Sing (2016 American film)

Sing is a 2016 American computer-animated musical comedy film[3] produced by Illumination Entertainment and released by Universal Pictures. It was written and directed by Garth Jennings, co-directed by Christophe Lourdelet[1] and stars the ensemble voices of Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, John C. Reilly, Taron Egerton, and Tori Kelly. The film is about a group of anthropomorphic animals that enter a singing competition, hosted by a koala who is trying to save his theater.

Sing
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGarth Jennings
Produced by
  • Chris Meledandri
  • Janet Healy
Written byGarth Jennings
Starring
Music byJoby Talbot
Edited byGregory Perler[1]
Production
company
Illumination Entertainment
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • September 11, 2016 (2016-09-11) (TIFF)
  • December 21, 2016 (2016-12-21) (United States)
Running time
110 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$75 million[2]
Box office$634.2 million[2]

The film includes more than 60 songs from famous artists and also has an original song by Stevie Wonder and Ariana Grande called "Faith," which was nominated for a Golden Globe.[4] It screened on the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2016, premiered at Microsoft Theater on December 3, 2016 and was released in the United States on December 21, 2016, by Universal Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews and grossed $634 million worldwide.

A sequel, titled Sing 2, is scheduled to be released on December 22, 2021.

Plot

In a city of anthropomorphic animals called Calatonia, theater owner koala Buster Moon hosts a singing competition to promote his struggling theater, following financial problems brought up by bank representative llama Judith. A mishap involving the glass eye of Buster's assistant, elderly iguana Miss Crawly, applies two extra zeroes to the prize money, and the misprinted flyers are blown out the window into the street.

Animals from across the city gather for auditions. Those selected include: housewife and mother of 25 piglets Rosita; punk-rock porcupine Ash; gorilla Johnny, son of mobster Big Daddy; street musician mouse Mike; a singing and dancing frog trio; and opera singer camel Pete. Teenage elephant Meena fails her audition from stage fright, while Ash's ill-tempered boyfriend Lance is dismissed from the contest. Rosita is paired with an exuberant pig named Gunter for a dance routine. Buster discovers the flyers advertise a prize of $100,000 – money he does not have – but remains optimistic. He arranges a visit with his friend Eddie's grandmother, former opera singer and stage actress Nana Noodleman, who is hesitant to sponsor the prize money but agrees to attend a private preview of the show.

Pressured by her grandfather, Meena tries to ask Buster for another chance to perform, but becomes his stage hand instead. When the frog trio breaks up and quits and Pete is injured, Meena is added as an act (despite the fact that Buster hasn’t heard her sing). Rosita flounders in her dance routine with Gunter, distracted by her parenting duties that have fallen into disarray. After discovering Lance broke up with her for a new girlfriend, telling her that she was never around anymore, and evicting them from her apartment, Ash breaks down while singing her assigned song, Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe." Johnny is torn between rehearsals and having to help his father as the driver of a getaway car in a heist. Trying to do both, he fails to pick up the robbers in time due to a traffic jam, and his father and his gang are arrested. Meena does not get any help in overcoming her stage fright, and Mike, certain the prize money is as good as his, buys a fancy car to impress a female mouse and swindles a group of bears in a card game.

The day of the preview, the bears interrupt the show, demanding the money from Mike, who points to Buster. The bears open the prize chest, but it is nowhere near $100,000. The glass tank of luminescent squids lighting the stage breaks and floods the theater, which comes crashing down. Judith repossesses the lot and Buster, who had been living in his desk at the theater, takes up residence with Eddie at his parents' pool house. The contestants try to cheer him up, but Buster is too despondent to listen. He tries to start over by opening a car wash.

When Meena goes to the rubble of the theater and sings Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", Buster hears her and is inspired to reinstate the show without the prize money, performing on a makeshift stage on the lot for Rosita and Meena's families. Rosita and Gunter perform Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off", which finally prompts Rosita's husband, Norman, to pay attention to her singing talent. More animals are drawn to the scene as the show is broadcast on the news. Johnny's rendition of Elton John's "I'm Still Standing" impresses his father, who escapes from prison to reconcile with him. Despite an interruption by Judith, Ash sings her original rock song "Set It All Free," which her ex-boyfriend watches on TV and finally acknowledges Ash's talent. Mike returns to the show and sings Frank Sinatra's "My Way,” and Meena finally overcomes her fears and sings Stevie Wonder's "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing", which literally brings down the house.

The show is a success and impresses Nana, who was in the audience. She buys the lot and the theater is rebuilt and reopened.

