Sing

[LotsoA113]

The next film from Illumination after The Secret Life Of Pets (aka Doggie Toy Story) is Sing, which released a new trailer this week.



So somebody watched Zootopia, huh?

All kidding aside, it looks OK. Nothing revolutionary, but the earnestness of the production seems appealing enough at least in trailer form. Good cast too. No clue if they can keep this up for an entire feature film.

[EricJ]

So somebody watched Zootopia, huh?

No, due to the amount of time it takes to make a CGI movie, someone else just thought "modern city animals" would be a hit idea, and got a more overconfident head BECAUSE of Zootopia.
(Despite the fact that Disney was biting their nails that Z would flop because it was an urban-animals movie...)

Here, they're selling the "Animal Idol" concept (which isn't even current anymore, now that the real thing had the discourtesy to cancel itself).
Which basically makes it "Dreamworks Ending Karaoke-Party: The Movie". It was hard to get past the audition scenes and not think Far Away Idol.
And from the Calendar graphic, I was under the impression the snail was going to be the main character, which didn't help wipe away those Turbo memories either...

(And somebody help me out with quick trivia: I'm trying to count how many other CGI comedies used "Bamboleo" for a quick gag?...Was Rio 2 one of them?)

[LotsoA113]

(And somebody help me out with quick trivia: I'm trying to count how many other CGI comedies used "Bamboleo" for a quick gag?...Was Rio 2 one of them?)

The Peanuts Movie definitely did it just last November.

[Dacey]

For what it's worth, I really like the bit with the pig at the end. Great little piece of animation there.

[rjones1325]

It’s as if Illumination heard audiences leaving Minions and going “it was good and all, but it’ll be nice to see the studio do something outside Despicable Me,” and Chris Meledandri replied, “challenge ACCEPTED!”

http://www.rendyreviews.com/movies//sing-review

[Ben]

I'd have thought that was more The Secret Life Of Pets...?

Sing seems to be much more Garth Jennings' project.

[EricJ]

It’s as if Illumination heard audiences leaving Minions and going “it was good and all, but it’ll be nice to see the studio do something outside Despicable Me,” and Chris Meledandri replied, “challenge ACCEPTED!”

And then audiences said "Oops, sorry, we meant, 'Something outside Despicable Me OR cheap Dr. Seuss movies", and Chris quickly hid that Grinch movie behind his back.

[droosan]

Based on the trailers, I'd assumed Sing would be a 'reality show/quasi-doumentary', in the vein of Surf's Up .. so, I was a tiny bit bummed to find that its story-telling was a more-or-less conventional narrative.

The 'competition' aspect which is played-up in the trailers is likewise diminished within the actual film; the dozens of animal hopefuls singing pop-song clips turns out to be only a 2-minute montage. The field is then arbitrarily narrowed down to just a few contestants, almost immediately .. and very predictably (since they happen to be the only characters with back-stories provided in the opening sequence).

I did very much enjoy the scene in which the flyers are created (with a massive 'typo') and then accidentally distributed across town, via blustery winds .. to be discovered by each of the main characters. That was pure movie magic.

As for the characters themselves, there was much to enjoy about each of them .. but also some frustration:

• Gunter. What the heck is the point of this character..? I mean, other than a funny german accent. You could remove him from the movie entirely, and nothing about the overall story would need to change.
  
  Rosita is sympathetic as a housewife-who-wants-more .. but her transformation in the finale seems to come out of nowhere (as does the song, "Shake It Off" .. weren't she and Gunter rehearsing "Venus", earlier on..?).
  
  Mike's smart-aleck attitude is a lot of fun (he delivers several of the movie's funniest lines!) .. but he is decidedly unlikable. The introductory scene in which he rough-handles a passerby and takes all of his money is puzzling to watch; why should we root for this guy, exactly..?
  
  Ash is awesome. I loved her rebellious quips toward Buster's many (awful) suggestions. Her tearful rendition of "Call Me Maybe" was my favorite moment .. but sadly, that's not on the soundtrack album. I loved her 'original' song, too.
  
