You ever watch an animated movie and spend the entire runtime squinting at the screen, trying to figure out why that cartoon pig sounds so familiar? It’s a weirdly specific type of torture. With the sing 1 cast, that feeling is dialed up to eleven because Illumination basically hired half of Hollywood to voice a zoo.
Honestly, the 2016 movie Sing shouldn’t have worked as well as it did. It’s a movie about a koala in a beige suit trying to commit insurance fraud—okay, maybe not fraud, but definitely some questionable accounting—to save a theater. But the reason it stuck? The voices. It wasn't just celebrity stunt casting. These people actually sang their own parts.
The Koala in the Room: Matthew McConaughey
Let’s talk about Buster Moon. If you told me in 2010 that the guy from Dazed and Confused would be playing an optimistic, slightly desperate koala, I would’ve asked what you were smoking. But Matthew McConaughey brings this frantic, "alright-alright-alright" energy to Buster that makes you root for him, even when he’s literally stealing water from the building next door to fill a stage.
What’s wild is that McConaughey doesn’t actually sing much in the first film. He’s the ringleader. He’s the guy selling the dream. He’s basically a high-stakes car salesman, but for show tunes.
The Voices You Definitely Recognized (And One You Probably Didn't)
Reese Witherspoon plays Rosita, the overworked mom to 25 piglets. We already knew she could sing from Walk the Line, but her rendition of "Shake It Off" with Nick Kroll is... something else. Speaking of Nick Kroll, he plays Gunter. Gunter is a vibe. He’s a spandex-wearing German pig who is just there to dance.
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- Scarlett Johansson as Ash: She’s a punk-rock porcupine. Johansson has a raspy, smoky voice that fits the "angsty teen" vibe perfectly. She actually released an album of Tom Waits covers years ago, so she’s got the indie-rock cred to pull off "Set It All Free."
- Seth MacFarlane as Mike: Here is the one people forget. Mike the mouse is a total jerk. He’s a crooner, a Frank Sinatra wannabe who thinks he’s better than everyone. MacFarlane uses his actual singing voice here—the one he uses for Brian Griffin sometimes—and it’s genuinely impressive. He’s a classically trained singer, which makes Mike’s ego almost tolerable.
- Taron Egerton as Johnny: This was before Rocketman. Before he was Elton John, he was a gorilla singing "I'm Still Standing." Talk about foreshadowing. Egerton’s soulful voice is the emotional anchor of the movie.
Meena and the Tori Kelly Factor
Then there’s Meena. The elephant with stage fright. This is where the sing 1 cast gets interesting because they didn’t go for a massive A-list actor here. They went for a singer. Tori Kelly.
Kelly was a YouTube sensation before she hit the big leagues, and her performance of "Don't Worry 'Bout a Thing" is arguably the vocal highlight of the whole film. When she finally lets loose in the ruined theater, it’s not just a "kids movie moment." It’s a genuine vocal masterclass. Director Garth Jennings mentioned in interviews that Tori actually auditioned for the acting role and nailed it, which is rare for a "singer-turned-actor" situation.
Why the Supporting Cast Matters
The main stars get the posters, but the weird side characters make the world feel alive. Did you know the director, Garth Jennings, voiced Miss Crawly? Yeah, the elderly iguana with the glass eye that keeps popping out. That’s him. He did "scratch vocals" (temporary lines) and they loved it so much they kept him.
John C. Reilly is Eddie, the wealthy sheep who is basically Buster’s only friend. Reilly is great because he plays the "voice of reason" who is also secretly a total slacker. And Jennifer Saunders (of Absolutely Fabulous fame) as Nana Noodleman? Perfection. She brings that "grand dame of the theater" energy that makes Buster look like the amateur he kind of is.
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The Musical Complexity
One thing most people get wrong about the sing 1 cast is the idea that they just showed up and talked into a mic. This was a massive undertaking. We’re talking over 60 songs.
The actors had to record their lines, but they also had to spend weeks in the recording booth with music producers like Harvey Mason Jr. They weren't just "voice acting"; they were recording a full-length pop album. When you hear Ash (Scarlett Johansson) crying during a song, that’s not a sound effect. It’s a performance.
Beyond the Screen: The Legacy
Sing was a sleeper hit. It didn't have the "message" weight of Zootopia or the Disney prestige, but it had heart. And a killer soundtrack. It’s the kind of movie that kids watch on a loop, and parents actually don't mind because the music is good.
If you're looking to dive deeper into how these characters were voiced, you should check out the "making of" featurettes on the Blu-ray. Seeing Taron Egerton in the booth recording his gorilla growls is honestly worth the price of admission.
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Moving forward, the best way to appreciate this cast is to listen to the soundtrack without the visuals. You’ll notice the little nuances—the way Nick Kroll leans into the German accent while singing Lady Gaga, or how Seth MacFarlane nails the vibrato on those old standards. It’s a level of craft that usually gets ignored in animation.
If you haven't seen it in a while, go back and watch the final concert sequence. It’s a solid 20 minutes of pure performance. Pay attention to the way the voices change from the beginning of the movie to the end. It’s not just about singing better; it’s about the characters finding their confidence. That’s what makes the sing 1 cast so effective. They didn't just provide voices; they gave these animals souls.
Check out the official soundtrack on Spotify or Apple Music to hear the full versions of the songs—some of them are actually longer than the snippets you hear in the movie. Also, if you’re a fan of Taron Egerton, comparing his Johnny performance to his Elton John performance in Rocketman is a fun afternoon of "spot the similarities."