Stars (vocally) Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Zooey Deschanel, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Christine Baranski, Russell Brand with Gwen Stefani and John Cleese Directed by Walt Dohrn and Mike Mitchell Honestly, this was EXACTLY what I expected it to be: a fluffy, silly seemingly juvenile musical little saccharine ditty that wouldn’t have much depth, based on a bunch of out-dated toys. Although to be fair, there was a little more depth than expected. I mentioned before in a separate article about how DreamWorks Animation flick have usually been about belonging more than finding oneself (the way Pixar movies are), and Trolls has that… just not for the main character, Poppy (Anna Kendrick). She’s on a very slight hero’s journey simply trying to prove herself and impose her infectious happy-happy-joy-joy point of view on everyone else, but learning a little about reality along the way. The DreamWorks Animation theme leans heavily more on Poppy’s reluctant partner, Branch (Justin Timberlake), who’s the least colorful, least happy Troll around. It’s just that for Branch to rejoin the other Trolls and be accepted, he needs to reclaim his happiness. But that is all tied with the so-called ‘bad-guys’ of the whole story, the Bergens, who found happiness in munching on the Trolls. I’ll leave it to you to figure how all that works out. While it’s no Happy Feet where the songs are concerned, they are still entertaining and semi-infectious ear-worms, featuring a mixture of popular melodies and a handful of new ones. To accompany the peppy beats, we have an almost psychedelic mixture of colours and design. The animation is as slick as you’d expect, but the character design feels… overly familiar(?). It’s hard to describe the feeling, but then, they are based on those good luck trolls, so there is a fixed idea of what they should look like. The Bergens are designed to be even more troll-like than the titular Trolls, although the desiign for Chef (Christine Baranski) feels awfully familiar, like it’s a common design for other hideous trolls. It almost feels like a lack of originality in terms of design. We even have a cloud with legs stick-like arms and legs! For some, it might test your patience. If you allow yourself to be swept along with the joyride, it is an entertaining colourful musical romp with some sing-along songs. Any negative aspects might only be derived from your own dark damp mood and refusal to enjoy the movie. It doesn’t necessarily make the movie a full classic for the ages, just for the current times. And we do need a little bit of sunshiney happiness these days. Rating: ***1/2 / 5 Find the best online deals here. | Barnes and Noble | Google Play Store | Book Depository Discover more about the books here.
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