Sing

By crossing “American Idol” with “The Muppets” and others, Sing seems like an attempt to cash in on a craze while coming late to the party.

The 3D animated comedy is an impressive technical achievement that features some amusing snippets, but despite a feisty underdog spirit, it becomes overloaded with quirks and hyperactivity.

Like the superior Zootopia, the film place in a world where anthropomorphic animals stand in for humans. One of them is Buster (voiced by Matthew McConaughey), a slick-talking koala trying to save a struggling theater that has been in his family for generations.

He needs a big hit to fill the seats, so he decides to host a singing competition with a modest cash prize, which turns into a fortune due to a clerical error. Pushed to the brink of desperation, Buster chooses his five finalists with big dreams from hundreds of hopefuls at the audition.

Each of the musicians come with their own personal obstacles to stardom, including a gorilla soul singer (Taron Egerton), a punk-rock porcupine (Scarlett Johansson), a mouse (Seth MacFarlane) channeling Frank Sinatra, an overburdened mother (Reese Witherspoon) to 25 piglets, and an overly timid young elephant (Tori Kelly).

At its best, Sing is a feast for the senses, with crisply detailed animation and celebration of grassroots musical talent that spans generations and styles — even if the avoidance of full-fledged production numbers is curious.

Amid the good-natured scheming, there’s a hint of self-deprecation. Buster is asked: “A singing competition? Who wants to see another one of those?” However, just because you can poke fun at your own concept doesn’t necessarily make it fresh or compelling.

The episodic structure of the screenplay by director Garth Jennings (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) doesn’t leave much room for character development. For example, the idea of opera-trained sheep might offer some chuckles at first sight (and sound), but doesn’t leave a lasting impression.

Along the way, the film lightly satirizes the superficial nature of the music business, and there are uplifting messages about being true to yourself and following your dreams that are touching but hardly original. Although the big finale packs a punch, the result is slightly out of tune.

Rated PG, 108 minutes.