Trolls Review

Trolls Review

"Trolls" is a fun and vibrant film that will put a smile on your face. The film is like a sugar rush with the colorful sceneries and characters and upbeat contemporary songs. Even though the film is based on the troll toy line, the film is able to tell a cohesive story even with some logic leaps. While it is not great, Trolls still an enjoyable time.

The story is about a troll named Poppy (Anna Kendrick) who, along with every other troll, is incredibly happy and energetic. The exception is Branch (Justin Timberlake) who is  always in a negative mood and is alway afraid that they will get attacked by the Bergens, a group of monsters who can only be happy by eating a troll. However, one day, when the trolls are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their escape from the Bergens, they are attacked and some trolls are captured by a Bergen name Chef (Christine Baranski). So now it is up to Poppy and Branch to rescue them before they are eaten. 

The best element of the film is the animation. The backgrounds are very creative and the character designs look nice as well. I also really like the textures of the characters and backgrounds that have a woolen feeling to them like a toy play set. The color palate is also very bright and multicolored like Candy Crush. However, the animation shines most in the musical scenes with elaborate set pieces and energetic dance sequences. 

The voice cast is also a lot of fun. Anna Kendrick is very likable as Poppy as you buy her as a character who is both happy and optimistic. Justin Timberlake is also pretty solid at playing a grump who is always negative, even though he seems a bit miscast. Christopher Mintz-Plasse was perfectly cast as King Gristle Jr., the spoiled and lazy king of the Bergens. Christine Baranski also stands out as Chef, whoo is the evil mastermind behind the scenes. We also get performances from Zooey Deschanel as a Bergen maid named Bridget, Russell Brand, James Corden, Gwen Stefani, and John Cleese. 

I even liked the songs. The film mostly does covers of other songs like “September” and “Sound of Silence”, and is produced in the upbeat style of Glee. There are some original songs like “Hair Up” and “Can't Stop the Feeling”, which will never leave your head. Also, I think the best scene in the movie is when Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick sing “True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper.

However, the biggest issue with the film is the film's simplicity. Because all the characters do not have much of a personality outside of their one personality there is a lack of real emotional depth. Also, because the story is so basic and predictable there is a lack of real suspense. 

The film also at times also has a hard time of finding the right note when the tone is dramatic. There is a scene in which Branch talks about how his grandma died and it is done in an incredibly over the top way with “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler. Instead of the scene being an emotional moment, it comes across as unintentionally funny. There is also a subplot about Bridget having a crush on King Gristle Jr., which I did not care about since it is pretty underdeveloped and I don't care about either of the characters. 

Some elements of the story are also a bit of a stretch even though the story is mostly cohesive. The idea that Bergens have to eat trolls to be happy is a very out of left field and does not really make any sense. It seems like the filmmaker really struggled to put a story together around troll dolls so they randomly came up with this concept.

Even though I like the songs I really felt a lot of the songs where out of place since the lyrics are not in the context of the movie. It works in a movie like Pulp Fiction but when you have characters randomly bursting into song and singing covers, it’s really distracting. Also, there were some very odd song choices like Mo Money Mo Problems and Clint Eastwood by the Gorillaz, which isn't even that popular. 

"Trolls" is obvious aimed more for kids in elementary school than a college student like me. It’s very upbeat, simple, and has a nice message about being happy and optimistic. However, I still had a good time watching it. If you want to see a film with real emotional depth and dark themes, this is not for you. If you want to see a film that is bright and happy, give it a watch.

Grade: B-