Sing (2016) [Blu-ray]
Animation | Comedy | Family | Music

Tagline: Auditions begin

Set in a world like ours but entirely inhabited by animals, Sing stars Buster Moon (Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey), a dapper Koala who presides over a once-grand theater that has fallen on hard times. Buster is an eternal optimistokay, maybe a bit of a scoundrelwho loves his theater above all and will do anything to preserve it. Now facing the crumbling of his life's ambition, he has one final chance to restore his fading jewel to its former glory by producing the world's greatest singing competition.

Five lead contestants emerge: A mouse (Seth MacFarlane) who croons as smoothly as he cons, a timid teenage elephant (Tori Kelly) with an enormous case of stage fright, an overtaxed mother (Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon) run ragged tending a litter of 25 piglets, a young gangster gorilla (Taron Egerton) looking to break free of his family's felonies, and a punk-rock porcupine (Scarlett Johansson) struggling to shed her arrogant boyfriend and go solo. Each animal arrives under Buster's marquee believing that this is their shot to change the course of their life.

Storyline: Set in a world like ours but entirely inhabited by animals, Buster Moon, a dapper koala, presides over a once-grand theater that has fallen on hard times. Buster is an eternal-some, might even say delusional-optimist, who loves his theater above all and will do anything to preserve it. Now faced with the crumbling of his life's ambition, he has one final chance to restore his fading jewel to its former glory by producing the world's greatest singing competition.

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, March 11, 2017 Sing is a cute, toe-tapping good time of a movie that banks on drawing in audiences glued to the plethora of vocal talent shows filling up the airwaves -- America's Got Talent, American Idol, and The Voice -- to sell tickets and Blu-rays but it's also a story of people, albeit people represented as animals, and how not fame and fortune but rather the value of family and camaraderie and striving to live a dream are the real indictors of success. It's not exactly groundbreaking stuff, and the music definitely comes first -- even the Blu-ray, after a trailer for Trolls, promotes The Voice, a new animated Mariah Carey movie based on one of her Christmas songs, iHeart Radio, and the Sing soundtrack -- but the film isn't an empty talent show with carefully engineered studio music performed by cute animals, either. The film finds a healthy balance between showmanship and heart, and it's sure to win over audiences who enjoy reality music TV but also viewers in search of an animated film with some tenderness, depth, and purpose to it, too.

A young Koala named Buster Moon (voiced by Matthew McConaughey) once dreamed of being an astronaut. His life forever changed, however, when at the tender young age of six he fell in love with music. Fast forward a bit. He's all grown up and doing his best to run his music production business...but he's mostly running it into the ground. Money is drying up and his last, desperate hope to succeed in the business he loves is to open up auditions for everyday animals to come try out for a major singing competition. The reward: $1,000 for the winner, and for him, he hopes, a rejuvenated interest in his business. The contest draws more interest than he anticipated, primarily because his absentminded secretary (voiced by Garth Jennings) accidentally added a couple of 0's to the prize money listing. Amongst all of the contestants, a few stand out: a shy elephant named Meena (voiced by Tori Kelly); a Rock-'n-Roll porcupine named Ash (voiced by Scarlett Johansson); a stay-at-home mamma pig named Rosita (voiced by Reese Witherspoon); a small, suave mouse named Mike (voiced by Seth MacFarlane); and a gorilla who has been forced into a life of crime named Johnny (voiced by Taron Egerton). Who will come out on top? and how will Buster pay them 100 times the money he wanted to put up? Will something other than the draw of fame and fortune result from the show?

Music is everywhere in Sing. It's being sung, of course, in auditions, in rehearsals, in kitchens, on street corners, and on the big stage. It also plays on the radio, lingers in the background at restaurants, and various pop songs support and in many ways define key scenes. Animals populate the world, too, replacing humans but representing them as fully functional, usually bipedal beings who go about their daily lives and experience the same emotions as everyday people: they're timid, they're overwhelmed by life, they're afraid of being who they are, they're greedy, they're needy, they want to find an easy path (and an easy pass) to success. Sing's main attractions are song and cuddly animals. That's what's going to sell tickets and Blu-rays and toys and soundtracks. But that added depth, that altered reflection on humanity is its best asset and what makes it stand apart from the cute and enjoyable frivolities on the surface. In that way, it's a surefire bet that it'll please the kids in it for the externalities and the audits who might very well be pleasantly surprised with what the movie has to offer beyond singing pigs and rock star porcupines.

Crafting the characters as animals gets a wider range of audiences in the door, but these aren't just cute and cuddly stand-ins, cartoon caricatures, or empty vessels who are nothing without their voice or instrument. Sing plays with an abundance of character depth and heart. The roster is diverse not only in the different animals depicted in the film but also in the very real and relatable and very human emotions and qualities they bring to the movie. It's not just about their passion to sing and dream of making it big. The film follows, and explores with surprising depth, their relationships, how they carry themselves, what they hope to achieve with a win or, for some of them, just by showing up. There's the mouse who splurges on himself before even winning the prize. There's the porcupine who learns that love isn't always an unbreakable bond. There's the pig who wants to make a better life for her family. There's the ape trapped in a life of crime and living under his father's shadow. There's the shy elephant who is too timid to let the world hear her sing. The film follows the basic maneuverings usually found in these sorts of movies -- character introductions, big ideas, big hopes, big dreams, setbacks, disaster, and overcoming the odds -- but it does it all with a care for its characters and a keen awareness of what's truly important for each one of them. Sure they'll get their moment in the spotlight, but that's ultimately just a bridge to something much more valuable.

Sing's core filmmaking merits stand up, too. Voice work is superb. The main cast understands each character deeply, not only their love of music but the emotional underpinnings that drive them towards the competition and define them as individuals. The voices come effortlessly and, along with the animation, help to make a fully-defined character roster that might not, and probably should not, be remembered with any of the greats of digital animation -- the Lightning McQueens, the Woodys of the world -- but that compliment their movie very well. Animation is bright and colorful, characters look great, the world is detailed and alive...it's everything a modern, cutting-edge digital production should be. Musical selections, whether new content or old tunes, are perfectly integrated into the movie. This is great stuff, a rock-solid movie all-around that's much better than its advertisements indicate.

Sing is a surprisingly good movie, accessible for the kids -- colorful, cute, lots of music -- but mature enough for adults. It walks that fine line, usually reserved for Pixar, very well and very confidently. It's much more than some of the targeted, music-centric ads might lead one to believe. Universal's Blu-ray is excellent, featuring high quality 1080p video, a good Atmos soundtrack, and a nice assortment of mostly kid-centric extras. Highly recommended.

[CSW] -2.9- Sing delivers colorfully animated, cheerfully undemanding entertainment with a solid voice cast and a warm-hearted -- albeit familiar -- storyline that lives up to its title. At nearly two hours long it was a bit trying even though that time was needed to fully flesh out the characters. It is one of those predictable format movies that while entertaining is not something that you want to watch again, unless of course you want to learn all the words to each piece. It was good but not great, so just let it flow over you just don't expect greatness.
[V4.5-A4.5] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box motion codes were available at the time of this rental although they are available now.


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