At the end of 2016, there were many anticipated film releases—”Rogue One,” “Passengers,” and “Moana.” “Sing,” like “Moana,” was advertised far in advance, before the actual story plot was revealed. “Sing” received most of the attention it got from all of the famous actors it used, and the $75 million investment paid off big time.

“Sing!” takes place in an alternate world where animals walk and talk like humans. The main character, a koala named Buster Moon (Matthew Mcconaughey), is fond of the arts and owns his own theater. However, the bank is threatening to reclaim the theater if Moon can’t pay them the money he owes. To solve his problem, Moon comes up with a solution: a singing contest.

“Sing” introduces its main characters at the very beginning of the film by highlighting their love of music and the obstacles keeping them from living their dreams. Rosita (Reese Witherspoon), a pig with an unhelpful husband and 20 kids, is an overworked housewife who never has time to herself. Johnny (Taron Egerton), a gorilla, is the son of a leader of a criminal gang who expects him to join the business. Johnny’s father refuses to accept that his son wants to be a singer, and is constantly saying hurtful things to him. Ash (Scarlett Johansson) is a porcupine who is in a punk rock band with her boyfriend, but her boyfriend strives to be better than Ash, telling his girlfriend to “stick to the backup vocals.” Mike (Seth Macfarlane) is a mouse who, despite being tiny, has a big personality and is certain that he will win the competition. Finally, the movie shows Meenah (Tori Kelly), an elephant who has extreme stage fright.

The film plays with the audience’s emotions. There are many funny moments, as any kids’ movie has, but there are also many moments of sadness and anger. These moments make the audience feel strongly for each character, leading them to be torn on which contestant they want to win.

One of the most memorable parts of “Sing” was the soundtrack itself. The movie mostly used songs from other artists, both old and new. “I’m Still Standing” by Elton John was sung by Taron Egerton, and while he’s no Elton John, he got pretty close to being as good as the original. Reese Witherspoon sang “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift, and Seth Macfarlane sang “My Way” by Frank Sinatra. All of these songs were meant to represent the struggles each character was going through.

However, not all the actors could bring musical talent to the table. Scarlett Johansson is an actor, not a singer, which is why some audience members were surprised to hear that the movie did not have a singer sing her song instead. The song features an original song, “Set It All Free”, and though it’s clear that the song was put through autotune, it was fairly good. Reese Witherspoon, however, can sing, even though it’s clear that she and Matthew Mcconaughey were casted for promotion purposes.

Despite the strong plot, it had its downsides. There were a couple plot points that were left hanging, particularly the part where Moon is changing the contestants to fit the image he has for them. Ash was given a popstar image against her will, and Rosita is forced to learn to dance. In the end it works out for them, but the writers could have touched upon that a little better.

“Sing” Is a cute movie that encourages kids, and adults, to never give up on their dreams, and that if things aren’t going your way, work hard and eventually everything will start to turn around.

Rating: A+