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davidahallnum5
Oct 9, 20237 min read

Sing 3D Blu-ray Review

MOVIE REVIEW

Sing is a 2016 animated film by Illumination about a koala bear named Buster Moon. Buster owns a musical theater that's recently been flopping hard. In order to regain interest from the crowd, he decides to hold a singing contest between around half-a-dozen individuals for the prize of $1,000. Unfortunately, a typo occurs that sets the promised prize of around $100,000, which leads him down an unusual path to try and meet the expectations of his contestants. And as for the contestants themselves, the story also takes time to focus on each of them and what they believe they can get by winning the contest.

There's not really much to delve into with this one. Sing is a bit what you'd expect of a simple modern-day kids movie, with the typical licensed music and celebrity voice acting. However, I've heard people ruthlessly criticize this movie over the years. And sure, it's nothing particular subversive or groundbreaking. But I think as most child-oriented films go, Sing is still quite a fun time with nice characters, bright colors, and even a few good laughs.

Now when I say a "few good laughs", the first thought that builds up in your mind is probably that the film has some genuinely well-executed jokes. You'd be right. But for me, the true enjoyment factor I got out of the film in terms of humor wasn't with the given surface-level material it has as a kids movie, but rather through some of the characters' silly, sometimes downright dumb decisions. A lot like with "The Lorax," there's something funny to see with how just how far-fetched and goofy the story was sometimes constructed, whether done intentionally or unintentionally. One of my favorite characters in the film is a mouse named Mike who's voiced by Seth MacFarlane and is the only person in the movie highly appreciative of music, especially jazz music, from the 1950s and 1960s (that's an aspect I can really relate to, and I'm Gen Z). But I don't just enjoy him for his musical taste. He also does things I seldom would see a rational-thinking man do. At one point, he gets so caught up with the idea he'll win the contest by a long shot he takes out a loan for $100,000 and blows it all on fancy cars and parties. On the surface, it's an amusing gag. But it gets even funnier the longer you think about what long-term consequences that implies, not to mention what it says for how dimwitted the character is. Buster Moon isn't off the chopping block either. At one point, he straight up plugs a drop cord a neon sign from a store adjacent to him to get power for his theater. I get he's struggling to keep his theater up and running, but to see him literally stealing electricity from his neighbors (and certainly a lot of it) is something I can't help but find fun in watching. I don't know if the creators of the film purposefully invented all these bizarre rabbit holes. It might've been the case. After all, the film is labeled as a comedy. But none the less, the movie is so full of these little moments that they build to a point where it's worth the price of admission just to see these wacky decisions play out.

That aside, as for the story itself, it's pretty basic with it all building up to a predictable "follow your dreams"-type message you've seen over and over again. But the characters involved were surprisingly, at least from what I saw, not quite as bland as you'd think. Each one had their own personal story arc to work through, and I did actually grow invested in a few of them. There were a few decently effective emotional moments and a couple of neat twists that made the film feel a bit unique. Granted, sometimes the film can feel a little tedious at times as it tries to follow the lives of Buster and all the contestants simultaneously, limiting most of their screen time. I felt the pacing could've benefited slightly if they cut one or two people out, but it didn't ruin the film for me. And while sure, the songs we get here are of the kind we've certainly heard more than once in today's culture, I still found the soundtrack and the musical performances, especially at the end, to be quite entertaining.

And yeah, that's pretty much all there is to it. Sing isn't by any means a great film. But I still found it to be a solid enough film and an enjoyable enough time for the youngsters. Adults clearly aren't the target audience here, but I'm sure very few of them will find themselves squirming waiting for the film to be over. In fact, I reckon some of them might even enjoy themselves a bit. But I suppose many of them, with a much more thoroughly developed view of the world then the kiddies will find many of the amusing decisions made by the characters as way more bizarre and downright stupid then most children would notice. Personally, that's where I found quite a few good belly laughs. That's probably Sing's greatest strength lies: it's a bit funnier than most of your average kids fare. For that reason alone, I recommend it. Still, it's definitely a movie for the children. And there's nothing inherently wrong with that. In fact, I think as most predictable kids fare goes, Sing is one of the better films you could put on. That doesn't make it particularly special, but it does make it entertaining enough to warrant a watch or two.


