Welcome, folks, to the latest installment of Rhode Island Movie Corner’s ongoing series of retrospectives covering the 45+ films that have been made by one of the animation industry’s indisputable juggernauts, DreamWorks Animation. Today’s post is a unique one as it presented me with a slight change to the initial plans that I had made when it came to how I would approach this project. As I’ve stated before, to avoid having to draft a massive post that would cover every single film that DreamWorks has made up to this point, I decided to separate the studio’s feature film filmography into separate parts, starting with their biggest franchises. And when I say ‘biggest’ franchises, this referred to any franchise that has warranted, at the very least, a trilogy of films since I have always considered three to be a good minimum number for a proper series retrospective. Thus, when I first started working on this series in 2022, that distinction applied to four DreamWorks franchises; Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, and How to Train Your Dragon. After that, I would’ve then done a quick spin-off that would tackle DreamWorks’ brief foray into traditionally animated feature films before moving on to a final set of posts tackling everything that I hadn’t yet covered. However, by the time I got to my How to Train Your Dragon retrospective, a fifth DreamWorks franchise achieved the film trilogy milestone that would effectively warrant its own post. And so, today we’re tackling the latest DreamWorks animated trilogy that has arguably become the studio’s flagship franchise, Trolls.
Today’s story begins with the creation of one of the most
noteworthy staples of the toy industry, troll dolls. Troll dolls first came to
be in 1959, when Danish woodworker Thomas Dam first crafted wooden recreations
of mythical creatures as gifts for his daughter Lila before he started selling plastic
versions of them commercially. Eventually, they were brought to the United
States, where they became a notable fad during the 60’s. At one point in the
2000s, animation studio DIC Entertainment earned the rights to produce a TV
series based on the property but said project, Trollz, only lasted a
single season and even led to some legal battles between DIC and the Dam estate
over the former’s handling of the property. Cut to 2013 and the licensing
rights were purchased by DreamWorks, who promptly turned the troll dolls into
the stars of their latest film franchise and one that would rely heavily on music
as a jukebox musical series. Now, admittedly, the Trolls films haven’t
necessarily matched a lot of DreamWorks’ other big franchises from a financial
standpoint. At the time of this post’s publication, the three films have collectively
grossed only a little over $600 million worldwide (though, in its defense, one
of these films had the misfortune of being released amidst a certain pandemic).
But speaking as someone who works at the Universal Orlando resort, where I
often sell Trolls merchandise, I can assure you that this franchise is a
bona fide hit with younger audiences. As such, there’s no denying that Trolls
has earned its place as one of DreamWorks’ flagship franchises even if it
hasn’t achieved the same level of critical acclaim as the likes of How to
Train Your Dragon or Kung Fu Panda. So, with that said, it’s time to
remember why you just “can’t stop the feeling” as Rhode Island Movie Corner
presents its retrospective on DreamWorks’ Trolls franchise.
(Disclaimer: As
always, I must note that these DreamWorks retrospectives of mine are solely
focused on the studio’s feature films, which means that I won’t be covering any
of their TV series spin-offs which, in this franchise’s case, includes Trolls:
The Beat Goes On, which ran for 8 seasons on Netflix, Trolls:
TrollsTopia, which ran for 7 seasons on Hulu/Peacock, and a pair of holiday
specials, 2017’s Trolls Holiday and 2021’s Trolls: Holiday in Harmony.)
TROLLS (2016)
All throughout these DreamWorks retrospectives, I’ve made sure
to highlight these films’ directors, especially since most of the big
DreamWorks franchises have all consistently had at least one key figure
spearheading their productions, like Jennifer Yuh Nelson with Kung Fu Panda or
Dean DeBlois with How to Train Your Dragon. When it comes to the Trolls
films, they have mainly been overseen by longtime DreamWorks story artist
Walt Dohrn, who also notably voiced the main antagonist of Shrek Forever
After, Rumpelstiltskin. However, with this first film, Dohrn was only the co-director
while primary directing duties went to, ironically, Shrek Forever After director
Mike Mitchell. But regardless of who had the directorial credit here, this
first Trolls film very much sets the stage for what we can expect from
this vibrant and musically driven franchise. Sure, it’s all tied together by a
very straight-forward plot in which troll princess Poppy heads out on a journey
to save her friends from the hungry monsters known as Bergens who are hellbent
on eating them, but at the same time, the film maintains a pleasantly feel-good
atmosphere throughout. This is then bolstered further by some catchy songs
(both its covers and original tunes such as its inescapable hit of a title
song, ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling’) and an entertaining lead duo in the form of the
lovably upbeat Poppy and her far more cynical companion Branch, excellently
voiced by Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake, respectively.
