It tries too hard at times, but Trolls is a fun (and funny) animated musical romp.
There is zero subtlety at play here but if you don’t get at least some enjoyment out of Trolls then you’re probably dead inside. Admittedly, at times it feels like it has glitter running through its veins and is so sweet that it’s amazing the audience don’t get diabetes. However, if you let the cynicism and cine-snobbery go, there is a hell of a lot to enjoy.
Trolls comes from the creators of Shrek. Both movies have their heart in a similar place and have similar themes of friendship, family, love and positive self-image but Shrek is a more nuanced family film that felt less like it was making a bee line for your merchandise dollars. The issue here is that Trolls also gives off a needy vibe that it not only desperately wants to be your kid's new favorite film but also a franchise. That said, you can forgive that because it is impossible not to lap up every gleeful, peppy and twee second.
The movie is basically about the enthusiastic and almost freakishly positive Poppy, voiced by Anna Kendrick, the leader of the Trolls, and the grumpy, negative Branch, voiced by Justin Timberlake, who set off on an adventure to rescue a group of Trolls who have been captured by Chef, a Bergen, to serve to the other Bergens so they can be happy – they believe the only way they can feel the positive emotional state is to consume a Troll.
The voice cast is as impressive as it is large and boasts, aside from the leads, an eclectic mix of talent including Zooey Deschanel, Russell Brand, James Corden, Gwen Stefani, Kunal Nayyar, Christine Baranski, John Cleese, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jeffrey Tambor and the list goes on and on and on.
While the quality is high and, thanks to a sharp and very clever script, there are some great performances that deliver some solid, hard belly laughs, however, at times it feels like there are a few too many characters – the whole thing just feels like it needs a bit more room to breath. In between the heartfelt dialogue and all the jokes, which are an appealing mix of simple visual gags and niftily crafted more complex ones, there is what seems to be a relentless stream of original and well-known songs that span most genres and artists from Simon and Garfunkel and Diana Ross to Cyndi Lauper and Lionel Richie with a splash of Gorillaz and Junior Senior. Parents will need to get used to this replacing Frozen as the heaviest rotation album on their car stereos until Frozen 2 comes out.
Trolls suffers from all the issues I have pointed out but it still, somehow, manages not to feel messy or contrived or dumbed down or anything like that. This is a smart movie in many ways and it is an absolute blast from start to finish and with pop culture references stuffed in the middle like cream in a cannoli – it’s sickly sweet but you can’t help wanting more. There is so much here that everyone will find something to have fun with, and Trolls is all about fun. When the film has got characters that fart glitter and poop cupcakes, you know what you’re at.
Think of this as a kids party where all the little darlings are off their face on sugar but you know that the parents have got loads of beer in the cooler to make sure you get your own buzz going on. Trolls is exhausting, exhilarating and highly entertaining and, I can’t deny, I lapped it up.
The Verdict
Solid laughs and surprisingly tight script and direction keep the crazy train that is Trolls on the tracks and moving along nicely. While some studios are desperately trying to roll their films in glitter to make them sparkle, Trolls manages to shine brightly in its own right. Dreamworks have got themselves a new franchise.
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