Monday 23 January 2017

Sing (review)




"Best film ever!", enthused my 6-year-old, as the closing credits were rolling to the catchy tune.
And Sing was jam-packed with songs. I've just had a quick look at the number of soundtracks, and was amazed to find out that there were 64 of them, some appearing as just a few lines, some in full.

children's films
Image credits: Universal

We've seen the trailer of this animation several months ago in the cinema, and since then Eddie has been asking me when we would go to see it. Well, finally this most anticipated film of the season has been released in UK cinemas.
Directed by Garth Jennings and produced by Chris Melendandri and Janet Healy, it stars Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, John C Reilly, Taron Egerton and Tori Kelly. The film is produced by Illumination, the corporation behind Despicable Me and Minions.

films for children
Image credits: Universal

The story is set in the antropomorphic animal world where the animals behave like humans. The animation is pretty impressive, the story, though not too complicated, is sweet and amusing.

Buster Moon (McConaughey) is a dapper koala who owns a theatre which has known better days. By now, both the building and its owner don't make any profit. Delusional Buster comes up with an idea of a singing competition, along the lines of American Idol, X-factor and Britain's Got Talent, inviting the contestants from all walks of life.
Buster's dedicated to his theatre, but he is not a businessman. Thanks to a mistake done by Buster's secretary iguana with one glass eye, the award money prize is advertised as $100,000 while in fact Buster could just about offer $1,000.
And so the crowds arrive for the auditions, with gems like "Oh my gosh, look at her butt!" (which my son found absolutely hysterical)... Some of the songs are immediately recognisable, some less so, but they match the characters performing them perfectly.

Image credits: Universal


Buster chooses a group of lead contestants - Mike, a crooner-con-artist mouse (MacFarlane), shy teenage elephant Meena (Kelly), Mum of 25 piglets Rosita (Witherspoon) and her "Piggy Power" stage partner Gunther (Kroll), young gangster gorilla Johnny (Egerton) and porcupine postpunk-rocker Ash (Johansson)


Image credits: Universal

With so many hit songs performed, the competition story is more like a background for a jukebox. The film has plenty of lovable characters.
I'm a bit embarrassed to confess that my eyes have welled up in one of the scenes. OK, I didn't really cry, but sniffled a bit, when the knackered Piggy Mummy Rosita started her dancing routine to the sound of Bamboleo in an empty supermarket. She made me think of us all, unappreciated stay at home Mums, who are taken for granted. So, I could totally relate to Rosita.

The film is lighthearted and sweet, a perfect family film.
This flamboyant musical production will appeal to children and grown-ups alike.

Image credits: Universal
Many thanks to WayToBlue for helping to source the images for my blog post!


2 comments:

  1. Love those animal characters, they look such fun

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    Replies
    1. I enjoyed it. And I am usually not a big fan of animation with too many songs.

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