Starring
the voices of Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth
MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, John C. Reilly, Tori Kelly, Taron
Egerton, Nick Kroll, Garth Jennings, Jennifer Hudson. Directed by
Garth Jennings. (2016, 108 min).
There's
an early moment in Sing where a snail, perched atop a
microphone, is auditioning for a spot in an upcoming singing
competition by belting out the pop classic, "Ride Like the
Wind." It's an ironically amusing scene in a movie which could
have used a lot more of them. Most of the characters are represented
by animals completely unrelated to their mannerisms (a pig as a housewife with 25 children?). They're simply human
characters that just happen to look like animals.
That
the film seldom finds anything creative to do with its
anthropomorphic world is just one reason why Zootopia will
still be talked about ten years from now, while Sing is
destined for a yard sale once all the kids in the house have outgrown
it. Another reason is the story itself...though "let's-put-on-a-show"
has been a standard trope since the days of Mickey Rooney and Judy
Garland, it's been given a timely spin reflective of our current
culture: instant fame through a singing competition, complete with
instantly recognizable rock & pop songs.
 |
| "Hey! I'm finally off the endangered species list." |
Maybe I'm wrong about Sing's potential shelf life. After all, it's far from the worst film to empty parents' wallets. However, stored in my attic are a boxes of DVDs that briefly amused my daughters as kids...Ice Age, Over the Hedge and dozens of other titles with little substance beyond aesthetics. But even now, they still enjoy Monsters Inc. on occasion.
Like most of Illumination
Entertainment's other recent films (Minions, The Secret
Life of Pets), Sing is meant to exist in the here-and-now,
where its primary audience lives; let the likes of Pixar worry
about any kind of lasting legacy. As such, the film plays like the characters were
designed & cast, the songs selected & arranged - before a
single line of dialogue was written - with kids in mind.
 |
| Road hogs. |
A cynical approach to a family film, perhaps, but that's probably
okay. While in the moment, kids are likely to find Sing very
entertaining. It's colorful, fast moving and occasionally
laugh-out-loud funny. The characters aren't all that imaginatively
conceived, but they're well animated and adequately voiced by a surprisingly large
cast of A-list actors. The soundtrack is filled with the type of
bouncy, danceable songs your kids keep on their iPhones (even the
classic standards are given a modern pop makeover).
Sing
will make its rounds at slumber parties and long drives to Grandma's
house before the next disposable piece of pop culture begs your kids'
attention (and at no time will they care that it would have made more sense for Rosita to be depicted as a rabbit). Then it will take its rightful place with the Madagascars,
Flushed Aways and Monsters vs. Aliens of the world:
decent enough family entertainment with a definite expiration date.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
FEATURETTES:
"The Making of Sing"; "Finding the Rhythm:
Editing Sing"; "Character Profiles"; "Sing
and Dance"
3
SHORTS: "Gunter Babysits"; "Love at First Sight";
"Eddie's Life Coach" (A separate makng-of featurette is
also included)
MUSIC
VIDEOS: "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing" featuring Tori
Kelly; inlcudes making-of featurette); "Faith"; "Set
it All Free"
"THE
BEST OF GUNTER" - A collection of the character's lines from the
film)
"THE
SING NETWORK" - A collection of faux-commercials and
character 'profiles'
DVD
& DIGITAL COPIES
KITTY CONSENSUS:
NOT BAD...LIKE CAT CHOW
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