The poppy and infectious music of ABBA takes center stage in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, paving the way for a chaotically fun musical film. Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), the main protagonist in Mama Mia!, takes backstage to her mother, Donna (Lily James). Lily James is astounding as Donna embodying the charming and free spirit that Meryl Streep captured in the first film as the older Donna Sheridan. Though she had big shoes to fill, Lily took on the character of Donna Sheridan with grace and just the right amount of pep that makes her the star of the film. Not only does she encapsulate Donna’s wandering spirit but she has a beautiful voice that perfectly pairs with ABBA’s pop tones.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again starts off after the first film, showing Sophie struggling to open the newly renovated hotel that her mom had bought while also trying to maintain her relationship with Sky. It’s a heartbreaking turn of events when you find out Meryl Streep’s Donna has passed away, leaving Sophie to run the hotel by herself. As if reminiscing about her mom and what she would have done, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again delves into the younger years of Donna’s life and it couldn’t have been a better choice plot wise. Musicals aren’t just about the music, but are known for their stories as well, which this sequel does so well.

It takes the interesting plot lines of the first film, the fact that Sophie has three dads, and turns it into a full blown movie, satisfying all of those fans from the first on just how Donna Sheridan was able to snag not only Pierce Brosnan as Sam, Collin Firth as Harry and Stellan Skarsgard as Bill. Flashback to the 70s, Donna graduates from Oxford University and proceeds to embark on a series of adventures that lead her to her three lovers - Sam, Harry and Bill. The younger Donna storyline paired with the older Sophie trying to figure life out contrasts in a beautiful way, testifying to the love of a mother and the yearning to get life right the first time then realizing things don’t always go as planned.

Where Mamma Mia! was about Sophie trying to figure out who her dad was, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again taps into who she is as a person and trying to live up to her mother’s memory. But it also is about going with life even if it takes you on crazy adventures.

A small thing that makes Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again so fun to watch is the casting of the younger version of the cast scene in the first film. The casting director did an astounding job of finding young actors that personify their older selves. Some of the uncanny casting lies with Christine Baranski, who plays Tanya, and Julie Walters, who plays Rosie, and their younger pairings. The younger actors, Jessica Keenan Wynn and Alexa Davies, were perfect as the duo not only in looks but also personality.

The one downside that I could find with the film is in some of the song choices that were made. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again was jam packed full of the catchy, popular songs that ABBA was known for. In the sequel, some of the songs fall flat and awkward in the placement of the film, such as When I Kissed the Teacher and Waterloo. They are great songs, but in the context of the film they feel out of place and clunky within the plot. You could tell that the director’s had a hard time not falling back to the well known songs, which they eventually did. Some favorites from the first do make a reappearance. The song choices take away from the atmosphere of the film, but doesn’t harm the rest of the fun, poppy film, which is why the charming sequel to Mamma Mia! earned itself 4 Os out of 5.