Sing: Thriller

Sing: Thriller, directed by Garth Jennings and starring Scarlett Johansson and Matthew McConaughey, offers an imaginative reimagining of the iconic "Thriller" music video, this time brought to life by the animated cast of Sing. The clever twist of splitting Michael Jackson's legendary vocals among the different characters adds a fresh and creative layer to the experience. Each character's unique voice and personality complements the eerie, yet upbeat vibe of Thriller, giving the performance a lively and fun ensemble feel.

Johansson's sultry, rock-infused tones blend effortlessly with McConaughey's charismatic and smooth delivery, while the rest of the cast joins in to create a dynamic harmony. Jennings masterfully balances the nostalgia of the original video with the playful energy of the Sing universe, making it feel both familiar and original. Fans of both Sing and Michael Jackson will appreciate this clever crossover, where the unmistakable beats of Thriller. A fun, inventive tribute to the King of Pop! Voices.

My daughter and I watched the Netflix special Sing: Thriller (2024) yesterday. The storyline follows our favorite characters from Sing as they prepare a Halloween-themed play. After the play, they attend an after-party where they encounter a strange ooze that transforms them into zombies, leading to a lively song and dance to Thriller.

Written and directed by Garth Jennings (Sing), this short film features the voices of Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club), Nick Kroll (The Addams Family), and Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service).

For an eleven-minute special, it packs in a lot of fun. The animation is top-notch, as expected, and the Halloween play concept is both creative and engaging. The monsters during the play are entertaining, and the zombie transformation, complete with glowing eyes, adds a spooky touch. The rendition of Thriller is fantastic, especially with each character bringing their unique vocal style. The piano segment and Johnny's performance were highlights for me.

In conclusion, Sing: Thriller is a fun holiday treat that's definitely worth a watch. I'd give it a 7/10 and strongly recommend it!

Sing is Illumination's best franchise, and they finally did something I was begging them to do - lay off the Minions and let something else breathe for a change. They dropped a Halloween treat out of nowhere with Sing: Thriller, so you know I had to watch it. And Sing: Thriller is exactly what it says on the can: a cover of Michael Jackson's Thriller adapted to the Sing universe.

Don't get this confused with a Halloween special like Toy Story of Terror or It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. There is no developed plot or character arcs here. This is very much just a short music video at around 11 minutes total (shorter than Thriller, even). Buster Moon puts on a Halloween show at the New Moon Theater, after which he and his troupe (Ash, Johnny, Meena, Gunter, and Ms. Crawly... but no Rosita???) are invited to Clay Calloway's Halloween party. But something's afoul when there's an accident at the science lab that leaves glowing ooze all around town, an ooze that turns you into a brainless zombie with spiraling eyes if you touch it. Okay, Buster almost got realistically murdered multiple times in Sing 2, but the undead is a bridge too far? Then again, new models cost time and money, and Illumination isn't known for indulging in either. Anyways, the gang reach Clay's house only to find the ooze is already here, and Buster is helpless as all his friends break out into a choreographed dance. And it looks like he's next, because no mere mortal can resist the evil of the thriller... until he wakes up. It was all a dream - or was it!?

Visually, the short looks nice, with a spooky atmosphere and a filter that makes it look like an old horror movie while still being modern and colorful in appearance. The actual animation for the dance was adequate. I've seen so many takes of Thriller. There's better out there and this won't win any awards, but I still must imagine this is a dream come true for Garth Jennings to be officially able to do Thriller but with your characters swapped in. Unfortunately, the actual singing ran into the same issue I had with the cover of Prince's Let's Go Crazy - it sometimes slid into bad Kidz Bop territory, which is unusual for a franchise where this doesn't normally happen. The original voices return, which is great because these specials can sometimes end up with soundalikes (or soundnothingalikes), though they each only get a handful of lines. I imagine that wasn't really a tall order, because who's really going to decline being part of a Thriller cover?

Besides the singing and dancing, part of the fun is spotting the cameos. Most of the new characters from Sing 2 appear here in silent cameos (not including Porsha in the core group is a mistake in my opinion, also Jimmy Crystal is missing but that was to be expected), and there are also some missing faces popping back in from the first movie.

I think Sing: Thriller is okay for what it is, but I hope this is a new trend with Illumination. I want to see them dip their toes into their franchises outside of a movie every 4-5 years. Hopefully next time they do something with a little more plot so we can get more than a few lines from the characters.

I know, I know, it's just a short for the Halloween, don't take this too seriously (some probably may say)

I'm a big fan of Sing 2 because of Clay's appearance. Thus when i saw this, i was so excited to see some cameos of Clay and the least I could say was I am not disappointed since there were some scenes of him (probably about 20~30 seconds of him standing there acting like a zombie i suppose)

But noticing how only few of the voice actors are listed there (and of course not including Bono), i would pretty much assume nothing much is gonna happen in this one and i was right. It's pretty much the same song of "thriller" by MJ sung and danced over and over. I understand the dances are the same as the old music videos but I'm not a fan of it and was getting chills and feeling cringe on those part.

Considering that this is the only content after Sing 2 and it's supposed to be a Halloween content, it's fine.

Hoping for Sing 3 to be released on 2026!

Hitting it out of the park again with great animation! Loved it the musicality and dance coordination were perfection. A great tribute to one of the best music videos of all time! Another great addition to the SING series. Better suited to adults that younger kids who may not get the relevance of the video/ song. Also some funny moments a great quick snippet for the season of Halloween. All the favourite characters featured makes me want another SINGLE moves asap! Have seen some reviews referring to the MJ song featuring however it still remains one of the most iconic music videos of all time.