Trolls

Trolls is a 2016 American 3D computer-animated musical romantic comedy film, directed by Mike Mitchell and Walt Dohrn. It was produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film stars Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake. Based on the Troll dolls by Thomas Dam, the film was released on November 4, 2016.

The film has received generally positive reviews and has grossed $345 million worldwide against its $125 million budget, making it a box office success.

A sequel titled Trolls 2 is to be released around, if not ON, April 10, 2020.

Plot

The Trolls were small and colorful creatures who lived in a happy tree in a happy forest. They were positive creatures that loved to sing, dance, and hug. However, they are discovered by Bergens, large (relatively human-sized, considering how tiny the Trolls really are) and gloomy creatures that do not know what happiness feels like at all. They pretty much don't know how to do anything the Trolls do. They discovered a long time ago that they can feel happy if they eat Trolls, and believe from then on that that is the ONLY thing that can make them happy. Bergens surrounded the Trolls' tree (hereafter referred to as the 'Troll Tree') with a cage, built their town around it, and begin to hold an annual festival known as "Trollstice," where each and every Bergen gets its feelings of true happiness by eating a Troll.

However, King Peppy (Jeffery Tambor) leads the Trolls to escape from the Bergen Town during which the Bergen prince, Gristle (Christopher Mintz Plasse), tastes his very first Troll, but claims that the Troll is rotten. After a quick investigation, the Bergens realize the Trolls have escaped and left fake wooden replicas (the exact same fake trolls that the Trolls are based on), and the head cook Chef (Christine Baranski) is blamed for the incident (most likely due to her failure at locating the Trolls when they can no longer be found). Gristle's father King Gristle Sr. banishes Chef from Bergen Town. That night, Gristle asks his father if there is anything else to make him happy since he never got to eat a Troll. As soon as the question is asked, the king anticlimactically replies, "Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

Twenty years later, in their new village, King Peppy's daughter, Princess Poppy (Anna Kendrick), and her friends the snack pack throw a big party to celebrate the Trolls' escape from the Bergens, despite the fears and warnings from a strict, grey-skinned, black-haired worrier Troll survivalist named Branch, (Justin Timberlake) that the party will lead the Bergens right to them. Poppy doesn't believe him since no one in the village has seen a Bergen in 20 years. She tries to invite Branch the party with a pop-up glittery invitation letter she made for him, but all he does is throw it on the ground and stomp on it, clearly making his point that he is not setting foot anywhere near Poppy's party. Branch also escapes a group hug when a watch on Poppy's wrist (A watch that every Troll except Branch wears) blooms and signifies "Hug Time" (Trolls hug every hour on the hour, and they wear this watch as a reminder alarm). Before he leaves, Branch sarcastically tells Poppy that when a Bergen does find them one day and the safety of every troll is in her hands, he sure hopes her answer is singing, dancing, and hugging.

Branch's fears are realized when the banished Chef sees the fireworks from the party and tracks them back to the village. Once there, she begins to capture a number of Trolls including Poppy's closest friends: DJ Suki (Gwen Stefani), Biggie (James Corden), Guy Diamond (Kunal Nayyar), Cooper (Ron Funches), Satin (Aino Jawo), Chenille (Caroline Hjelt), Smidge (Walt Dohrn), Creek (Russell Brand) and Fuzzbert (Walt Dohrn). Poppy is among the rest of the other Trolls who manage to hide from Chef but discovers that none of the other Trolls dare to venture to Bergen Town to rescue their friends. Poppy asks help from Branch, which he refuses. Poppy leaves him with the other Trolls she left in hiding and tries to go on an adventure to save them by herself, but ends up eating a poisonous berry, making her delirious and then unconscious. She then gets caught in spider webs. To make matters worse, several spider-like creatures emerge from the same webs and are about to eat her, but Branch intervenes just in time, using his hair to scare them away before waking Poppy using two electric insects to basically shock her awake. Branch, who then decides to go on the rest of the journey WITH Poppy, (who apparently wasn't able to do it on her own) tells her he can't wait to see the look on her face when she realizes the world isn't all cupcakes and rainbows, as bad things happen too.

