Tis the season for movies, and this week there are plenty of films for all to see. My first review this week is the latest animation film geared toward the younger audience group. Assuming you've seen the title of my review, you know I'm talking about Sing, Illumination Studios' latest production. As an answer to Disney's Zootopia, Sing is trying to take the anthropomorphic animal story and a little twist to bait you in. But was that twist enough, or is it another generic animation. Please read on to hear my opinions on the latest blockbuster.
LIKES: Very Fun Decent song and dance numbers Character development Touching moments
The thing you always hope for in a kid's movie is a fun adventure for the audience (both adults and kids). Sing does its job of providing laughs and energy, having a variety of jokes that will tickle your funny bone from time to time. Little kids will find the slapstick antics of characters farting, tripping on stage, or crashing into some sort of scenery. Adults on the other hand will embrace the funny voices, well timed delivery, and popular culture references. Whatever your style of humor, Sing will surely entertain most audience members. For a movie titled Sing, you hope for a little singing and dancing, right? Good news, there is some of that in this movie. Sing's song and dance numbers keep with the cute theme of the movie, filled with explosive colors and energy. The singing is okay in the film, but the music director picked a wide variety of tracks (from a multitude of genres) in hopes of roping all ages into the film. Their twists on some of the classics is certainly enjoyable, though doesn't quite come together like the originals. Dance numbers are again cute, but are primarily comedic relief than a true wow factor you might have expected.
My main like of Sing though, is the emotional moments the directors packed into the film. The cast of aspiring singers each have their own problems (shocking right) and our heroes must face them semi-head on throughout the 90-minute run time. While the outcomes are certainly predictable, the dialogue, music, and animation are more than enough to maximize the emotions of the moment. I found my heart strings being tugged at a few of the story arcs, but enjoyed the attempt at teaching the audience some important lessons. Nevertheless, there is some simplistic character development to help around out the adventure.
DISLIKES: Different theme than presented Many numbers were shortsighted Dropped potential characters Story, while touching, was kind of bland
When I saw the trailers for Sing, I was expecting American Idol meets Zootopia. To an extent, we do get that, but it's only in the auditions part of the movie. You've seen most of the audition numbers in the trailer, and the studio didn't expand much past this. As a result, the music numbers I would hope blow me away were reduced to simplistic quips that while comical and cute, weren't that impressive. Surprisingly they are missing some genres like country, rap, and others that some audience members might have been hoping for. I guess the soundtrack will have to make up for the short bytes. In addition, the contest aspect really wasn't pursued, as the story takes a different approach to make it a completely different movie than you were expecting.
This approach, as well as the short numbers, also reduced the screen time of some of the other animals you might have been hoping for. So, all those animals you see auditioning, don't get too attached, because chances are they aren't going to stick around long enough for the adventure. In addition, some of the supporting characters have limited roles, their story lines hastily wrapped up and lost in the musical numbers. And the result of all this is again an entertaining story, but one that is kind of bland and lacking suspense. The incomplete use of characters and the lack of the contest aspect took away the suspense of rooting for your favorite animal, diluting this film's potential to really drive the emotions home.
The VERDICT:
If you haven't guessed from my review, this film is fun, fun, fun. It has energetic song and dance numbers, some cute wholesome comedy, and yes some predictable emotional moments that we all like to see this time of year. However, the decisions to not pursue the contest, limit the engagement of the other characters, and the lack of hard-hitting numbers took away from the movie for me. Therefore, this reviewer recommends, and predicts, this film will be best enjoyed by families with little ones (who will most likely flood the theaters to see it). However, this reviewer recommends holding out to see this one at home instead of in the movie theater.
Scores: Animation/Comedy/Drama: 7.5 Movie Overall: 6.5
LIKES: Very Fun Decent song and dance numbers Character development Touching moments
The thing you always hope for in a kid's movie is a fun adventure for the audience (both adults and kids). Sing does its job of providing laughs and energy, having a variety of jokes that will tickle your funny bone from time to time. Little kids will find the slapstick antics of characters farting, tripping on stage, or crashing into some sort of scenery. Adults on the other hand will embrace the funny voices, well timed delivery, and popular culture references. Whatever your style of humor, Sing will surely entertain most audience members. For a movie titled Sing, you hope for a little singing and dancing, right? Good news, there is some of that in this movie. Sing's song and dance numbers keep with the cute theme of the movie, filled with explosive colors and energy. The singing is okay in the film, but the music director picked a wide variety of tracks (from a multitude of genres) in hopes of roping all ages into the film. Their twists on some of the classics is certainly enjoyable, though doesn't quite come together like the originals. Dance numbers are again cute, but are primarily comedic relief than a true wow factor you might have expected.
My main like of Sing though, is the emotional moments the directors packed into the film. The cast of aspiring singers each have their own problems (shocking right) and our heroes must face them semi-head on throughout the 90-minute run time. While the outcomes are certainly predictable, the dialogue, music, and animation are more than enough to maximize the emotions of the moment. I found my heart strings being tugged at a few of the story arcs, but enjoyed the attempt at teaching the audience some important lessons. Nevertheless, there is some simplistic character development to help around out the adventure.
DISLIKES: Different theme than presented Many numbers were shortsighted Dropped potential characters Story, while touching, was kind of bland
When I saw the trailers for Sing, I was expecting American Idol meets Zootopia. To an extent, we do get that, but it's only in the auditions part of the movie. You've seen most of the audition numbers in the trailer, and the studio didn't expand much past this. As a result, the music numbers I would hope blow me away were reduced to simplistic quips that while comical and cute, weren't that impressive. Surprisingly they are missing some genres like country, rap, and others that some audience members might have been hoping for. I guess the soundtrack will have to make up for the short bytes. In addition, the contest aspect really wasn't pursued, as the story takes a different approach to make it a completely different movie than you were expecting.
This approach, as well as the short numbers, also reduced the screen time of some of the other animals you might have been hoping for. So, all those animals you see auditioning, don't get too attached, because chances are they aren't going to stick around long enough for the adventure. In addition, some of the supporting characters have limited roles, their story lines hastily wrapped up and lost in the musical numbers. And the result of all this is again an entertaining story, but one that is kind of bland and lacking suspense. The incomplete use of characters and the lack of the contest aspect took away the suspense of rooting for your favorite animal, diluting this film's potential to really drive the emotions home.
The VERDICT:
If you haven't guessed from my review, this film is fun, fun, fun. It has energetic song and dance numbers, some cute wholesome comedy, and yes some predictable emotional moments that we all like to see this time of year. However, the decisions to not pursue the contest, limit the engagement of the other characters, and the lack of hard-hitting numbers took away from the movie for me. Therefore, this reviewer recommends, and predicts, this film will be best enjoyed by families with little ones (who will most likely flood the theaters to see it). However, this reviewer recommends holding out to see this one at home instead of in the movie theater.
Scores: Animation/Comedy/Drama: 7.5 Movie Overall: 6.5