Trolls

This isn't the first time a Troll Doll has been rendered in computer animation. Pixar did it in the very first computer animated film but DreamWorks, with their 2016, is hoping their audience will forget that. From the onset, I knew the focus of this film was going to be on the music and visuals. What's this film without its story? It's a music concert staring Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake. I was almost proven wrong but "Trolls" had trouble identifying its central character relationship. I also believe they had the wrong protagonist. This is a very cute film and kids will love that but we live in a world where the most successful animated films appeal to the parents as well as their children. "The Good Dinosaur" for example had just enough sophistication to be good for the whole family. I'm not talking about edgy humor but rather the kind of cinematic storytelling methods that can be found in any genre.

The visual design of "Trolls" was unique and hypnotic. I can tell they made advancements in hair, fur and fuzz. The whole movie felt like it came from a storybook, thanks especially to the scrapbook sequences. The stars in the sky weren't realistic for example so that made the film feel cute and innocent. I felt the movie did a better job with classic songs than its original songs. My favorite musical sequences were "The Sound of Silence", "True Colors" and the reprise of "September" during the end credits. As for the original songs, maybe my tastes lie in the classics too much. One thing I do know is that the use of "Can't Stop the Feeling!" felt forced. That kind of song seemed fit to be used right at the start of the end credits and not to resolve the story. In any musical, the songs should movie the story forward. This was attempted in "Trolls" but it didn't feel natural the entire time. The songs outshined the story of the movie and that aspect is the most important in filmmaking. There were some story decisions made that were admirable however. The romantic subplot between Poppy and Branch felt well crafted. This is mostly thanks to Branch's secret collection of scrapbook invitations. This shows that he is not disgruntled deep down and is redeemable. Creek's survival from being eaten had a plausible and surprising explanation so that is good. The best part of the movie however is the character of Bridget. This was the aspect that bumped "Trolls" a little higher on my rating scale. What is amazing is that when you are first introduced to Bridget, you don't think she is going to play any significant role at all. She ends up not only helping our protagonists but also shows the audience that the Bergen are not all evil. Bridget may have made the story better but her inclusion also caused problems. The movie had trouble deciding what its central relationship was. Poppy has a connection with both Branch and Bridget and both are quite strong. These relationships have to compete for screen time and this negatively affects the story but the biggest flaw of "Trolls" is that the filmmakers chose the wrong protagonist. The character that undergoes the most change during the movie should be the main protagonist. There are some exceptions when you look at classic animated films but in the case of this specific story, Branch should have been the lead character. Poppy goes through an emotional adventure but she ends up just the way she was at the start of the film. There are quite a few plot holes as well. A good movie is able to make you forget or forgive the plot problems but "Trolls" had too many of them to ignore. Another huge flaw is the Cloud Guy. Probably the reason why he stayed in the film all the way to the final version is that he is voiced by co-director, Walt Dohrn. Cloud Guy had no story purpose other than to show Poppy and Branch the correct tunnel. Then, after his job was done, he didn't show up for the rest of the movie except at the very end. It feels so much like lazy filmmaking; almost as if the filmmakers didn't want to take the time to incorporate a new character into the story. Imagine if Puss in Boots had left Shrek and Donkey after his first scene in "Shrek 2". This is not to say that Cloud Guy was a great character. The point is the filmmakers created a crisis and solved it too easily. There were other plausible and more entertaining ways for our two heroes to find their way to Bergen Town such as them getting lost in the tunnels. This would have allowed Poppy and Branch's relationship to achieve more strength. The flashback of Branch's grandmother was good but she should have been alluded to earlier in the film. If they showed that Branch kept the scrapbook invitations in his bunker, why couldn't they show that he has a picture of his grandmother also? The movie seemed to wrap itself up too fast at the end. Also concerning the climax, I thought all the trolls escaped. Why did hundreds of them suddenly reappear during the Oscar-nominated song "Can't Stop the Feeling"?

As with "Home", many of the actors voicing characters in "Trolls" seemed to have been cast thanks to their singing ability. While both Kendrick and Timberlake are great singers, their casting shows that DreamWorks wasn't as concerned as much as they should have been with the story. DreamWorks did cast some familiar names from past films of theirs. Timberlake and John Cleese were both in "Shrek the Third" and Christopher Mintz-Plasse is from the "How to Train Your Dragon" franchise. Perhaps DreamWorks and Timberlake were trying to achieve the same success that Pharrell Williams had with his song "Happy" from "Despicable Me 2". That movie however was a sequel and had humor as its focus because it didn't need to spend time introducing an entire set of characters. When you have an original film, the story matters a lot. "Trolls" had some noteworthy story aspects, looks quite amazing and has a good use of music but the story flaws got in the way of my enjoyment. Little kids won't have a problem with this show though.

3.5 Stars