[Review] – SING movie (2016 Animation Film)

One of my new favourites – the SING movie!

I had no idea what to expect from SING! the 2016 animation film from Illumination Entertainment but damn! By the end of the movie, I had laughed, cried and laughed so hard I was crying; it just had released so many emotions that I wasn’t ready to unleash. I gotta say it might be one of my all time favourite movies, and there aren’t many on that list that are from this past decade.

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A great variety of characters with well-suited voice actors (who can sing!)

Firstly, the voice actors were spot on. Matthew McConaughey was positively charismatic as the cute and resourceful koala ‘Buster Moon’ that I could relate to the most. His delightful demeanour in spite of all the challenges he was facing with his business on the brink of bankruptcy gave me so much hope.

It took me back to the days I was running the dance studio and all the challenges I faced. To the many times I felt like giving up and quitting; until I finally let go after a decade of holding on to that dream. When I saw him seemingly lose everything, I thought, damn – how is he gonna bounce back from this?

Seth MacFarlane was hilarious as the arrogant but extremely talented jazzy mouse, ‘Mike’. I absolutely adore the saxophone and hearing those instrumentals was out of this world for me. His old school touch was a hit with my parents and his last scene made me laugh so hard I was crying.

I didn’t recognise Reese Witherspoon‘s voice and I never knew she could sing so well. I loved her grocery shopping scene – sometimes supermarket music is just so good you gotta shake it  😆

Scarlett Johansson was another surprise as the moody and heartbroken teenage porcupine, Taron Egerton (The Kingsman: Secret Service and Eddie the Eagle) as a kid gorilla wanting his father’s approval and Nick Kroll as the absolutely fabulous exhibitionist, Gunther.

The Pop Queen of YouTube, Tori Kelly has taken her artistry to new heights with her angelic performance of Hallelujah (check out the duet version with former American Idol reject Jennifer Hudson) as the stage-shy Meena. She does justice to Stevie Wonder’s “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing” in the finale and released an accompanying music video just recently:

Packed with great music and original performances

There was a variety of so much good music packed into this movie, almost 90 songs from the last 70 years. I knew my parents would love it but even I was surprised when my dad jumped up during the credits and started dancing his heart out, wearing his favourite Hawaiian shirt and all. He looked more like a tropical Bollywood dancer than a Filipino dad. I wish I had my phone to take a video of the whole thing.

Turns out it was a new track by the legendary Stevie Wonder featuring contemporary pop princess Ariana Grande written just for the Sing movie. It’s damn catchy, check it out below.

Upbeat comedy that made me cry from laughing

There were a few solid scenes that made me laugh so hard, I had tears running down my face. In Buster’s lowest moment, the writers found the best way to lighten the mood and transition to an upwards journey.

This I can appreciate whenever I’m in a dark mood and start to let fear and doubt creep into my mind. I’ll be sure to remember this movie and take a break to allow it to kick me back into realising possibilities and believing in magic again.

Honestly, watch it when you’re feeling down and enjoy yourself.

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There’s a sequel on the way!

Great news, part 2 to the 2016 SING movie is on the way, but won’t be released until 2020. I’ll probably have one, maybe two kids by then so that’ll be fun to watch.

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