I am a huge fan of Scarlett Johansson. But, I will not be checking out the live-action movie of the animeGhost in The Shell she is starring in due to the whitewashing of the main character. Now, that blame cannot be placed on ScarJo. That is the studio’s fault and not hers. She is an actress, acting is her job and she chose to take that role. She’s got to pay her bills too, you know.

Since I won’t be seeing Ghost in The Shell, and it will be some time before the next installment of the Avengers flicks, I decided to check out the movie Sing.

Plus, I knew ScarJo had some musical experience and even has a few albums out so, I wanted to hear what she would be singing in this movie, if anything.

Sing is a film by Dreamworks and while animals are filling the roles of people, it is still a jukebox musical type of movie. While Sing is billed as a ‘children’s movie’, that doesn’t mean anything.

Now, kids will love the movie for the bright colors, vibrant animation and the overall fighting spirit in the story. As for us older kids, meaning the adults who never really grew up, we can enjoy all of those pieces as well. But, we also need to take a step back and really listen to the lyrics. Specifically, the lyrics that ScarJo sings out as her character, Ash.

*SPOILERS (while minimal) AHEAD*

Ash is a porcupine who is a rocker in her own right. Which, her boyfriend who she is in a band with, doesn’t necessarily like. Ash eventually gets her heart broken by her boyfriend. Now, younger viewers might not realize this but, Ash’s boyfriend cheats on her and that is the reason they break up.

Ash is very much hurt and cries. But, that’s a-okay. Feelings need to be let out. One more way that Ash ends up letting out her feelings is through song. She writes an original piece called Set It All Free. Though, getting those words and feelings out is difficult. While it is not put out there piece by piece in the movie, the overall feeling that consumes Ash is the feeling of confusion. Her ex-boyfriend was someone that she thought she could trust, someone that she had her heart set on building a future with only for him to throw it away in a matter of seconds. Then comes the feelings of self-doubt and wondering if you’re ‘really good enough’ because that one person didn’t see your worth.

Ash eventually performs her song and explains that with that song, to the unhappy life she had been leading with her boyfriend, “this is my kiss goodbye, this is my big hello,” and more or less finds herself and realizes that she can make it without the guy who never loved her in the first place. It needs to be understood that, no good would have come from Ash staying with her boyfriend. She is the real winner in that instance because she got away from something that could’ve potentially turned toxic had she listened to his lies about her having no talent.

That’s a lesson we all need to take into consideration, no matter our ages.