Year: 2016
Director: Christophe Lourdelet and Garth Jennings
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Seth MacFarlane, Taron Egerton, and Tori Kelly
Tagline: Auditions begin 2016
Synopsis: To save his theater, Buster Moon (a koala) puts on a singing competition. Singing and hijinks ensue.
Tagline: Auditions begin 2016
Synopsis: To save his theater, Buster Moon (a koala) puts on a singing competition. Singing and hijinks ensue.
Review
Sing was simply a movie to see with my mom during Christmas break. Was it a terrible film? No. Did it have moments that entertained me? Yes. Did it have cringe-worthy moments that made me roll my eyes and groan? Yes. Was it the worst movie I've seen this year? No.
It's probably wise this film was slated about as far from Zootopia as possible. As anthropomorphic animal movies go, there is no comparison. Not in story. Not in characters. And not even remotely in animation. I suppose in Sing's defense, it was never trying to compete and thus it is unfair to compare. Moving on.
As a film student, I learned there are two types of musicals. There's the kind that has a definite plot with a story to tell and the characters simply break into song from time to time in order to express their emotions. And then there's the "Hey, guys, let's put on a show!" variety which inexorably leads to a "The show must go on!" finale. As the latter, Sing is a paint by musical numbers film. There's some plot and a few character arcs. But the outcome is as inevitable as it is predictable.
Then again, the reason that second kind of musical exists is to showcase talented singers and dancers. In Sing's case, the singers and dancers happen to be animals. So, we get an array of animals performing 2016's "Now That's What I Call a Soundtrack!" There is a good deal of variety to the film's music, I'll give it that. There's a mouse who sings Frank Sinatra (of the Rat Pack, get it?), pigs doing Taylor Swift, a gorilla performing John Legend, and the list goes on. There's also "Hallelujah," "Venus," "Gimme Some Lovin'," and "Lollipop," to name a few more songs. Most of the songs are catchy and the animals are amusing.
On the low end, the film had a flatulence gag. I don't recall anything else questionable. But I had a hard time liking Buster Moon (the main character). Hard-working, do-anything-to-succeed is one thing. Not paying employees, dodging creditors, and stealing electricity and water is another. [Somebody report this koala to Officer Judy Hopps ...]
There were a few highlights though. Rosita's housework machine is ingenious and fun. And her "Bamboleo" routine in the supermarket is entertaining. I was also amused by the car wash. The colorful squid are also neat and I'd have liked to have seen more of them.
Overall, Sing brings nothing original to the table. But if you've got kids dying to see animals singing pop tunes, it's not a horrible way to spend 108 minutes.
*** Spoiler Section ***
There's seriously nothing to spoil. Sing is like one of those road trip tourist stops. "30 miles to Buster's Burger Bonanza!" "20 miles to Buster's Burger Bonanza!" "10 miles to Buster's Burger Bonanza!" "Two plot points to Sing's inevitable wrap up!" "You have reached the happy ending."
It's probably wise this film was slated about as far from Zootopia as possible. As anthropomorphic animal movies go, there is no comparison. Not in story. Not in characters. And not even remotely in animation. I suppose in Sing's defense, it was never trying to compete and thus it is unfair to compare. Moving on.
As a film student, I learned there are two types of musicals. There's the kind that has a definite plot with a story to tell and the characters simply break into song from time to time in order to express their emotions. And then there's the "Hey, guys, let's put on a show!" variety which inexorably leads to a "The show must go on!" finale. As the latter, Sing is a paint by musical numbers film. There's some plot and a few character arcs. But the outcome is as inevitable as it is predictable.
Then again, the reason that second kind of musical exists is to showcase talented singers and dancers. In Sing's case, the singers and dancers happen to be animals. So, we get an array of animals performing 2016's "Now That's What I Call a Soundtrack!" There is a good deal of variety to the film's music, I'll give it that. There's a mouse who sings Frank Sinatra (of the Rat Pack, get it?), pigs doing Taylor Swift, a gorilla performing John Legend, and the list goes on. There's also "Hallelujah," "Venus," "Gimme Some Lovin'," and "Lollipop," to name a few more songs. Most of the songs are catchy and the animals are amusing.
On the low end, the film had a flatulence gag. I don't recall anything else questionable. But I had a hard time liking Buster Moon (the main character). Hard-working, do-anything-to-succeed is one thing. Not paying employees, dodging creditors, and stealing electricity and water is another. [Somebody report this koala to Officer Judy Hopps ...]
There were a few highlights though. Rosita's housework machine is ingenious and fun. And her "Bamboleo" routine in the supermarket is entertaining. I was also amused by the car wash. The colorful squid are also neat and I'd have liked to have seen more of them.
Overall, Sing brings nothing original to the table. But if you've got kids dying to see animals singing pop tunes, it's not a horrible way to spend 108 minutes.
*** Spoiler Section ***
There's seriously nothing to spoil. Sing is like one of those road trip tourist stops. "30 miles to Buster's Burger Bonanza!" "20 miles to Buster's Burger Bonanza!" "10 miles to Buster's Burger Bonanza!" "Two plot points to Sing's inevitable wrap up!" "You have reached the happy ending."
Quotable Quotes
- "When you've reached rock bottom, there's only one way to go, and that's up!" -- Buster Moon
- "Has anyone seen my glass eye?" -- Miss Crawly
ISFS
Thanks! I think we will skip it. I had a bad feeling after being unable to discern anything resembling plot in the few promotional spots I'd seen.
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