Ash (Sing)

Ash is one of the three tritagonists of Illumination's 7th animated feature film Sing and its sequel Sing 2. 
Ash is voiced by , who also voiced Princess Mindy in , and portrayed Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Lucy Miller in her titular movie, Major Mira Kilian in the live-action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell and Rosie Betzler in Jojo Rabbit. 
==Appearance==
Ash has short light brown fur with dark brown and white quills that run along her head and back. She wears dark brown eye-shadow and mascara, a black and white striped shirt over a grey undershirt, a plaid skirt over blue jeans, and dark blue tennis shoes. Ash's outer shirt has two quills and three pins attached to the front.
During rehearsals, Ash wears a frilled and sparkly purple dress with white layers, a purple belt with a bow, and matching shoes at Buster Moon's request. For her performance at the concert in the Moon Theater ruins, Ash wears the same dress, but with the skirt cut to knee-length and the belt removed. She also wears a red leather jacket, black and red striped leggings, black boots, sparky blue eye-shadow, and red heart-shaped glasses that formerly belonged to Becky.
==Personality==
Ash is a prickly teenage porcupine with a punk rock attitude. She has a sarcastic style of humor, and during her participation in Buster's singing competition, her rebellious nature puts her at odds with the koala. When it comes to music, Ash prefers rock. She openly expresses disdain for "cheesy" pop music and prefers to write and perform her own songs. This causes conflict between Ash and her boyfriend Lance, who is too self-absorbed to allow her to potentially upstage him.
At first, Ash's feelings for Lance blinds her to his ego, but he ultimately betrays that love, leading to a vicious break-up. Afterwords, Ash becomes moody to the point of crying when exposed to anything that reminds her of Lance. Luckily for her, she is able to move on with the support of Buster and the other contestants.
==Biography==
===Sing===
Ash and Lance are introduced trying and failing to land a gig at Larry's bar. Lance blames Larry's dissatisfaction with their performance on Ash, reminding her that he's the lead singer and she the backup vocalist. Later, flyers advertising Buster's singing competition are impaled on both porcupines' quills while they wait for a tram. Ash takes a flyer off of Lance, and is so distracted reading it he accidentally boards the tram without her. At the audition, the two perform as one act, but Buster ultimately selects Ash alone. At first Ash refuses, but she changes her mind during a conversation with Lance in her apartment that night, in spite of his claims that she would be a sellout.
To Ash's displeasure, Buster tries to mold her into a bubblegum act, providing her with a list of pop songs to perform and a princess dress to wear during rehearsals. In her apartment, Ash and Lance have a good laugh at the song list, but Lance shoots down Ash's idea to perform her own song instead. To him, the best way to win the prize money is to sell out and do what Buster says. Later, Buster settles on "Call Me Maybe" as Ash's song; she argues against this choice but ultimately backs down.
One night after rehearsals, Ash returns home to find Lance singing "Love Interruption" with another female porcupine named Becky. The two almost share a kiss before Ash makes her presence known; shocked and angry, Ash kicks them both out. Lance blames Ash for his affair, saying she's never around anymore. Ash reminds him that she was participating in the competition for the both of them before finally slamming the door shut. Ash's heartbreak weighs on her during the next rehearsal, and she breaks down crying mid-performance. Buster obliviously asks if she's upset over her dress, which proves to be the last straw for Ash; she shoots out quills and runs offstage. Backstage, Ash is comforted by fellow contestants Rosita and Gunter, who tell her that she's too good for Lance. Rosita also offers Ash any confections from her purse.
Ash copes with her to breakup by writing her own song. Buster overhears it and encourages her to perform it during a special rehearsal for Nana Noodleman. However, this rehearsal is interrupted by three bears who were cheated out of money by contestant Mike; the resulting confrontation begins a chain of events that destroys the Moon Theater. Returning home from the disaster, Ash passes Harry's bar, glances inside, and runs off distraught at the sight of Lance and Becky performing. However, she recovers emotionally and, alongside the rest of the performers, encourages Buster to continue the show. Together, they construct a stage in the Moon Theater ruins. Ash, who altered the pop princess dress to fit her own style, performs her finished song, "Set It All Free". Unbeknownst to Ash, both Becky and Lance watch her on TV. Becky turns it off mid-performance and insults Ash. Lance agrees with Becky as she leaves the room, but once she's gone, he quickly turns the TV back on. In the end, the open-air concert is a rousing success, and Ash attends the grand opening of the New Moon Theater.
