Review of Sing (2016) by Ben F — 05 Jan 2017

My favorite thing about Illumination has always been their cartoony charm. As Disney and Pixar are headed toward jarringly realistic renderings of abstract cartoon design paired with a real-world logic that simply isn't as appealing to kids as we'd like it to be, Sing embraces Illumination's celebrated cuteness and carries a compelling feature-quality narrative in spite of Tex Avery-esque circumstances. This kind of execution is nearly unheard of in mainstream feature animation.

The film is first sold by its brisk pace, breezy cinematography, and reliably charming animation. It then holds itself up with wonderfully likeable characters. Buster Moon, a scrappy-yet-composed Koala showman, deserves to be this generation's Buzz or Woody. He's a truly great character, and serves as a thought-out centerpiece to the colliding stories of the contestants he picks for the singing contest meant to save his failing theater. Each of them gets just enough screen time for audiences to give a hoot about their final performances. Their stories are tailored to inspire just about anyone. It's a smartly crafted, generously inclusive, miraculously happy family film. The quality of its narrative structure--juggling at least five plot lines--is surely thanks to Illumination's decision to set aside the made-by-committee production style that's haunting feature animation and put trust in a single writer/director.

It's a benchmark film for Illumination, for feature animation, and for families. Finally there's a great family film that kids will love just as much as you will.