Ultimately, though, the biggest selling point of this film would
have to be its gorgeous animation. Not only is it incredibly bright and
colorful throughout, but it also does a wonderful job of paying homage to its IP’s
handmade roots by giving every single character and object a uniquely
hand-crafted look to them that lets this film stand out considerably on a
visual level when compared to some of its industry peers. Pair this with the delightfully
madcap style of pacing that DreamWorks had started to adopt at this time and
you have yet another case of a DreamWorks film that’s full of great
animation-based bits of humor. In conclusion, while it’s been nearly a decade
since this film’s release, I still somewhat remember the discourse surrounding
it and how a lot of folks online expressed tons of skepticism about it due in
part to some lackluster marketing. In other words, I wouldn’t be surprised if,
back then, a lot of people were worried that this would end up being the kind
of film that would bring DreamWorks back to the more commercially driven space
that it was in the 2000s before the likes of Kung Fu Panda and How
to Train Your Dragon effectively reshaped the studio’s creative output.
This was, after all, right around the time when the studio was dealing with a
bunch of internal restructuring after a string of box-office flops such as 2014’s
Penguins of Madagascar. And yet, while your mileage will inevitably vary
on whether this film is just that, Trolls ultimately works as well as it
does because… simply put, it’s a film that’s easy to like. Sure, younger
audiences are more likely to get something out of it than adults, but with its
appealing animation and entertaining soundtrack, Trolls endears you with
its inherently joyful nature to be a pleasantly undemanding family flick.
Rating: 4/5
TROLLS WORLD TOUR
(2020)
In Trolls World Tour, Poppy, Branch, and company
discover that they’re just one part of a larger world of trolls divided up into
tribes by 6 distinct styles of music: Pop, Rock, Country, Funk, Techno, and
Classical. When Barb, the queen of the Rock trolls, attempts to collect the
magical strings that are the source of each tribe’s music in a hostile takeover
of the entire kingdom, the gang heads out to save their fellow trolls from
being assimilated into the rock troll regime. Given the solid success of the first
Trolls film, the announcement of a sequel (now fully under the direction
of Walt Dohrn given Mike Mitchell’s commitment to The Lego Movie 2: The
Second Part) was practically inevitable. However, when it comes to this
film, we must start off by addressing the elephant in the room which is all the
complications surrounding its release. Trolls World Tour was released on
April 10th, 2020… in other words, right at the start of the COVID-19
pandemic that shuttered the entire world including, of course, the film
industry. As a result, Trolls World Tour became one of the first major
releases that did come out that year to address the issues revolving around releasing
a film during the pandemic’s peak. Rather than just delaying the film a year or
making it a streaming exclusive, Universal turned Trolls World Tour into
one of the first films to adopt a simultaneous theatrical/streaming release, shipping
the film to theaters that could operate at the time and releasing it on
on-demand services. This, admittedly, caused some controversy amongst theater
chains to the point where AMC Theatres threatened to refuse to show Universal
films entirely, but the two parties ultimately signed a deal that would benefit
them both and, by most accounts, the film did well for itself on the PVOD
market, reportedly being the second most-viewed title of the year behind Disney’s
live-action remake of Mulan.
As for the film itself, it does what any good sequel should
do by naturally expanding upon everything that was introduced in the first film.
