Trolls may never be comparable to Mike Mitchell's other animated creations like the Shrek sequels, Kung Fu Panda or the delectably adult Angry Birds Movie, but it certainly may end up being one of those kids' choice hits. Filled with pixie dust, colour and songs curated by Justin Timberlake (him of the once N Sync bunch, lest we forget), Trolls is out-and-out aimed at the kids - and I'd have to say it works.
Trolls are tiny, super-colourful creatures (who look a teensy bit like surfs with better hair-dos) whose only goal in life is to laugh, hug, dance, high-five each other and be happy. The Bergens are creatures that are typically closer to the mental image that you have of a troll. The Harry Potter kind. Dark, gloomy, angry, slobbery... You get the drift. They want to be happy too, so they decide to eat the Trolls once a year (it's a holiday called Trollstice), until the Trolls escape down a tunnel and set up shop deep in the forest. Never to be eaten again. The King and Prince of the Bergens get mad and kick their Chef (voiced by the formidable Christine Baranski) out for letting the Trolls escape.
Twenty years pass and Bergens become a distant memory and the Trolls are in full-on party mode - led by the pink and pretzely Princess Poppy (Anna Kendrick) - opposed only by the paranoid Branch (Justin Timberlake), who has a bunker to escape to if the Bergens ever show up. Unfortunately, the party gets a little too loud and they get captured and Trollstice is back with a bang. Will Poppy and Branch rescue their friends? Well, in this kind of film, of course they will. But it's still a pretty fun ride.
Unlike most other Dreamworks creations these days, Trolls overdoses on the fantasy elements - abandoning any shot at pop culture references for the sake of the odd adult. It's also packed with themes that kids will lap up - true love, hatred, eternal happiness, makeovers quick changes of heart... the works. The animation is top notch, if a bit garish for my taste, but the kids around me seemed to love it. The song and dance routines (I cannot call them anything else) were a lot of fun, especially because the selection had everything from Timberlake's best to poppy versions of classics such as Simon and Garfunkel's Sounds of Silence and Lionel Ritchie's Hello. Sweet.
Movie: Trolls
Director: Mike Mitchell
Voice Cast: Justin Timberlake, Anna Kendrick, Zooey Deschanel, Russel Brand, Gwen Stefani, Kunal Nayyar
Rating: (3.5/5)
Out take - Kids will love the riot of colour, quick song and dance sequences and the easy humour. Adults will have to suck it up till they get with the programme.