Though Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment previously announced an untitled animated project due out around the holidays in 2016, it's been revealed that that project in question will now be titled Sing. Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, John C. Reilly, Taron Egerton and Tori Kelly star in the musical comedy written and directed by Garth Jennings. The movie follows the owner of a failing theater who stages the world's greatest singing competition in hopes of rejuvenating his business; five hopeful contestants emerge as frontrunners vying for a life-changing victory.

We have a host of new character images from Sing to share with you today, along with the film's official synopsis and a new teaser poster. This holiday film, which boasts more than 85 hit songs, will be the second animated feature from Illumination Entertainment to debut in 2016, following the summer release of The Secret Life of Pets.

Nick Kroll, Jennifer Saunders, Peter Serafinowicz, Leslie Jones, Jay Pharoah, Nick Offerman, and Beck Bennett also lend their voices to the animated animals of Sing, which opens December 21, 2016.

Here are the new character images, synopsis, and teaser poster for Sing:

 

Illumination has captivated audiences all over the world with the beloved hits Despicable Me, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, Despicable Me 2 and Minions, now the second-highest-grossing animated movie in history. Following the release of The Secret Life of Pets in summer 2016, Illumination presents Sing at the holidays. Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, John C. Reilly, Taron Egerton and Tori Kelly star in a musical comedy about finding the shining star that lives inside all of us.   Set in a world like ours but entirely inhabited by animals, Sing stars Buster Moon (Academy Award® winner Matthew McConaughey), a dapper Koala who presides over a once-grand theater that has fallen on hard times. Buster is an eternal optimist—okay, maybe a bit of a scoundrel—who loves his theater above all and will do anything to preserve it. Now facing the crumbling of his life’s ambition, he has one final chance to restore his fading jewel to its former glory by producing the world’s greatest singing competition.   Five lead contestants emerge: A mouse (Seth MacFarlane) who croons as smoothly as he cons, a timid teenage elephant (Tori Kelly) with an enormous case of stage fright, an overtaxed mother (Academy Award® winner Reese Witherspoon) run ragged tending a litter of 25 piglets, a young gangster gorilla (Taron Egerton) looking to break free of his family’s felonies, and a punk-rock porcupine (Scarlett Johansson) struggling to shed her arrogant boyfriend and go solo. Each animal arrives under Buster’s marquee believing that this is their shot to change the course of their life.   Featuring more than 85 hit songs, Sing is written and directed by Garth Jennings (Son of Rambow, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) and produced by Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy. Released by Universal Pictures, Sing arrives in theaters for the holiday season on December 21, 2016.