Illumination Entertainment’s (Despicable Me, Secret Life of Pets) animated musical competition Sing is delightfully much more than a cartoon rendition of American Idol. The story follows financially-stricken theatre owner Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey), a desperate koala who abandons his usual weekend acts in favor of a moneymaking singing contest. A rollicking cast of animals audition in an unforgettable montage, all hoping for a shot at the grand prize of $100,000.
The finalists are a gregarious bunch, ranging from the hilarious Eastern-European pig Gunter (Nick Kroll) who spouts one-liners like “let the music take control of your body parts,” to the anti-establishment punk-rock porcupine Ash (Scarlett Johansson) who accidentally shoots quills when she rocks out. Other contestants earn your admiration: Johnny (Taron Egerton) is the charming gorilla who is nothing like his gangster father, and Meena (Tori Kelly) is the timid teenage elephant who can only sing when alone.
There isn’t a true villain in Sing, which forces the conflict in the film to be centralized around each animal’s inner struggle to perform to the best of their ability. Writer and director Garth Jennings expertly navigates these mini-plots, providing Sing with an absorbing story and the audience with impassioned connections to the diverse cast. As a result, individual performances not only sound great, but the songs give resonance to the emotional experience of the character in a way that simple words could not.
Sing soars as a feel-good musical. Each character undergoes some sort of personal transformation in the film, but none more important than the protagonist, Buster Moon. Moon starts the film as a shrewd business-koala fast-talking his way out of foreclosure and paying his employees. But as Sing progresses, Moon transitions into an eager and honest life-coach for the struggling contestants. He gives fatherly advice to the teenage contestants and offers the others motivational quotes that one might find in a self-help book, such as: “When you hit rock bottom, there’s only one way to go from here – up!” McConaughey is great by the way. His drawl is perfect for the silver-tongued executive and one can envision his endearing smile as Moon offers guidance.
The best part of Sing, however, is the sudden role reversal brought about by the film’s conflict in which Moon becomes the one in need of a mentor. The confident entrepreneur briefly becomes a vulnerable and scared koala, character traits that belong to a generalization of the koala species. Perhaps this is why movies set in an animal world without humans work so well. The shape, size, and color of the various creatures tease the audience into stereotypes of the animal before shattering every label one might ascribe to him or her. In Sing, the enormous elephant is shy, the tiny mouse is a bully, and the Eastern-European pig with a beer-belly is light on his feet and a great dancer! Animated animal worlds are like magical literary devices that remind us each person we encounter is capable of surprising us. While Sing is centered around musical performances, the film’s nucleus is not about chasing your dreams, nor does it celebrate celebrity culture. Rather, Sing show us that, even at “rock bottom,” each individual has something beautiful and interesting to offer if given the chance, no matter their shape, size, or color.