Why is the koala American?

Because some roles at first are targeted specially for a certain actors. Who knows why is he koala at first. Maybe designer created koala just as koala without thinking that he will be attached to australian actor, and just as character with any voice he can have. Plus this is cartoon world full of animals, what is not our world, with koalas only in australian and east only a specific tree that exists only there.
Plus I don't care, I'll get dub anyway.

Same reason Thor is Australian.

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Exactly what I was thinking! Maybe the koala was brought up in captivity in America

Seems bizarre there is an Australian actor in the movie but the quintessential Aussie animal is voiced by an American :-/

Shoulda been Hugh Jackman.

So all koalas have to be Australian? That's racist.

Because who gives a f__k?

Because it's completely arbitrary that the characters in this film are animals. I've seen the awful trailer for this movie about a hundred times now, and can't discern how all the characters aren't just humans with an animal reskin on them.

Contrast that with Zootopia, where each species had a distinct personality in alignment with their stature and historical relationships.

The obvious answer is because "kids", and because patronizing adults think that children will love any movie with anthropomorphic animals in it.

Sing looks *beep* terrible, which is basically what you should expect from the same studio that brought you Minions and Secret Life of Pets.