When the two set up camp for the night, Poppy tries to get Branch to at least smile by singing a song about being in the dark and silence while playing her ukulele. Poppy thought she had gotten through to him when he asks to play it himself, until it turns out he just tosses it into the fire and goes right back to sleep. The next morning, Poppy and Branch make it to the old escape tunnels and meet Cloud Guy, a mischievous character whom Branch immediately distrusts. Cloud Guys warns them that one of the tunnels leads to the Troll Tree, also Bergen Town, and the others lead to "certain death".

After arriving at the castle, Branch and Poppy locate their friends and watch as Creek, Poppy's crush at the time, is seemingly eaten by an adult Gristle (who is now King), when Chef puts him in a taco. Poppy is heartbroken but keeps hope that he is still alive. Poppy and Branch discover that their friends are guarded by a cautious and kind-hearted Bergen and scullery maid named Bridget, who is in love with King Gristle. Poppy and Branch free their friends and strike a deal with her: if she helps them find and save Creek, they will help get her a date with King Gristle. While setting up for her date, Bridget wonders why Branch is not singing along with the other trolls. After Poppy pesters him a lot, he reveals that singing is how his grandmother died. The reason why he's Poppy's polar opposite is because when he was a child his grandmother, Grandma Rosiepuff, was eaten after a Bergen overheard his singing, and he blames himself for her death and not hearing her warnings. This is also why he is dark and grey instead of the bright colors of all the other Trolls. When a Troll's emotions become negative like this, they lose their color and their colorful Troll hair turns dark, almost black.

Later, with the Troll's advice (and hair), Bridget (as Lady Glittersparkles) gets her date with Gristle at Captain Starfunkle's Roller Rink and Arcade for pizza. Inside her colorful wig, they tell her what to tell the king. While all the other Trolls almost mess up, Branch saves the situation by saying romantic poetic things when the others cannot think of any nice things to say about King Gristle. Branch is actually talking about Poppy while feeding lines for Bridget to say, which is why he stops to look at her when he finishes. This shows that Branch has had a secret crush on Poppy for a long time, years before when the real story in the movie takes place. Gristle and Bridget have a moment together in the Roller Rink before Chef shows up, and the king tells her that "Lady Glittersparkles" will be his plus one at the feast. She flees with joy and accidentally leaves behind her roller-skate which Gristle picks up and keeps (Cinderella Easter egg).

The Trolls have discovered that Creek is alive and managed to steal the locket which the King kept him in, but Creek has already been moved from it. They are captured immediately afterward by Chef and discover that Creek betrayed the Trolls to save himself. This leaves Poppy with a terrible heartache. Creek returns to Troll Village and uses Poppy's cowbell to lure the other Trolls out of hiding, leading to Chef and the other Bergen cooks capturing every other Troll there.

With all of the Trolls captured, locked in a big pot attached to a cart, and soon to be served to the Bergens, Poppy loses hope and apologizes for thinking that she could do this. With no hope left, she and soon every single Troll turn into a solid grey. Branch is heartbroken by this, and realizing what he must do, he sings to her for the first time in his life, (about 21 years) since his grandmother was eaten, and reveals to Poppy through song that he loves her, to her surprise. She sings back that she fell in love with him over time and now loves him in return. They sing together, dance together around the pot, and restore her and Branch's true colors, and the other Trolls. They hug at the end, and Poppy thanks him for helping restore her colors and Branch thanks her for showing her how to be happy.