For those who may have been turned off by the first film’s reliance on pop music,
Trolls World Tour remedies that by covering a wider variety of musical
genres, resulting in a superior soundtrack by comparison. This also extends
nicely to the film’s animation, which maintains the same, great handcrafted
nature of the original while also getting the chance to broaden its horizons with
the introduction of all the other troll tribes’ worlds. But if that wasn’t
enough, the film also improves upon its predecessor from a writing standpoint
with a more engaging plot, a lot more effective character moments, and even a
few timely nods to modern-day issues such as xenophobia and oppression by way
of the gradual reveal as to why the kingdom became so divided. Add in some fun
new characters such as the film’s highly entertaining rebel of a main
antagonist Barb (voiced by Rachel Bloom) and a charismatic country troll named
Hickory (voiced by Sam Rockwell) and you have one of the most pleasantly
surprising examples of a superior sequel that I’ve ever seen. Yes, I won’t lie,
folks, I did not expect to come out of this and consider Trolls World Tour to
not only be another example of a superior DreamWorks sequel a la the likes of Shrek
2 and the Madagascar sequels… but also arguably one of the studio’s
best overall. And yet, it’s also quite easy to see why this is because the film
made the smartest moves that any sequel could possibly do by improving upon its
predecessor’s shortcomings without losing the franchise’s trademark charm.
Rating: 5/5!
TROLLS BAND
TOGETHER (2023)
Trolls Band Together drops one heck of a bombshell by
revealing that Branch was once part of a popular boyband, Brozone, along with
his four older brothers: John Dory (Eric André), Spruce (Daveed Diggs), Clay (Kid Cudi), and Floyd
(Troye Sivan). Unfortunately, the group ended up disbanding after a disastrous
attempt at achieving the ‘Perfect Family’ harmony and promptly went their separate
ways. Many years later, John Dory reunites with his estranged younger brother,
seeking his and Poppy’s help in rescuing their brothers from a pair of wannabe popstars,
Velvet (Amy Schumer) and Veneer (Andrew Rannells), who plan on stealing their
talent for their own personal gain. Poppy even experiences a ‘family reunion’
of her own when a run-in with a group of pop trolls that were separated from
the others long ago results in her meeting her long-lost sister Viva (Camilla
Cabello). So, as this film’s title suggests, its plot and theming are largely
based on boyband culture, and sure enough, it more than capitalizes on the
potential for all sorts of various gags based around this facet of the
industry. And hey, seeing how this is a franchise whose main male protagonist
is voiced by arguably the most famous boyband alum of all time, Justin
Timberlake… why not capitalize on that too? Thus, one of the most buzzworthy
bits of marketing surrounding this film was the reveal that it would feature
the first new song by Timberlake’s former band, NSYNC, in more than two
decades, ‘Better Place’. Timberlake’s former bandmates JC Chasez, Joey Fatone,
Chris Kirkpatrick, and Lance Bass even get to cameo at the end of the film as the
members of another famous boyband that Branch was involved with.
That’s only one part, however, of this all-around top-notch
threequel. While Band Together does occasionally feel like a narrative
step-back from World Tour given its return to a more pop-centric theme,
it does, at least, maintain the more confident story and character beats of its
immediate predecessor. Sure, some might argue that the introduction of Branch’s
brothers and Poppy’s sister Viva results in quite a bit of retconning from what
was established in the previous films, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t
warrant some solid emotional moments even if the whole subplot of Poppy and Viva’s
reunion isn’t as prominent a part of the story as the marketing may imply since
it is ultimately focused more on Branch and his family. As a result, Trolls
Band Together features some of the most inherently satisfying musical numbers
to come out of a franchise that has always been well-known for its great soundtracks.
And through it all, the film also dutifully maintains all the franchise’s
hallmarks, whether it’s the terrifically colorful animation that’s full of fun
visual quirks (including a few delightfully trippy 2-D animated sequences when
the characters go to the ‘Hustle Dimension’) or its highly entertaining
villains in the form of the hilariously self-absorbed Velvet and Veneer. With
all this in mind, Band Together ends up being a terrific capper to this cheerful
little trilogy of films. It may just barely miss out on being ‘just as good’ as
World Tour, but it’s still a film that’s full of infectious
energy, delightful visuals, lovable characters, and an appealing soundtrack
that’s sure to strike the nostalgic fancies of those who grew up listening to
the likes of NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys.
Rating: 4.5/5
That concludes this retrospective
on the Trolls franchise. The next time we return to the world of DreamWorks
Animation, we’ll be taking that little detour that I mentioned back in today’s intro
by going over the brief period when the studio produced traditionally
animated films. So, for those who are fans of underrated gems like The
Prince of Egypt and The Road to El Dorado, get ready to rejoice
because your time to celebrate them will be coming very soon!!
