Sing is a movie about animals singing pop songs. That is the premise, and it is also the whole idea. The film wants to be a heartwarming family comedy, a showcase for big voices, and a way to sell merchandise. It succeeds at being pleasant, mostly harmless, and occasionally clever. It fails at being memorable.
Trailer, via Illumination.
Armadillo, Koala and Tiger
The story follows Buster Moon, a koala who runs a failing theater. He stages a singing competition to save the building, and the winner gets $100,000. The contestants include a timid armadillo named Mike, a self-destructive tiger named Roscoe, and a shy pig named Meena. The film spends most of its runtime following their journeys, their fears, and their occasional triumphs.
The setup is simple enough. A singing contest with a prize is a classic plot device, and the film leans into it without much originality. The stakes are financial, the stakes are emotional, and the stakes are the same stakes you have seen in dozens of other movies. The film does not try to make them new. Instead, it presents them plainly, which makes the story easy to follow but hard to distinguish from the rest of its genre.
Songs and Their Familiarity
The music is the draw. Sing features a long list of pop songs performed by animated animals. The songs are familiar, the arrangements are standard, and the performances are competent. There is nothing wrong with any of it. There is also nothing that rises above the ordinary.
The film does not attempt to reinvent the song or the performance. It simply puts the animal on screen and lets the song play. The result is pleasant. It is not the kind of performance that leaves you breathless. It is the kind of performance that fills the theater and then fades, never quite capturing the audience’s attention.
Characters Without Much Depth
The characters are thin. Buster Moon is a good-hearted loser who dreams of success. Mike is a coward who learns confidence. Roscoe is a wreck who learns discipline. Meena is a wallflower who learns to sing. These are tired tropes, and the film does not do much to freshen them. Each character’s arc is clear from the beginning, and little surprises come along to change the course of their stories.
The dialogue is fine. The jokes land sometimes. They miss more often. The humor is broad and physical, and it works best when it is simple. A joke about a character’s fear of heights is funnier than a joke about a character’s inner turmoil. The film knows this, and it plays to its strengths, keeping the comedy light and easy to enjoy rather than heavy-handed.
Length and Its Cost
At 96 minutes, the film moves fast. It could have been shorter, and it could have been longer. As it stands, it is neither. It is adequate. The pacing is steady, the editing is clean, and the runtime does not feel stretched or rushed.
The animation is bright and colorful. The backgrounds are detailed, the characters are expressive, and the movement is smooth. The film looks good, and it does not waste its budget on spectacle. It is a polished, professional product that is easy on the eyes without demanding much attention beyond that.
Final Word
Sing is a solid but unremarkable family entertainment. It is not bad, and it is not great. It is somewhere in the middle, doing its job without doing much else. The songs are pleasant, the jokes are mild, and the story is familiar. If you are looking for a reason to bring your kids to the cinema, this will do. If you are looking for a reason to remember the experience, you will have to look elsewhere.
Key Facts
– Title: Sing
– Director: Garth Jennings
– Runtime: 96 minutes
– Score: 5.9/10
Song List
| Song | Performer |
| — | — |
| “Roar” | Shakira |
| “Faithful” | Tori Kelly |
| “Cups (When I Was Your Man)” | Andy Grammar |
| “Shake It Off” | Demi Lovato |
| “Firework” | Kesha |
Sing is a pleasant ride, not a destination. It is worth seeing once, and it is forgettable after that. It earns its keep, but it does not earn much more than that.
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