Just then, right before being served, the Trolls are rescued by Bridget, who wants them to flee while she herself is ready to accept the Bergen's punishment for her "treason". However, Poppy does not want to abandon her Bergen friend. Together, with the other Trolls, Poppy reveals that Bridget, was, in fact, the king's mysterious date, and that it is not necessary to eat Trolls to be happy as the feeling that Bridget and King Gristle had on the date was happiness too. The other Bergens begin to consider this, and the vengeful Chef, who sees her newly re-won position at court jeopardized, tries to force Gristle to eat Branch. Before she can do so, Poppy jumps in and saves him, helping him up. Poppy then starts singing a song about the feeling of happiness, love, and music that you can only find inside you. Branch joins in, and together they sing and dance, with the other Trolls to back them up. Chef almost stabs Poppy and Branch with two knives, but before she can, Bridget tosses a spoon at her head and DJ Suki and Smidge spray lemon juice in Chef's eyes. She trips over Satin and Chenille's hair, (which is connected) and falls into the cart's pot. Then Cooper throws a flaming match at it. Together, with the traitor Creek still in her pouch, Chef rolls out of the castle and then out of Bergen Town with the pot set on fire, ending Trollstice once and for all. In the credits is a small clip where she and Creek are eaten by a hill monster.

At the end, Poppy is crowned the new queen of the Trolls. There was now peace between the Trolls and the Bergens, for the Trolls showed them how to be truly happy. Branch then walks towards Poppy and they hold hands, smiling lovingly at eachother. Then they are lifted into the sky on the mushroom they were standing on, by Smidge. Branch asks for a hug, even though it's not Hug Time. Poppy declares that Hug Time is now all the time before hugging him affectionately, hinting that the two are now a couple (boyfriend and girlfriend). They are interrupted by Cloud Guy, who encourages Poppy and Branch to high five him. The movie ends when Poppy and Branch playfully dance on top of the mushroom together. Fireworks go off and their story book closes. During the end credits they dance and sing together once more.

Trivia

This movie is based on the popular troll dolls. It was also seen in Pixar's franchise Toy Story.
This is the second time the Troll franchise has been animated. The first was DiC Entertainment's Trollz.
This is the second DreamWorks Animation movie to star Justin Timberlake, the first being Shrek the Third.
The fourth DreamWorks Animation film to have a female protagonist, after Chicken Run, Monsters vs. Aliens, and The Croods.
The third DreamWorks Animation's musical film, following The Prince of Egypt and The Road to El Dorado. In fact, it is the first DreamWorks Animation musical in 20 years.
- Ironically, the film fast forwards 20 years and the last DreamWorks musical was produced 20 years ago. This was probably intended as an Easter Egg.
This is the first DreamWorks Animation film to be released on 4K Ultra HD.
Due to a few cartoon sound effects being used in a few parts, this is the first DreamWorks Animation film to use the banana peel slip sound effect originally from various Hanna-Barbera cartoons (which is only used once at the very beginning of the film). Ironically, that sound effect was previously used in some episodes of The Penguins of Madagascar TV series on Nickelodeon.
This film marks Christophe Beck's first scoring debut in a DreamWorks Animation film and also his third feature-length animated score after Disney's Frozen and Blue Sky Studios' The Peanuts Movie.
The seventh DreamWorks Animation film to not feature any humans, after Antz, Shark Tale, Flushed Away and the Kung Fu Panda trilogy (soon to become a "hexogy").
- The fourth DreamWorks Animation film to have a post-credit scene, after Over the Hedge, Kung Fu Panda, and The Croods.

Goofs/Mistakes

In the film, Harper's hair is cut short. In coloring books, children's books, and other merchandise, her hair is very long.
When Poppy sings on a flower, the sparkles on her cheeks disappear. When she falls the sparkles appear again.

When King Peppy is on the bunker, he is seen wearing clothes. Then, when he and the other Trolls wave goodbye to Poppy, he is in his underwear.

As Poppy and Branch are arguing in his bunker, the switch for the elevator is missing. Then, it appears.
When the Bergens dig to find the Trolls, King Gristle Sr.'s crown disappears, then it appears when he banishes Chef from BergenTown.
When the Trolls escape, King Peppy is naked, then his clothes appear when he marks the torch as their new village.
When Gristle and Bridget are holding hands she's wearing roller skates. When the cast is singing, "Can't Stop the Feeling" Bridget's is wearing her normal shoes.
When King Gristle Sr. banishes Chef his shirt is open, but when he tells Prince Gristle nothing will make him happy without the Trolls, his shirt is buttoned.
When Chef is forcing King Gristle to eat Branch, Gristle's crown disappears, then it appears when the Trolls sing, "Can't Stop the Feeling."
When Poppy and Branch meet Cloud Guy, Branch doesn't trust him because he wears socks without shoes. How could he know what shoes are important when the Trolls don't wear shoes or socks themselves?
When Branch chases Cloud Guy into the tunnel, (it turns out to be the correct one that leads to the Troll Tree) He forgets his bag, which he took off near the entrance. You don't see the bag at all in the film after that.
When Poppy is crowned queen, Branch is dancing in the back with the rest of the Snack Pack, but the moment AFTER she's crowned queen he's not there anymore. Then when he walks up to Poppy and takes her hands you see him again.