Voice cast
Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Tori Kelly, Taron Egerton, and Nick Kroll at the film's premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
  • Matthew McConaughey as Buster Moon, an optimistic koala who plans to save his theater from closure by holding a singing competition.[5][6]
  • Reese Witherspoon as Rosita, a pig who gave up her teenage music dreams to become a devoted wife to Norman, and mother to their 25 piglets.[6]
  • Seth MacFarlane as Mike, a white mouse with a big Frank Sinatra-esque voice and an arrogant attitude.[6]
  • Scarlett Johansson as Ash, a teenage porcupine punk rocker who takes part in an alternative-rock music duo with her boyfriend Lance.[1][6]
  • John C. Reilly as Eddie Noodleman, a sheep and Buster's friend who doubts the future of the theater.[6][7]
  • Taron Egerton as Johnny, a teenage gorilla who wants to sing, though his father would rather have him follow his criminal footsteps.[6]
  • Tori Kelly as Meena, a teenage elephant with an exquisite voice and severe stage fright.[6]
  • Jennifer Saunders as Nana Noodleman, a sheep and Eddie's grandmother who was a famous singer in her glory days.[8][9]
  • Garth Jennings, the film’s writer and director, as Miss Crawly, an elderly iguana with a glass eye who is Buster's administrative assistant.[1]
  • Peter Serafinowicz as Big Daddy, a gorilla gang leader who wants his son Johnny to follow in his crime business.[1]
  • Nick Kroll as Gunter, a passionate dancing pig who is partnered with Rosita for the show.[10][8]
  • Beck Bennett as Lance, a porcupine and Ash's self-absorbed boyfriend.[1]
  • Jay Pharoah[8] as Meena's Grandfather, an Indian elephant who pressures her to overcome her stage fright.
  • Nick Offerman[8] as Norman, a pig and Rosita's husband.
  • Leslie Jones as Meena's Mother
  • Rhea Perlman as Judith,[1][11] a brown llama from the bank who warns Buster that his theater will be repossessed if he does not pay.
  • Laraine Newman as Meena's Grandmother
  • Adam Buxton as Stan, a gorilla who is a member of Big Daddy's gang.
  • Brad Morris as Baboon, whom Mike attacks for not donating more money to his street performances.
  • Bill Farmer as Bob the News Reporter Dog, who documents Buster's singing competition
  • Jim Cummings (credited as "James J. Cummings") as the Russian bears.
  • Tara Strong as:
    • Becky, Lance's new girlfriend.
    • Nancy, a female white mouse who is Mike's girlfriend.
  • Maurice LaMarche as a giraffe, a quiet giraffe who has some speaking parts

The voices of Rosita and Norman's piglet children were provided by Oscar, Leo, Caspar, and Asa Jennings, the children of Garth Jennings, the film's writer and director. Jennings had directors Edgar Wright (as a goat) and Wes Anderson (as Daniel, a giraffe who auditions with the song "Ben") provide "additional voices", continuing a tradition of the three friends appearing in each other's films.[12] An archival recording of Shooby Taylor, who died in 2003, was used for one of the contestants.[13]

Production

In January 2014, it was announced that Garth Jennings would write and direct an animated comedy film for Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment, about "courage, competition and carrying a tune,"[14] which was originally titled Lunch,[15] and then retitled as Sing.[6]

On January 14, 2015, Matthew McConaughey was cast in the film's lead voice role.[5] Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy produced the film.[5] On June 17, 2015, it was confirmed that McConaughey's character was named Buster and that John C. Reilly would voice Eddie, a sheep and Buster's best friend.[7] In November 2015, it was announced that Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, Tori Kelly and Taron Egerton had joined the cast of the film.[6]

The film features 65 pop songs, the rights to which cost 15 percent of the film's $75 million budget.[16] The animation was created entirely in France by Illumination Mac Guff.[17]

Soundtrack

A soundtrack album for the film was released on December 21, 2016.

Release

The almost complete[18] film was screened as a work in progress beginning September 11, 2016 at the Toronto International Film Festival.[19] Universal Studios released the film on December 21, 2016.[20]

Home media

Sing was released on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, Ultra HD Blu-ray and DVD on March 21, 2017. It includes three short films: Gunter Babysits, Love at First Sight, and Eddie's Life Coach.[21]

  • In Gunter Babysits, Gunter offers to watch over Rosita and Norman's piglets while they are away as he works to prove himself to be a good babysitter.
  • In Love at First Sight, Johnny sets Miss Crawly up with an online dating website where she manages to score a date with a lizard named Herman.
  • In Eddie's Life Coach, Eddie's mother sets Eddie up for a digital training seminar where he will be assigned to a dachshund named Garry "The Winner" Wishman.

