Voices
of: Anna Kendrick Justin Timberlake Christopher Mintz-Plasse Zooey Deschanel
Christine Baranski Russell Brand John Cleese James Corden Jeffrey Tambor
I think kids will really take to this animation
with simple messages that will be meaningful to them, delivered in eye-catching,
colorful visual effects. The
message is basically pitting “look on the bright side of life” against “look
out; they’re out to get you.” And
further, that true happiness is inside all of us; it’s up to us to find
it. The film also demonstrates
that making friends of enemies is ultimately life-saving.
The story is that the Trolls are too exuberant
with their singing, dancing, and hugs which are put forth by King Peppy
(Tambor) and his daughter Poppy (Kendrick). For good reason, which we find out why later, Poppy’s friend
Branch (Timberlake) turns away from what he sees is nonsense and further
endangers the Trolls because their loud parties inform the Bergens of their
whereabouts. Bergens are dour beings
who are huge grouches, convinced that eating Trolls is the only way they can be
happy.
Despite Branch’s warnings, the Bergen king’s
chef (Baransky) who has been banished because she hasn’t served Trolls for 20
years sees and hears the partygoers and manages to grab a half dozen of them to
take back to King Gristle (Mintz-Plasse), thereby getting back into his good
graces. King Gristle is too young
to have ever tasted Troll happiness and was told by his father (Cleese) that he
never would. Her bounty certainly
does get her forgiven, and she is gleeful with her newly regained power.
Meanwhile, Poppy feels guilty about not
listening to Branch’s warning, and feels responsible for the Trolls that got
into the Chef’s hands. The Troll
mantra, “No Troll left behind”, prompts her to go to the land of the Bergens
and rescue her friends. At first,
Branch refuses to go with her, but does show up on the trail, knowing that
Poppy will need his help. Most of
the rest of the film is about their ruses and adventures in rescuing the
prisoners, which involves making friends with the scullery maid Bridget (Deschanel)
and doing a little matchmaking.
The soundtrack has a number of original songs,
the most important being “Can’t Stop the Feeling” by Justin Timberlake (who
served as music producer), which won Best Song from the Hollywood Film
Awards. The singers include
Timberlake, Anna Kendrick, Zooey Deshanel, Gwen Stefani, and James Cordon along
with others. Paul Simon’s “The
Sound of Silence” is inserted during a key moment, drawing chuckles from the
audience. The original score is by
Christophe Beck.
Cinematographer Young Duk Jhun, who has had
experience with visual effects (The
Croods, Monsters vs. Aliens, and Over the Hedge) is joined by the
Production, Art, Visual Effects, and Animation artists to create a beautifully
rendered show, brought together by Co-directors Mike Mitchell and Walt Dohm (with
previous contributions to Shrek and SpongeBob SquarePants films). The ways in which the Trolls use their
hair is definitely clever sometimes humorous, and part of the fascination in Trolls.
Although not a groundbreaker, the
music, visual and special effects, and heartwarming messages, gives Trolls high entertainment value,
particularly for young children.
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