Music with meaning

Chinese pop singer Wu Mochou (third from right) lends her voice as Ash in the animation's Chinese version.[Photo by Jiang Dong/China Daily]

"I was white-knuckled upon entering the studio. I was nervous about playing the animal, and there was more pressure since the original voice was done by Scarlet Johansson. However, because the film was so funny, I overcame my fears."

A bonus is the Chinese version includes a Chinese song Set It All Free sung by Wu.

The film also unwittingly shines a spotlight on Chinese singing reality shows, which have been widely criticized in recent years.

As Zazie, a film commentator with Iris magazine, says: "The film gently raps these talent shows, as they are always about fame and profit."

In the film, the animals finally abandon the talent-show idea and organize a gala on the ruins of the collapsed theater.

"It (the film) goes beyond consumerism and ends in a fiesta to be enjoyed by the whole city," says Zazie.

Last year, Zootopia earned 1.53 billion yuan at the Chinese box office, topping the animated-film charts for movies screened in the country.

So, will Sing be as successful?

Zazie says: "Sing has conventional values ... and it is a delicious chicken soup. But Zootopia had richer cultural connotations and its hidden purpose was to comment on social issues.

So, it is difficult for other films to reach that position."