Illumination Entertainment returns to the big screen with Sing. Written and directed by Garth Jennings (Son of Rambow), the film pulls the audience in with its vibrant colours and catchy music.

Sing is set in a world entirely populated by animals. They live in a sunny metropolis, with the hustle and bustle reminiscent of Hollywood. This city is the home of Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey), a koala who professes how much he loves the theatre and show business. Within the first few minutes of the film, we learn Buster fell in love with the stage when he was just a little koala. His father was the one who introduced Buster to the magic of theatre. Buster grows up and inherits a own a grand, old theatre from his father.  Now in ruins, however, he cannot longer afford to upkeep it — yet  he refuses to abandon the theatre.

In order to bring back the audiences, Buster decides to hold an American Idol-like singing competition. Due to a major misunderstanding, the advertised grand prize draws in almost everyone in the city to audition. After a full day of ‘gruelling’ auditions, Buster narrows down his list of contestants.

The chosen ones include Rosita (Reese Witherspoon), a female pig who clearly needs a break from caring for 25 little piglets; there’s Johnny (Taron Egerton), a teenage gorilla who prefers singing to his dad’s gang of thieves. We also meet Ash (Scarlett Johansson), a punk-rock porcupine whose talent is undermined by her boyfriend and bandmate. Meena (Tori Kelly), is an extremely shy teenage elephant that has to overcome her stage fright. Mike (Seth MacFarlane), the gambling mouse who is the Frank Sinatra of the bunch. And although they do not make it into the competition, there is a group of young female foxes who sing nothing but Japanese pop songs.

Although the story lack depth, there is lack of any character development, but the second a song starts up, you forgets all of this. Sing begs to be liked with its catchy tunes. The music ranges from old favourites to current Top 40 hits; there’s pretty much something for everyone.  This is a film that will appeal to the entire family — how could it not? It includes cute animals dressed like people. Everyone at the screening I attended seemed to enjoy every musical scene, right up to the grand finale. There was lots of laughing, oohs and aahs, and of course, clapping.

Sing is not a film you watch for deep meaning like Inside Out, for example. But it is an entertaining and fun film with good comedic moments, catchy tunes, and lots of cute characters. Let’s not forget its messages to “believe in yourself” and “never give up”, although cliché, still resonate with younger audiences. The last song, Faith, and the finale really make the film much better than you may expect.

Sing opens in theaters on December 21.