After slaying at the box-office with the adorable "minions" and "pets," the latest entry from Illumination Entertainment might be the most different among its movies.
Our central protagonist is Buster Moon (McConaughey), who plans to restore the fortunes of his ailing theater to its former glory by producing, yes, you've guessed it! A singing competition with a prize of $100,000! And among the lucky few are Rosita (Witherspoon), singing housepig; Johnny (Egerton), troubled teen gorilla; Ash (Johansson), a punk-rock porcupine; Meena (Kelly), shy elephant diva; and Mike (McFarlane), a Sinatra-like mouse crooner.
Illumination is the home of mindless, harmless animated films. But what we've got here is an obvious game-changer to the studios. Sing offers the same child-friendly themes like "never give up" and "believe in yourself," which was used in "Despicable Me" and "The Secret Life of Pets." But there's more to its colors in full display. Sing surpasses those movies by cleverly delving in to relevant stuffs like crime, gambling and the industry of show business. And you thought "Zootopia" was the only thing that could do that.
Sing is all about its wide array of cute animals and their musical numbers. The characters feel real, because they have desires, struggles and distinct outlooks in life. Actually, it left me with a tear in my eye. The voice cast is star-studded. All of the actors do their singing well, especially in the concert finale.
VERDICT: Garth Jennings turns his funny idea into an all-in-one satirical comedy, slapstick yet heartfelt film, and most of all, a toe-topping musical. That is why, I give you all a standing ovation!
