"I got this feeling, inside my bones..."
Princess Poppy (voiced by Anna Kendrick) grew up with basic ideas: stay away from the Bergens, who eat trolls to be "happy", thanks to their happy-go-lucky personality. Twenty years after the Trolls escaped Bergentown, Poppy believes the Bergens will never find them. Everyone is going along with the idea, except for a grouchy introvert named Branch (voiced by Justin Timberlake), who keeps things cautious and on high alert. One day, Poppy and company throw a big, loud party, which attracts the attention of a Chef Berg (voiced by Christine Baranski). The trolls are ambushed, and Poppy's dad (voiced by Jeffrey Tambor) is kidnapped. Determined to save the kidnapped trolls, Poppy heads out to try and save the day.
The animation is colorful and stylish. There's a combination of interesting, yet weird-ish characters, with hints of clay and felt-based animation styles. At times, you get hints of Laika, Aardman and the cloth-style animation of The Peanuts Movie and the video game Kirby's Epic Yarn (this is especially evident in the scrapbook sequences). The characters are vibrant and cute.
The voice cast brings a strong sense of vitality to their characters. Kendrick and Timberlake make very appealing leads, bringing sincerity and a slightly wacky panache to their characters. They both definitely have what it takes to do animation voice-overs. A couple of other major standouts include Baranski as a theatrical and Ursula-like villainness, and Zooey Deschanel (Elf) as a Cinderella-esque scullery maid who only wants true love. Some of the more minor characters, voiced by James Corden and Gwen Stefani, for instance, are fun but are only given a little to do.
The music, featuring a blend of original tunes and covers of classics from the 70's, 80's and 90's, is surprisingly very effective. The voice cast's musical talent is one thing, but the songs weave themselves into the story almost seamlessly, and all serve a purpose. One might could argue that Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling" was purely a marketing angle being a single released six months in advance, but it's still quite catchy. Kendrick's original tune "Get Back Up Again" mixes Disney Channel pop with a brief beginning hint of Broadway (I wish there would have been more moments of this). Covers of songs such as "True Colors" and "The Sound of Silence" provide memorable sequences and will bring smiles to adults.
Christophe Beck (Frozen) provides the score, and brings appropriate and sometimes fun musical interludes at just about every stop. There is some really clever humor and dialogue here and there also.
On the downside, the story's pacing overall is somewhat unsettled. Midway through the film, the movie switches focus to a Cinderella-style romance between a Bergen king and a scullery maid. This sideplot goes on much longer than it should, and diverts away from the main plot too long (which is straightforward, but not without some clever dialogue along the way). A few annoying moments here and there. I also was hoping to see more straight-up Broadway style numbers, but the film sadly lacks in that category. Not everything has to be bubblegum pop.
Inspired by the Troll dolls, Trolls represents a unique project for DreamWorks Animation. It's a musical for one (well, maybe not a straight-up one), and it's characters are much different than what you might expect the studio to crank out. Based on the first trailer, however, the film didn't look particularly promising. But, when you have strong musical talent on board such as Timberlake and Kendrick, sometimes it's enough to give it a shot.
I'm glad I did give it a shot. Because Trolls was actually a little bit better than I was expecting. It made me tap my feet and move a little in my seat, and at the same time, it had a good message about how to find happiness. The animation, in the meantime, is a rainbow of nice little fun touches, with a particularly impressive blend of different styles.
DreamWorks clearly made this as an attempt to try and match the success of Disney's smash hit Frozen. And while Trolls never reaches that movie's musical brilliance and subverted, strong storytelling (who would expect it to anyway?), it still makes a fun, colorful and catchy little pre-holiday treat that kids will easily devour (and parents might just smile at).
Score: 7.3/10
Content Problems Families Should Be Aware Of:
Language: One troll's line of dialogue is a grumbled exclamation of "oh my g--!" (it becomes a running gag, being repeated at least four other times).
Adult Content: Someone says they like someone's back. Some mild flirting. Brief troll rear nudity once or twice (one is completely covered in sparkles naked).
Violence: Trolls are threatened and nearly eaten repeatedly throughout the movie, but they usually escape (one is implied to be eaten once or twice). Bergens hold knives and look slightly intimidating at times. A guitar is broken and thrown into a fire. Glitter is shot out at people. Poppy is eaten a couple times and then breaks her way out through the mouth. In the midst of a scrapbook story, a felt character has its head bloodlessly removed and swallowed. Big spiders try to eat Poppy. Chest hair is ripped out. Other slapstick violence.
Drugs/Alcohol: None, though the Trolls providing "happiness" for the Bergens may give the idea of something similar to adults.
Other: Glitter is shot out from someone's rear end. Cupcakes also come out of someone's posterior. Someone betrays his friends just to save his own life (but he does have consequences for his actions).
