theater flooding, Johnny saves everyone by pushing Meena through the blocked exit. In Kingsman: The Secret Service, Eggsy saves several people when a room begins to flood by breaking through a glass window.
- Taron Edgerton played singer Elton John in the 2019 biopic Rocketman and performed several of his songs, including "I'm Still Standing".
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