Illumination Entertainment released two animated hits in 2016, one being Sing, the other, The Secret Life Of Pets. The ladder, in my opinion being the standout of the two. Sing focuses on a Koala voiced by Matthew McConaughey that owns a theater that is going under and is in foreclosure, the only way Buster Moon can think to save it is by putting on a singing competition.  The premise is original but after Zootopia, two more animated features based on animals seems like overkill at this point. Clocking in at just shy of 2 hours, the movie certainly seems as long as it is, at times repeating itself and hashing out the same plot points over and over, occasionally following characters that the audience doesn’t really care about or understand their relationship due to a rushed prologue. Featuring other great voice talent like Scarlett Johansson, Nick Kroll, John C. Reilly, Seth Macfarlane, and Nick Offerman, the movie still falls a little short on narrative and runs a little too long for it’s own good. Special effects are top notch here, showcasing just how far Illumination has come since the first Despicable Me in 2010. In terms of the soundtrack, most of the cast performs their own respective tracks, other tracks making it into the film are relatively newer tracks that seemed like they were chosen due to their popularity and relevance to the film. Some of the best tracks performed were only performed for a few seconds and can be seen in the films trailer. Even with the spectacular animation and an all-star cast, Sing still feels like a movie we’ve all seen before and will having us asking, Is it over yet?, as a few children did in our showing. I hope this animal centered animation phase ends soon, even with Sings originality and, for the most part, likable characters, the formula is becoming redundant.

7 out of 10