Reception

Box office

Sing grossed $270.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $363.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $634.1 million, against a production budget of $75 million.[2] Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $194.2 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenue for the film, making it the 7th most profitable release of 2016.[22]

In North America, the film opened alongside Passengers and Assassin's Creed, and was expected to gross around $70 million from 4,022 theaters over its first six days of release.[23] The film made $1.7 million during its Tuesday night previews.[24] It went on to gross $35.2 million in its opening weekend (a six-day total of $75.5 million), finishing second at the box office behind Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which was in its second week.[25] It rose 21% in its second weekend to $42.9 million, remaining in second, and grossed $20.8 million in its third week and finishing third.[26] Sing holds the record for being the highest-grossing film to never finish first at the North American box office, beating My Big Fat Greek Wedding ($241.4 million in 2002).[27]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 71% based on 178 reviews, and an average rating of 6.49/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "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."[28] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 59 out of 100 based on 37 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."[29] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[30]

Brian Truitt of USA Today gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars and wrote, "In a year full of talking-animal hits, Sing isn't quite as strong a number. It's a tale that might not be particularly thought-provoking but sure is toe-tapping."[31] In her review for the Los Angeles Times, Katie Walsh called Sing, "a cute movie with genuinely funny moments (keep an eye out for the koala car wash), and some great tunes to boot."[32] The Arizona Republic's Bill Goodykoontz was rather mixed about the movie in his review and overall said, "Sing is like an album with a good song here and there, but too much filler and not enough hits."[33] Reviewing the version of the film screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, Stefan Pape of the British website HeyUGuys gave the film a mixed review of 2/5, stating that "Garth Jennings's Sing effectively acknowledges early on that it's following a completely unoriginal formula, and yet carries on regardless."[34] While Peter Debruge of Variety, who also saw the film during the same festival, did not find the subplots to have any "profound life lessons," he overall praised Jennings' direction, the cast's voice performances and the film's silliness.[35]

Accolades
List of awards and nominations
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
AARP Annual Movies for Grownups Awards February 6, 2017 Best Movie for Grownups who Refuse to Grow Up Sing Nominated [36]
Annie Awards February 4, 2017 Outstanding Achievement, Music in an Animated Feature Production Joby Talbot [37]
Golden Globe Awards January 8, 2017 Best Animated Feature Film Sing [38]
Best Original Song "Faith" – Ryan Tedder, Stevie Wonder and Francis Farewell Starlite
Hollywood Music in Media Awards November 17, 2016 Best Song – Animated Film [39][40]
Best Soundtrack Album Sing: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Outstanding Music Supervision – Film Jojo Villanueva Won
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards March 11, 2017 Favorite Animated Movie Sing Nominated [41]
Favorite Voice From an Animated Movie Reese Witherspoon
Most Wanted Pet
Favorite Soundtrack Sing
Saturn Awards June 28, 2017 Best Animated Film Nominated [42]

Sequel

On January 25, 2017, Universal and Illumination announced plans for a sequel, originally scheduled for release on December 25, 2020. However, on April 12, 2019, the release date was pushed back to July 2, 2021, accommodating the release of The Croods 2.[43][44]

On April 1, 2020, Universal pushed Sing 2's release date to December 22, 2021, with Minions: The Rise of Gru taking the July 2, 2021 release date due to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic's impact on the film industry.[45]