===Sing 2===
Ash performs "Heads Will Roll" at Rick's Bar. After performing, she is approached by Buster, who wants her and the crew to head Redshore City for perform a show. After managing to sneak in for an appointment slot with Jimmy Crystal, CEO of Crystal Entertainment, Gunter unexpectedly blurts out a theater play that features retired rock star Clay Calloway, which allowed Crystal to accept. Ash reveals that she's a very big Clay Calloway fan and knows a lot about him. She also reveals that Clay hasn't been seen in 15 years since his wife, Ruby, died. 
For the show "Out of this World," Ash is given a duet role with Clay. Later, after Jimmy finds out that Buster lied to him about knowing Calloway, Ash accompanies Buster to Clay's house to try and convince him to play in the show. When they arrive, Clay tries to tell them to leave. Ash and Buster then attempt to climb the fence but Clay yells at them not to touch it, only for Ash to not take him seriously and the pair to be electrocuted after putting their hands on the electrified bars. Following the incident, Clay takes the two unconscious animals home and tapes the burns on their hands. Ash wakes up first then tells Clay that they came to find him to ask him to participate in their show, but the grumpy lion literally refuses and states it again when Buster wakes up. Buster keeps trying to convince him but he still refuses and wants the pair to leave the next morning.
The next day, Ash then gives a reluctant Clay a cup of tea to lighten the mood but he coldly continues to reject the duo's attempts to recruit him, even stating that his vocals are rusty. Ash continues to have a talk with him including taking about his wife and his songs. When it comes clear for the pair that Clay won't change his mind, Ash has Buster to head back returns to the Studio as she'll be the one who can encourage the former rock star and doesn't want to leave him at his current state. Later, Ash sings one of Clay's songs, Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of. She stops briefly when Clay approaches her outside after hearing it from inside, but the old lion invites her to continue singing. Finally, Calloway changed his mind and agreed to be part of Out Of This World. While on their way to Redshore City on a motorcycle, Ash calls Buster to tell him she made it, Clay adding that she's even more stubborn and annoying than the koala.
Arriving in the apartment, Ash and Clay find Buster stuck in a suitcase, much to Clay's disbelief. Buster recounts that Jimmy tried to kill him after an unfortunate misunderstanding that someone rang the doorbell, pushing Clay quite annoyed at this first outing from his home in fifteen years to go open and find himself face to face with face with the rest of the band blown away to meet him in person. Right after, the gang flees, literally jumping out the window after Crystal sends his minions on their trail, this causes Clay to start liking Buster for advantage. Landing first in the swimming pool river, they escape the security guards and infiltrate the studio during the evening, still determined to make the musical spectacle even under Crystal's nose.
Buster puts on "Out of This World", with Johnny getting his father and his gang to perform security while Rosita has Norman release their kids to distract Jimmy's security so they can sneak into the theatre and put on the show. Out Of This World is in full swing with the audience and soon there is only the final show with Calloway and Ash left but when Clay sees the photo of Ruby in his guitar again, he immediately loses his confidence and almost breaks down in tears with the scene is straight ahead, pushing Ash to start solo. Ash starts singing I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For while encouraging the audience to sing along. While feeling the spirit of his late beloved by his side, and his self-confidence fully revived, Clay begins to play his guitar and finally shows up on stage to everyone's delight. Between them, Ash and Clay give a masterful and sensational performance, concluding beautifully Out Of This World. The gang then appear on stage and get praised by the audience, but leave when Crystal tries to take the credit only for him to be humiliated by the crowd and get arrested by the cops for his attempted murder of Buster during the show.
With the show finally over and successful, the gang begins the journey back to Calatonia with Ash sitting with Clay while sleeping next to him. Suddenly, Suki stops their bus to tell them that the Majestic Palace wants to produce their show. Once Calloway agrees to continue, everyone else also accepts without hesitation.
==Quotes==
===Sing===
==Songs Performed==
*"I Don't Wanna"
*"Call Me Maybe"
*"Set It All Free"
*“Heads Will Roll”
*“Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of”
*“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”
==Trivia==
*During Ash's performance of "Set It All Free", she throws Becky's glasses into the audience, symbolizing her letting go of Lance and Becky.
*Sing and Captain America: Civil War, both of which Scarlett Johansson starred in, came out in 2016.
*Sing 2 and Black Widow, both of which Scarlett Johansson starred in, came out in 2021.
==Navigation==
Category:Female
Category:Cartoon Heroes
Category:Animals
Category:Movie Heroes
Category:Anthropomorphic
Category:Selfless
Category:Teenagers
Category:In Love
Category:Loyal
Category:Insecure
Category:Successful
Category:Victims
Category:Honorable
Category:Protectors of Innocence
Category:Scapegoat
Category:Comedy Heroes
Category:Deal Makers
Category:Betrayed
Category:Tragic
Category:Feminists
Category:Neutral Good
Category:Protectors
Category:Optimists
Category:Supporters