‘Sing’ Review
A grey, drizzly day seems just as good as any to take in the newest film from firm family favourites Illumination Entertainment, makers of Secret Life of Pets and the Despicable Me franchise. Written and directed by Garth Jennings (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) and co-directed by Christophe Lourdelet, Sing is a film that brings together anthropomorphic animals and talent shows in a delightfully witty and utterly likable way. However the film delivers much more than a simple talent show knock-off; it’s about family, courage and strength of self.
The characters are charming and bring together all those classic tropes of televised talent shows such as The Voice: the tough guy that just wants to sing, the shy girl who has to learn to overcome her fears and the frustrated housewife that has to let go of her inhibitions and show off her inner diva. The central character of plucky koala Mr Moon – who will stop at nothing to keep his theatre and his dreams alive – ties multiple storylines together.
One of the things that really wins you over when you see films made by Illumination is their attention to the little details, such as the strained lip-bite of a performer or the secondary action wiggle of Hans the jiving German pig. The animators have a brilliant sense of comedic timing, and are clearly given free reign to get the best out of the characters, script and models.
The music is great, full of crowd-pleasing, upbeat songs voiced by an all-star cast including Scarlett Johansson (a spikey rocker), Matthew McConaughey (as Buster Moon) and Reese Witherspoon (sassy mummy pig). First time animation director Garth Jennings (who also voiced the hapless Mrs Crawly) has done a brilliant job bringing together a genuinely good family film, that will have young and old alike chuckling away.
Sing is out in cinemas now.