References
  1. Felperin, Leslie (September 11, 2016). "'Sing': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  2. "Sing (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  3. Kenny, Glenn (2016-12-20). "Review: 'Sing' Gives Animated Belters a Stage". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  4. Amidi, Amid (September 9, 2016). "A Complete List of Every Song in Illumination's 'Sing'". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  5. Kit, Borys (January 14, 2015). "Matthew McConaughey to Star in Illumination Animated Film (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  6. Truitt, Brian (November 10, 2015). "Sneak peek: A-list animals 'SING' together". USA Today. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  7. Hopewell, John (June 17, 2015). "Annecy: Chris Meledandri on Matthew McConaughey as a Koala Legit Theater Owner, 'The Grinch'". Variety. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  8. Trumbore, Dave (November 11, 2015). "Meet the Animated Animals of Illumination Entertainment's 2016 Musical Comedy, 'Sing'". Collider. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  9. Buxton, Adam (April 14, 2016). "EP.16 - Pub Walk With Garth Jennings". soundcloud.com. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
  10. Yuen, Jenny (September 11, 2016). "TIFF 2016: Matthew McConaughey optimistic about 'Sing'". Toronto Sun. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  11. "Sing - Full Cast and Credits". Hollywood.com. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  12. Weintraub, Steve 'Frosty' (2016-12-19). "Garth Jennings on Getting Edgar Wright and Wes Anderson to Provide Voices in 'Sing'". Collider. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
  13. O'Sullivan, Michael; O'Sullivan, Michael (December 20, 2016). "As crooning animals, Hollywood heavyweights give 'Sing' the boost it needs". Retrieved March 6, 2017 – via washingtonpost.com.
  14. "'Despicable Me 3′ Set For June 2017 Release; 'Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas' Arrives Five Months Later". Deadline. January 15, 2014. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  15. Hopewell, John (January 8, 2014). "France Fights Bidding War to Lure Hollywood Filmmakers". Variety. Retrieved January 9, 2014. Universal now has “Max” and “Lunch” set up at Illumination MacGuff.
  16. Kilday, Gregg (December 9, 2016). "Illumination's Chris Meledandri Talks Success Secrets, Rumors He'll Head DreamWorks". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  17. Keslassy, Elsa (2 December 2016). "Oscar's French Animation Connection Draws on Deep Talent Pool".
  18. Grobar, Matt (December 5, 2016). "'Sing' Director Garth Jennings On Working With "Wizards," The Learning Curve Of His Feature Animation Debut". Deadline. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  19. Hammond, Pete (August 23, 2016). "Universal & Illumination To Launch 'Sing' With Live Jennifer Hudson And Tori Kelly Performances At Toronto". Deadline. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  20. McClintock, Pamela (January 15, 2014). "Universal Dates 'Despicable Me 3,' New 'Grinch Who Stole Christmas'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  21. Wolfe, Jennifer (February 14, 2017). "Illumination Entertainment's 'Sing' Headed to Retail". Animation World Network. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  22. Fleming Jr, Mike (March 28, 2017). "No. 7 'Sing' Box Office Profits – 2016 Most Valuable Movie Blockbuster Tournament". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  23. "Will 'Rogue One' Vanquish The Christmas B.O. Competition?". Deadline Hollywood.
  24. "'Sing's' Box-Office Debut Tops 'Assassin's Creed,' 'Passengers' in Tuesday Night Previews". The Hollywood Reporter.
  25. "With 'Fences,' 'La La Land' Enter Top 10 As 'Rogue One' & 'Sing' Rule Holiday – Monday AM Update". Deadline Hollywood. December 27, 2016. Sing* (Ill/Uni) 4,022 locations, 4-day $54.9M, 3-day: $35.2M, 4-day: $13,7K average, Total: $75.5M, 1 wk
  26. "'Rogue One' Doesn't Want To Fall To 'Hidden Figures' As Winter Storm Helena Closes Theaters". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
  27. "Top Grossing Movies that never hit #1". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2017-01-31.
  28. "Sing (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  29. "Sing reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  30. "Cinemascore". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on 2018-12-20.
  31. Brian Truitt (December 20, 2016). "Review: Animated 'Sing' is a poppy treat (and Matthew McConaughey sings!)". USA Today. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  32. Katie Walsh (December 20, 2016). "Packed with pop tunes, 'Sing' discovers the simple fun in putting on a show". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  33. Bill Goodykoontz (December 21, 2016). "'Sing' has too much filler, not enough hits". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  34. "TIFF 2016: Sing Review - HeyUGuys". Retrieved September 21, 2016.
  35. Peter Debruge (September 11, 2016). "Film Review: 'Sing'". Variety. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  36. Rahman, Abid (December 15, 2016). "Denzel Washington's 'Fences' Leads Nominations for AARP's Movies for Grownups Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  37. "44th Annie Award Nominees". International Animated Film Society. November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  38. "Golden Globes 2017: The Complete List of Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. December 12, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  39. "Justin Timberlake & Alexandre Desplat Among Winners At Hollywood Music In Media Awards". Deadline. November 18, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  40. McNary, Dave (November 2, 2016). "'La La Land' Scores Three Hollywood Music in Media Nominations". Variety. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  41. "Justin Timberlake and Kevin Hart Lead Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards Nominations". Variety. February 24, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  42. McNary, Dave (March 2, 2017). "Saturn Awards Nominations 2017: 'Rogue One,' 'Walking Dead' Lead". Variety. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  43. Kilday, Gregg (January 25, 2017). "'Sing' Sequel Coming From Illumination and Universal". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  44. D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 12, 2019). "'Sing 2' To Croon Summer 2021; 'The Croods 2' Moves To Holiday Season 2020". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  45. "'Minions: Rise of Gru' Lands New Summer 2021 Release; 'Sing 2,' 'Wicked' Delayed". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
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