Story

In Sing, Buster Moon (voice of Matthew McConaughey) is a smooth-operating, theatre-loving koala, who needs to save his beloved and crumbling Moon Theatre from financial ruin. He decides to hold a grand, citywide singing talent show to get the crowds back into the theatre.

Buster’s auditions attract a colourful array of animals, and there are some fabulous and comical performances. Buster and his ageing assistant, the hilariously incompetent and cross-eyed lizard Miss Crawl (voice of Leslie Jones), choose their favourite acts for the final talent show and rehearsals begin.

Unfortunately for Buster, the bank is breathing down his neck and he faces immediate repossession. To raise the funds to put on the final talent show, he tries to impress a wonderful ancient diva, a sheep called Nana Noodleman (voice of Jennifer Saunders). Buster hopes that Nana might fund the show from her vast fortune. As Buster tries to raise funds, all the contestants face personal struggles on the way to the ultimate performance.

Themes

Performance, auditions and competitions; conquering your fears; following your passions; gambling and crime

Violence

Sing has a few scenes of mild animated violence. For example:

• Mike the mouse is busking and gets cross with someone who gives him only one coin. Mike forces the person to turn out his pockets and takes all the person’s money.
• Buster Moon is literally thrown out of a restaurant.
• Mike is caught cheating at cards and is chased by three large, gangster-type bears, who try to capture him. The bears pick up Mike by the tail, and one bear puts Mike in his mouth.
• The gangster bears enter the theatre and threaten the contestants with violence if they don’t give them the prize money. One of the bears is wielding a baseball bat.

Sexual references

Sing has some romantic and sexual references as well as some mild crude humour. For example:

• A large bison auditions for the show, but he gets so nervous that he passes wind.
• Three female rabbits in tight clothes do a mildly suggestive dance for the audition. They sing, ‘Oh my gosh. Look at her butt’.
• Mike the mouse is captivated by an attractive female mouse, who looks at him flirtatiously and walks with a wiggle.
• Ash the porcupine (voice of Scarlett Johansson) is a teenager. She has a boyfriend who calls her ‘babe’. She comes home to find him singing a duet with a new porcupine girlfriend and is devastated.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

None of concern

Nudity and sexual activity

None of concern

Product placement

None of concern

Coarse language

Sing has some very mild verbal insults.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Sing is fun to watch and is likely to be enjoyed by most of the family. It’s full of positive messages, great music and beautiful animation.

Some scenes might be too scary for children under four or five years, and we recommend parental guidance for children up to the age of seven years.

The main message from this movie is that you shouldn’t let fear stop you from doing the thing you love.

Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include working as a team, following your passions and overcoming your fears.

This movie could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues like the consequences of crime and dangerous driving.