For a lover of musical theater, "Sing" ought be a toe-tapping home run. Sampling upwards of 85 song cuts, the film is never without a melody in its step. Something feels oddly missing, though. It's not as fun as it should be. Its characters aren't as engaging or well-rounded as one wishes. And its undernourished screenplay, from writer-director Garth Jennings (2008's "Son of Rambow"), isn't nearly imaginative, warm or clever enough to stand next to the likes of Disney and Pixar's finest. As was the case with their recent "The Secret Life of Pets," Universal's animation arm Illumination Entertainment has not quite mastered the harmony between their ambitious concepts and their scattershot delivery. For every individually wonderful moment, there seems to be a missed opportunity waiting in the wings.
Ever since he was six years old, koala bear Buster Moon (voiced by Matthew McConaughey) has been enamored by the stage—a passion which has led to his ownership of the vaudevillian Moon Theater. Behind on his payments and with the venue threatening to be shuttered, Buster formulates a plan to bring interest back to the theater: hold a singing competition with a $1,000 grand prize. Unfortunately, a flyer misprint on behalf of Buster's dotty old secretary, chameleon Miss Crawly (Garth Jennings), mistakenly touts a $100,000 bounty. Before he figures out this error, he's already held auditions and chosen his competitors—among them, harried domestic pig Rosita (Reese Witherspoon), an overextended mother of 25 children; street-performing mouse Mike (Seth MacFarlane), a crooner with an inflated ego; teenage porcupine Ash (Scarlett Johansson), a hard-rocker with a hidden talent for songwriting; soulful gorilla Johnny (Taron Egerton), yearning to make his musical dreams a reality while dealing with his family's criminal activities; and meek elephant Meena (Tori Kelly), whose stage fright stands in the way of her showing off her big voice. If Buster hopes to make things right and save his business, he is going to need a miracle.
See Dustin Putman, TheFilmFile.com. for full review
