Witherspoon, Johansson get together to ‘Sing’

Deadline reports that the film is slated for release December 21, 2016, and that the soundtrack will feature over 85 hit songs.

Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, and Seth MacFarlane have joined Matthew McConaughey in the voice cast for Illumination Entertainment’s upcoming animated comedy Sing. McConaughey will play a koala named Buster Moon, a struggling theater owner who decides to host the contest in order to turn his life around.

Here’s a synopsis: Set in a world like ours but entirely inhabited by animals, Sing stars Buster Moon (Academy Award victor Matthew McConaughey), a dapper Koala who presides over a once-grand theater that has fallen on hard times. Buster attempts to reverse his fortunes by holding the world’s greatest singing competition, with five contestants in particular vying for the crown. It is produced by Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy.

Scarlett’s punk-rock porcupine will have trouble with her boyfriend when she makes it through to the competition but he doesn’t. But along the way, she finds enough confidence to be comfortable with herself, Johansson says. “In fact, she represents a lot of teenagers going through the same experience of embracing their true selves as they come of age”.

Lesser known actors Tori Kelly and Taron Egerton are also on board, as a shy elephant with stage fright and a reluctant mafioso gorilla respectively.