Sing

This review may contain spoilers!

Sometimes the most stunning animated films are also the simple ones. I would give Sing a 9/10.

Within this film we're introduced to a large cast of characters who are all written really well in this film and who each receive a really interesting story arc. I found this film to really balance out strong emotional moments with very clever and witty comedy, it's a fun take on the classic singing competition concept. The animation looks really nice, in particular how certain settings are given very beautiful and vivid colours. Yet what sets this film apart is it's incredible soundtrack, the use of songs to enhance comedy as well as to empathise character development is masterfully done.

Reese Witherspoon, who voiced Rosita, is quite a driven character in this film; she's relatable and you're really rooting for her from the beginning. Seth MacFarlane, who voiced Mike, is a smug and arrogant character who really makes his mark upon the film; he's never really the most likeable but he certainly has some of the best lines of the film. Scarlett Johansson, who voiced Ash, is such a fierce and strong character; her rebellious spirit comes full circle when she stands up and performs her own song at the end of the film. Tori Kelly, who voiced Meena, is a very sweet timid role; her development towards surmounting her fear and performing in the final show is one of the best character arcs. Taron Egerton, who voiced Johnny, has a lot of conflict about working for his father and performing onstage; I enjoyed how earnest this role was and how much he wanted to rise above his family's criminal lifestyle. Nick Kroll, who voiced Gunter, was one of the funniest characters of the film; he had so much energy and managed to stand out in every scene he was in. Peter Serafinowicz, who voiced Marcus, was a really tough father figure; the scene between him and Egerton in which they reconcile with one another is one of the most touching scenes of the film. Beck Bennett, who voiced Lance, really does the jerk boyfriend role well; his laidback attitude and dismissive behaviour towards Johansson really sparks an interesting storyline.

However the best performance came from Matthew McConaughey, who voiced Buster Moon. This was a role with a lot of passion and vision, who wanted to make something incredible because he cared about it. I really enjoyed seeing how much of a role model he became to the other characters, even encouraging them to rise above their fears and achieve their dreams. This is the funniest I've seen McConaughey in a film recently and he does a great job of keeping you entertained throughout.

If there's one thing I'd have to complain about it's that I took issue with how Mike's storyline was never wrapped up to a satisfying conclusion the same way the rest of the characters were.

John C. Reilly, who voiced Eddie, was a performance that didn't seem to have much effort put into it; he had a lot of scenes with McConaughey and generally wound up falling into the background. Nick Offerman, who voiced Norman, was such a bland delivery that you didn't really care for the role; it was such a let down for Witherspoon's character that her arc seemed to end with Norman being rewarded. Leslie Jones and Jay Pharoah, who voiced Meena's Mother and Meena's Grandfather respectively, just felt like simple two-dimensional background roles; these were characters who didn't have a lot to do and didn't actually add much to Meena's character development. Jennifer Saunders, who voiced Miss Nana Noodleman, was such a dry role and came off as too stilted; Saunders had this impassive quality that made her character hard to connect to. Garth Jennings, who voiced Miss Crawly, was such a grating and simple voice performance; more of a bumbling comedic relief element than an actual character.