- Actors: Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, Taron Egerton
- Director: Garth Jennings
- Format: 4K
- Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), French (Dolby Digital 5.1)
- Subtitles: French, Spanish, English
- Region: All Regions
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Rated: PG
- Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
- Release Date: March 21, 2017
- Digital Copy Expiration Date: May 2, 2018
After the
success of Zootopia, I am not
surprised to see a sudden increase in animal-based animation, specifically ones
in which they act just like humans. In fact, though there are many jokes about
the characteristics of certain animals (Rosita the pig is a mother to a litter
of 25 piglets, Johnny the gorilla comes from a family of thugs) or played
against expectations (Mike the mouse is confidently arrogant despite his size),
this film could easily have been done with human characters. This is where the
fun of animation comes into play, imagining a world where animals act like
humans just like Zootopia did with a
buddy cop narrative. Where Sing
differs is with the musical element, essentially playing out like an animated
animal film version of “The Voice.”
Just as is the
case with the reality television series, Sing
places just as much importance on the sentimental personal stories behind the
music as they do the performances. While there is an overarching plot involving
a rundown theater which is run by a failing producer/koala named Buster Moon (voiced
by Matthew McConaughey), the film thrives more in the sub-plots dealing with
the family life of each contestant. The one way that this film varies greatly
from “The Voice” is the way that it rushes through the audition portion,
scrolling through a number of hit songs so fast that one can only assume that
they did not have the rights to play more than a few seconds of each.
Along with
Rosita (Reece Witherspoon) struggling to pursue her personal dreams while
remaining the household glue for her husband and numerous piglets, Johnny
(Taron Egerton) fighting to express himself artistically rather than being
forced into a life of crime, and Mike (Seth MacFarlane) learning some humility,
there are numerous other animal performers who grow through the experience in a
singing competition that is meant to save Buster Moon’s failing theater. In a
storyline slightly too similar to Rosita’s feminist struggles, Ash (Scarlett
Johansson) must put her own dreams ahead of her controlling slacker boyfriend
when she is accepted in the competition separate from him. Perhaps the most
touching of the sub-plots involves a shy elephant named Meena (Tori Kelly)
whose stage fright prevents her from auditioning despite a talent that may
exceed the rest. The emotional impact of these storylines is nearly enough to
ignore some of slightly off-putting racial stereotyping applied to supporting
characters.
Despite a
good-natured narrative and plenty of toe-tapping music, Sing still feels somewhat like a minor effort from Illumination
Entertainment. There isn’t much in the screenplay itself that stands out, and
while the music is often catchy, it never impresses as a film centered around
it probably should. And despite being given the best treatment with a 4K Ultra
HD release, the animation in Sing
often feels less than cutting edge. Sure, it still looks better than standard
definition, as is the case with nearly any animated film, but there were
moments that I couldn’t help but feel that the impressive format was wasted on
a slightly uninspired film. With that being said, the immersive
multi-dimensional audio is utilized with the music-heavy narrative.
The 4K package
also comes with a Digital HD copy, and a Blu-ray disc which also holds the
film’s special features. The highlight of these is three new mini movies with
the characters from the movie, though there are also character profiles, a
collection of the best moments from a memorable comedic supporting character,
an editing featurette, and a music video from star Tori Kelly. Along with the
three new mini-movies, there is a making-of featurette dedicated exclusively to
these special features, as well as one for the music video by Kelly. The film
itself also has a brief making-of featurette, though it feels less in-depth
than the featurettes made for the special features. There is also an additional
music video for the song “Faith,” which is also one of two songs in the film
given sing-a-long treatment. There is also a dance-a-long feature, which
teaches dance moves to this song.
Entertainment Value:
7/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6.5/10
Historical
Significance: 6/10
Special Features: 8/10
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