SING

“A singing competition?” exclaims John C. Reilly’s talking sheep. “Who wants to see another one of those?” Viewers might be asking the same question after sitting through this generic animation from the Illumination stable.

The most remarkable thing about Sing is how staggeringly unremarkable it is. “Talking animals” is the big idea that director Garth Jennings (Son of Rambow) has brought to the table, but there’s not nearly enough distance between it the similarly themed The Secret Life of Pets or Zootropolis to get away with the flimsy concept. If Zootropolis wasn’t exactly original, at least it was funny.

In a town populated with anthropomorphic animals, producer, promoter and Koala Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) decides to save his ailing theatre by staging a talent competition.

Friendships are tested, obstacles are overcome, and everyone grows just a little bit. The predictable plot is about as exciting as following a straight piece of rope from beginning to end. It’s about as original as a wedding band playing “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go”.

It doesn’t share any of the clever anarchic comedy of Despicable Me. Instead, the humour seems to be aimed at the very young (fart jokes… Really?). Pre-schoolers might get a kick out of watching a pig singing Taylor Swift, but parents of a certain vintage will be rightly appalled at the sight of Tori Kelly butchering Leonard Cohen in the style of Mariah Carey.

Sing is a highly derivative, underwhelming experience. Given the track record of both studio and director, I expected more.