  Johnny and Meena have perhaps the most satisfactory overall character 'arcs'. Plus, Meena's grandfather is basically Babar the Elephant..! (or at least shares his tailor)
  
  The Bunnies needed to be main characters!! Why were they eliminated?! Happily, an extended version of "Oh. My. Gosh. Lookit Her Butt" is included on the deluxe expanded soundtrack CD.

I will confess that the destruction of the theatre was wholly unexpected, and kept me wondering about where everything was headed, for awhile. Kinda strange that they somehow managed to find power and lighting for those finale performances .. but, ah well.

Though it may not sound like it .. I did enjoy the movie, overall. It wasn't what I was expecting .. but it was still very entertaining. Between this and The Secret Life of Pets, Illumination had a solid year.

[James]

With all the after Christmas-break hustle and bustle, I actually forgot to review this film! I saw it opening weekend and have all my notes ready, but never got around to writing it. That's probably a good enough review in itself!

[breakle]

I have seen this movies - so cool !

[Randall]

Based on Ben's recommend, I looked into this film, which I was initially wary of. It looked too... "DreamWorks finale," as Eric and others have noted. Amazon's recent blow-out one-day sale of the 3D version got me to bite.

And... wow.

Where did THAT come from?!

Based on the enjoyable but slim Despicable Me/Minions films, and the lackluster-looking Secret Life of Pets, I never expected too much from Sing. But how wrong I was. This felt like a major achievement for a young studio, a big step in the right direction towards more sophisticated filmmaking. Though perhaps no classic, Sing nevertheless manages to juggle an appealing ensemble cast (though I do agree with Droo's assessment of the characters' pitfalls) while presenting a thoroughly enjoyable and even heartwarming story.

Okay, the story didn't need Gunter, but the movie wouldn't be the same without him, either!

The odd scene came close to going off track, and at one point I feared the film was about to sag irredeemably, but it managed to pick up the pace and deliver a great (if a little far-fetched) ending.

Sing reminds me of The Peanuts Movie, showing what a commercially successful but dubiously talented studio can actually pull off when all the gears are working. Well done.

[Dacey]

I've praised Sing in the past, but one thing that stands out about it is that in many ways Illumination's most "grown-up" film to date...which I guess is ironic on some levels considering it is a movie about singing animals. But as I said on Facebook when it came out, if you simply want to see a fun movie done well, look no further.

[James]

Wow. I think I missed getting a review up for this despite seeing it opening weekend. It was Christmas I believe so probably why I didn't get it done. But looking over my notes now, I had planned to pan it. I don't remember it much but according to what I wrote at the time:

-- bland, inoffensive
-- weird character introductions
-- odd song cues
-- a lot of the voices didn't mesh with characters
-- too many plots so none get enough attention
-- not very funny
-- idea for film set in a theatre cool but...
-- ...singing competition idea seems opportunistic and chosen not for story potential but solely to have an entire film of animated characters dancing to pop songs like at the end of most films these days

Based on what I've read from others I must have been in the minority!

[Randall]

73% now on Rotten Tomatoes, for what it's worth. Their consensus sounds fair enough:

Sing delivers colorfully animated, cheerfully undemanding entertainment with a solid voice cast and a warm-hearted -- albeit familiar -- storyline that lives up to its title.

Again, I came at it with pretty low expectations--- the general plot seemed like a cynical stab at milking the "reality music competition" genre, while indulging in a whole film of DWA end credit scenes--- yet I was pleasantly surprised. It was verging on a little clunky in parts, but always seemed to pull off its scenes in the end. It did have to work hard to overcome it bubblegum premise, but for a studio that I had been only mildly impressed with in the past, I found it to be quite well done, and better than it had a right to be. The key was that it had a fair bit of heart, and I bought into the characters. While not a masterpiece, it was a mature, solid film.

You are correct that there were many plots to work with, but I thought the director kept those plates spinning very well. It was an ensemble movie, so that's always going to have a certain type of structure.

[Ben]

Aaaaaaand...now a Rand can read my review (in which I pretty much say all of the above!):

http://animatedviews.com/2017/sing-blu-ray/