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Movie Review: “Trolls” Is As Likable As The Vintage Toy

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A troll princess and her companion, the one unhappy troll try to rescue her friends from being eaten by their nemeses.

Children’s movie gurus Mike Mitchel and Walt Dohrn bring a toy shoved in the bottom of dusty toy boxes back to life in this charming film about trolls seeking continued happiness. A star-studded cast sing familiar songs. Anna Kendrick plays Princess Poppy, an optimistic troll ready to lead her kingdom to utopia with a smile and a hug. Other notable names include Zooey Deschanel as Bridget, and Justin Timberlake as Poppy’s sidekick, Branch.

A felt scrapbook starts out this fairy tale story with textures galore. Every troll, plant, and tree begs to be touched. When the first song came on all of the adults audibly groaned, worried the music would ruin the cuteness of these hairtastic creatures. To my pleasant surprise, the music was a welcome addition, both fun and appropriate. The story was short on big belly laughs but full of chuckles from the psychedelic lifestyle and adorable creatures. Attention to details in the world improved the awe and wonder.

King Peppy has created a haven for his kingdom where everyone is happy. The trolls spend their days dancing and singing only stopping for an hourly hug. One day an enemy finds them, Bergens, giants who live unhappily with no understanding of what makes the world wonderful. One Bergen finds that eating a troll transfers the euphoria from the miniature creatures to the Bergens for one year. The evil giants decide to capture all the trolls to live in captivity. Once a year they celebrate Trollstis, a feast where everyone eats a troll for their yearly installation of happiness. Young Prince Gristle of the Bergen’s is the only one never to eat a troll because they escape before his first Trollstis. The Bergen chef in charge of the trolls is banished from the kingdom for losing their source of bliss with revenge on her mind.

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The escaped trolls fast-forward twenty years where Princess Poppy is grown up and ready to take the crown from her elderly father. The cheerful trolls are planning an anniversary of their escape party with loud music and fireworks. The party noise brings Chef out of hiding still determined to find the trolls and return to her life in the Bergen kingdom. She kidnaps Princess Poppy’s best friends before heading back to prove to Prince Gristle she belongs home as the savior of her people. Princess Poppy plans to rescue her friends no matter the cost. The only realist troll in the bunch is Branch, who warned the other trolls for years to be careful not to alert the Bergen’s to their home. He sets off with Poppy to help bring back the kidnapped trolls. Poppy spends the entire adventure to the Bergen kingdom trying to improve Branch’s pessimistic attitude to a positive attitude more in line with the trolls’ way of life. Branch alternately attempts to force a little reality on Poppy, forcing her to see the world has bad elements.

Once in Bergen territory, Poppy and Branch find Bridget, a Bergen maid in love with Gristle who is now king. They strike a bargain with Bridget to help her win the Kings love if she helps them to rescue their friends. With the trolls as her hair and a new outfit, Bridget’s disguise wins the Kings love and invitation to the first Trollstis in 20 years. Unwilling to lose Gristle’s favor Bridget goes back on her word to help rescue Poppy’s friends. Poppy and Branch do not give up; instead, they use their hair as weapons to find their friends. Unfortunately, they are caught by Chef and thrown into the dinner pot too. When all hope is lost, the trolls start to lose their distinctive color as they fight not to become dinner. With help from Bridget, the trolls seek to teach the Bergens how to find happiness without becoming food.

The movie “Trolls” is exactly what you would expect from toys with brightly hued hair. The fun was in the tresses’ multiple uses and the positive message for children. A few parts of the film seemed rather haphazard but only to adults. My children rated the film with 4 1/2 stars for inventiveness. Overall, an enjoyable watch and worth a trip to the theater, but improvements in the predictable plot would have improved the movie for adults who played with these toys as children. No movie will ever live up to the imagination of a kid from the ’80s with a bag full of trolls at her disposal.

In theaters Friday, November 4th

 
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