Cast

Anna Kendrick as Poppy^[1]
Justin Timberlake as Branch^[2]
Gwen Stefani as DJ Suki^[3]
James Corden as Biggie^[4]
Russell Brand as Creek^[5]
Aino Jawo as Satin^[6]
Caroline Hjelt as Chenille^[7]
Ron Funches as Cooper^[8]
Kunal Nayyar as Guy Diamond^[9]
GloZell as Grandma Rosiepuff^[10]
Meg Deangelis as Moxie Dewdrop
Ricky Dillon as Aspen^[11]
Kandee Johnson as Mandy Sparkledust^[12]
Christine Baranski as Chef
John Cleese as King Gristle Sr.
Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Prince/King Gristle
Zooey Deschanel as Bridget
Walt Dohrn as Smidge / Fuzzbert / Cloud Guy / Mr. Dinkles / Tunnel Troll / Wedgie Bergen #2
Mike Mitchell as Darius/Vinny the Phone/Captain Starfunkle/Spider/Wedgie Bergen #1/Chad/Card
Curtis Stone as Todd
Rhys Darby as Bibbly
Jeffrey Tambor as King Peppy
Quvenzhané Wallis as Harper
Alan Cumming as Mr. Alan (voice)
Richard E. Grant as Mr. Richard (voice)
Max von Sydow as Mr. Max (voice)
Donald Sutherland as Mr. Donald (voice)
Bruce Willis as Mr. Willis (voice)
Michael Caine as Mr. Michael (voice)

Production

On June 23, 2010, DreamWorks Animation announced plans to create a film based on the toys, under the direction of Tim Hill. The brother–sister writing team of Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson LaBracio were set to write the screenplay, and Dannie Festa of Festa Entertainment to executive produce. In June 2012, it was reported that Chloë Grace Moretz will voice the female lead, while the role of the male lead, Masklin, had been offered to Jason Schwartzman. In September 2012, 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks Animation announced that the film with the working title Trolls would be released on June 5, 2015, with Anand Tucker set to direct the film, written by Wallace Wollodarsky and Maya Forbes. Moretz and Schwartzman have also been confirmed to lend their voices. Peter Ramsey, the director of Rise of the Guardians, said that Trolls would be partially based on a Terry Pratchett novel.

By April 2013, DreamWorks Animation had acquired the intellectual property for the Trolls franchise from the Dam Family and Dam Things. Having "big plans for the franchise," DreamWorks Animation became the exclusive worldwide licensor of the merchandise rights, except for Scandinavia, where Dam Things remains the licensor. In May 2013, the film was pushed back for a year to November 4, 2016. The same month, DreamWorks Animation announced that Mike Mitchell and Erica Rivinoja have been hired as a director and screenplay writer to "reimagine" the film as a musical comedy, which will present the origin of the Trolls' colorful hair. On June 16, 2014, Anna Kendrick joined the cast to voice Poppy, a princess. On September 15, 2015, Deadline.com reported that Justin Timberlake will voice a character named Branch. The full cast announced their respective roles via announcements on Twitter on January 6, 2016. On January 28, 2016, a teaser trailer was released on YouTube. On June 29, 2016, the film's first trailer was released online.

Music

Timberlake serves as an executive producer for the film's music (no surprise there), and released the original song "Can't Stop the Feeling!" on May 6, 2016. The song reached No. 1 in 14 countries, including the United States and Canada. He has also confirmed that Ariana Grande and Gwen Stefani will contribute to the soundtrack.