Trolls

When it comes to animated features based on toy lines, Trolls is no Lego Movie, but it is probably much better than you are expecting.  Yes, this movie is inspired by those freaky little toys with the colorful hair, but since the actual dolls have no real backstory or characters, the filmmakers were free to run wild with this movie, which is probably the best thing that could have happened to it.  This is a bright and colorful film with a lot of infectious energy behind it.

In the prologue, we learn that the Trolls are generally happy creatures who love to sing and dance.  But one day, a tribe of gloomy goblin-like monsters called Bergens stumbled upon the troll village, and discovered that not only were Trolls tasty to eat, but that eating them were the only thing that could make the perpetually-depressed Bergens happy.  Naturally, the Trolls were forced to go into hiding in order to save their skins, and they've been living happily ever since under the rule of the wise King Peppy (voice by Jeffrey Tambor) and his ever-joyful daughter, Princess Poppy (Anna Kendrick).  There is no mention of a Troll Queen, so we can only assume that she was the victim of an off-camera Bergen attack at some point. 

It's been 20 years since the Trolls successfully escaped from their enemies, and Poppy decides that the time is right to throw the biggest and wildest dance party ever conceived.  Everyone in the Troll Village is excited, except for Branch (Justin Timberlake), the one Troll who is not happy, and is content to spend his days living underground in an emergency bunker in case the Bergens ever come back.  He's right to be worried, as it turns out that an evil Bergen Chef (Christine Beranski) has been searching for the Trolls ever since the day they escaped, and Poppy's wild party winds up leading her straight to the village.  When the Chef makes off with most of the village to prepare a feast for the young Bergen King Gristle (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), Poppy and Branch must team up to sneak into the castle to rescue their friends.  Along the way, they run into and befriend Bridget (Zooey Deschanel), a lowly Bergen scullery maid who holds a secret passion for the King, and may be able to help them save the other Trolls.

Trolls can be a bit chaotic, as it tries to shoehorn in its plot with a large number of musical and dance numbers, but it is never messy.  In fact, it's quite inventive.  I liked a lot of the visuals, like the way Branch and Poppy can extend their hair like whips in order to swing over crevices, or even attack their foes.  And to be fair, a lot of the music is very good.  The cast also brings a lot of joyful energy to the film, with Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake and Zooey Deschanel being the main stand outs.  You get the sense that Trolls was a lot of fun to make at just about every stage of production.  The artists have created a vibrant, living world for the characters to inhabit, and the actors are clearly having a lot of fun in the studio voicing these characters.  The energy carries through the film, and kind of gives it the atmosphere of a party.

This is not a major production for Dreamworks Animation, as it doesn't quite reach the heights of their Kung Fu Panda films.  However, I was surprised to find that it does have a number of effectively emotional and heartfelt scenes.  It's nothing deep or anything, but when Timberlake and Kendrick join together for a touching rendition of "True Colors" during one of the film's dramatic moments, it did have me surprisingly involved.  There are also some sweet moments between the Bergen King and Bridget the maid, and I would have liked to see more of them.  Really, if I can find any fault here, it's that the movie seems to fly by a bit too fast, and maybe focuses a bit too much on musical numbers.  What character moments are here are really good, and you kind of wish the film would slow down a little and give us more.

Regardless, Trolls is a lot of fun, and I even laughed out loud a few times.  I honestly ended up liking this one a lot more than I expected.  It's not an animation classic or anything, but it has more than enough charm and energy to burn.  It's the kind of movie that probably won't stick with you long, but it at least leaves you feeling good as you walk out of the theater.

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