Voices of Matthew McConaughty, Tori Kelly, John C. Reilly, and Reese Witherspoon
Directed by Garth Jennings
Music and Lyrics by various
Illumination began in 2007 as Universal's in-house animation studio. They usually focused on action comedies with wacky characters like the Minions and the cast of The Secret Life of Pets. To date, the Sing films are their only musicals. This may also have been their response to Disney's Zootopia (which also came out that year) with a world of funny animals. How well does the House of Minions do with the story of a theater-loving koala who brings together a group of misfit animals to sing in a talent contest, only to nearly lose his theater and his livelihood? Lets begin with Buster Moon (McConaughty) as he remembers how he fell in love with the stage and begin...
The Story: Buster may love the theater his father bought for him, but he hasn't had a hit in years and can't afford to keep it going much longer. He opts to have a singing contest with a prize money of $1,000, but his secretary Miss Crawly (Garth Jennings) accidentally adds a couple of zeros onto the end, making it $100,000, and sends it out before she can change it.
The flyer attracts almost every animal in the city, but only a few have real talent. Ash, a punk-rock hedgehog (Scarlet Johanssen) is looking to get out of the shadow of her self-absorbed boyfriend Lance (Beck Bennett). Shady mouse Mike (Seth McFarlane) can belt the heck out of a Frank Sinatra song, but causes trouble when he gets mixed up with the Russian bear mob. Rosita (Witherspoon), the mother of 25 piglets, is paired with energetic pig dancer Gunter (Nick Kroll). Johnny (Taran Egerton) is a gentle gorilla who wants to show off his singing talent and get away from his bank robber father Big Daddy (Peter Serafinowicz). Painfully shy elephant Meera (Kelly) has a gorgeous singing voice, but she also has such terrible stage fright, she takes the role of a stagehand at first.
Buster encourages each of them to play their best and unlock their hidden talent. As they rehearse, they grow closer to him and to each other, making it even worse when disaster strikes and the show closes. Buster's ready to give up, until he hears Meera and remembers that, no matter how terrible things get, the show must go on.
The Animation: If it's a bit cartoonier than Zootopia, it's also just as detailed and maybe even brighter, with even more fluid movement for the animals. They manage to give the animals some great expressions, especially Buster with everything that happens to him and his theater. Gorgeous backdrops, too. Check out the luminescent squid Buster recruits for the theater after the lights break and in the last minutes, or the outdoor finale.
The Song and Dance: Enjoyable bit of fluff about following your dreams, being yourself, and pushing to try new things. MacConaughty anchors the film as Moon, an occasionally lovable rogue who wants nothing more than to make his father's legacy proud and put on shows that will dazzle others. Other stand-outs include Johanssen as moody, tough Ash, Witherspoon as ingenious Rosita, Kroll as enthusiastic Gunter, Kelly as sweet Meena, and Egerton as Johnny, who is torn between his love of music and his father's criminal activities. There's also John C. Reilly as Buster's loyal and wealthy sheep friend Eddie and MacFarlane making his only vocal appearance in CGI as the self-centered Mike.
Favorite Number: We open with a brief version of the Beatles tune "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight" performed by Jennifer Huston in a striking bit of theatrical magic. Buster's so impressed, he decides to become a theatrical impresario right there. Egerton's introductory song is "The Way I Feel Inside," as Johnny sings while acting as a look out for his father's gang. McFarlane does "Let's Face the Music and Dance" as a street musician who knows his song is worth more than a penny. We get some hilarious but brief performances at the auditions, including a snail singing "Run for Your Life" and a "Kiss from a Rose" performed by a sheep.
Rosita tries to keep her performance of "Venus" with Gunter organized, but he insists on her feeling the music. Meena's stunning rendition of "Hallelujah" among the ruins of the theater is so gorgeous, it convinces Buster to restart the show. Rosita, meanwhile, figures out what Gunter means when she lets the Latin beat of "Bambolero" get her hooves tapping. She gets so into it, even the supermarket security guard encourages her leaps and spins among the fruit displays.
They all come together for the big finale at a makeshift theater cobbled together from the ruins. The Taylor Swift number "Shake It Off" is Gunter and Rosita's big routine, as they start off showing Rosita's life scrubbing for a big family before launching into their terrific dance. Mike returns for a sterling "My Way." He almost gets blown away by a helicopter, but he still manages to swing in and finish the number. Egerton's delightful "I'm Still Standing" was so outstanding, it's one of the things that convinced Elton John he'd make a perfect younger version of him. Ash gets the film's only original song, "Set It All Free," as she shows off her individuality and manages to keep the creditor from the bank at bay. Meena's still shy at first when she comes out onstage, but she eventually gets so into her "Don't You Worry About a Thing," she literally brings the house down.
What I Don't Like: The cliched story goes back to Busby Berkeley and beyond, and they don't really do anything new with it here. Frankly, as charming as he can be, Buster Moon can also be very annoying and obnoxious. He lies to pretty much everyone around him, and though you do feel sorry for him when he loses the theater that was his life, you also have to admit he sort of did it to himself. Every other animal in the cast had a far more compelling story. I would have rather heard more about Ash and her love life, Johnny and his father, and how Rosita kept her family going in her absence than Buster's problems with his theater.
I also wanted to hear more about this animal universe. This really didn't need to be about animals. It would have worked just as well with humans. I wish they'd gone into more details on the city and how all these animals live and work among each other, as Disney eventually did in Zootopia.
The Big Finale: If you love the cast or want to see the makers of Minions try a musical, you'll want to swing on over to the Moon Theater and get a seat for this show.
Home Media: Easily found in all formats.
Look for the review of it's 2021 sequel next Saturday!
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