OVERALL FILM RATING: 3.5/5


3D REVIEW

Say what you will about Illumination as a company, but their track record of 3D films are quite the thing to admire. Being as how their movies are geared towards children, they will do whatever they can to make sure their 3D is just as entertaining. And in between films with constant gimmicky fun and limitless depth such as The Lorax and Despicable Me, I think it's fair to say they've succeeded in doing so. Now I don't know if I'll put Sing quite on the same level as either of those films, but on par with Illumination's other works, they still leave a lot of three-dimensional fun to be had.

The thing about Sing's 3D here is that its story about people in a singing competition doesn't offer up a ton of 3D opportunities the same way other films like The Grinch and Meet the Robinsons do. But it does demonstrate just how naturally 3D works with an animated world full of talking animals and bright colors. We get some pretty decent cityscape shots and plenty of other related moments that enhance the scale and size of buildings and streets. Early on, the film uses some quick tracking shots that move through the city from one character to the other as part of the exposition. It does a good job of showing how big the city is, and it also makes the 3D quite engaging when the camera moves through windows and air vents. At the end when SPOILER WARNING the concert is being held in the damaged, open air theater, there's a shot where the backdrop falls and it leads to a deep view of the city behind the singing character. END SPOILERS

However, much of Sing takes place indoors. And even then, the 3D still has much to offer. It gives each room its own feeling of space and dimensions. In the rehearsal rooms, you can look through various windows into other rooms. Buster at a few points walks across a series of wooden boards placed very high up. The enormous auditorium, though, is where the 3D shines the most, allowing for not only the scale of the theater to be made apparent, but also allowing for great crowd shots, stage props to carry a brand new weight, and even at one point feature stage a big glass tank full of glowing swimming squid.

So for natural the 3D is with Sing, does it ever bother to use it? Thankfully yes. One very notable 3D highlight included a scene where the aforementioned glass tank bursts and floods the theater, allowing for water to splash out at you, underwater views of people floating around, and frenetic, but well-composed 3D action. There's also another excellent 3D moment involving a ton of fliers flying through the air. Elsewhere, though, there's some scattered moments of 3D fun. There's a couple neat shots with a tall giraffe, one sequence involving a ledge, and SPOILER WARNING a time-lapsed montage of characters rebuilding the theater. END SPOILERS There's many-a pop outs, too. But they tend to be on the more subtle end involving things like animals' faces. But we still get porcupine quills, water splashes, the fliers, and even a glass eye.

Sing's 3D doesn't reach quite the same levels of greatness as other films in Illumination's catalogue. But that doesn't discredit it by any means. It's still fun, memorable, and simply an inherently fitting trip for three-dimensional eye candy. It's simply an enjoyable 3D ride that kids and 3D enthusiasts alike can appreciate. Like the plentiful amount of animated films that came before it, its 3D Blu-ray is a shoo-in for a recommendation.


3D RATING: GREAT


OTHER SOURCES THAT REVIEW THIS MOVIE'S 3D:




FINAL THOUGHTS


Will watching Sing change your life in any meaningful way? Not really. But for anyone interested, it still gives off a solid time with a unique-enough story, enduring characters, a catchy soundtrack, and some surprisingly good laughs. It'll entertain the kids fine enough and not bother the adults too much in the process. For a kids movie, I'd call that a success. If you're looking to check this movie out, I tell you what I tell everyone else looking to see an Illumination movie: get the 3D Blu-ray. It'll deliver an experience you can't get from the 2D version. In 3D, you'll get thrills, ample depth, and a sense that the characters are standing right in front of you. Like the movie itself, it might not be the greatest thing money can buy, but it's still well worth a spot in your movie collection.


BUY IT HERE


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