FORMAT: VOD RENTAL | DIRECTOR: WALT DOHRN | SCREENPLAY: JONATHAN AIBEL, GLENN BERGER, ELIZABETH TIPPET, MAYA FORBES, WALLACE WOLODARSKY / STARRING: ANNA KENDRICK, JUSTIN TIMBERLINE, RACHEL BLOOM, JAMES CORDEN, ANDERSON PAAK, RON FUNCHES, KELLY CLARKSON, SAM ROCKWELL | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
It isn’t being too harsh to say that the idea of a sequel to DreamWorks’ all singing all dancing Trolls was not exactly what everyone really really wanted. And yet here we are playing that funky music… and it isn’t bad. The film catches up with the trolls as optimistic Queen Poppy (Kendrick) and her friends find that their world is bigger than they ever thought. Split into different kingdoms, based around genres of music, Poppy realises this once-united world is now divided, as each realm faces the threat of invasion from Queen Barb (Bloom) of the Rock Trolls, who aims to rock them like a hurricane! But is Poppy taking this threat seriously enough?
Trolls World Tour re-covers some old ground (finding love in unexpected places, the power of music comes from within) and some lines of dialogue are seriously creaky, with the odd jokes worthy of an “oh no you didn’t”. However the film successfully widens the onscreen lore of Trolls, incorporating everything from Rock and Classical to Yodelling and K-Pop and everything in-between. Like the LSD-taking lesser cousin of Zootropolis, this one is a rather visually creative crazy train and commendably determined in the pursuit of its message’s good vibrations. World Tour’s message of embracing and celebrating our differences is obvious from the start but that doesn’t make it unimportant. The film says that we all have a heart and the sweet emotion that comes from that heart can unites us: our passions, our interests, our cultures and most crucially our identities because if we are all forced to be the same, how can we come together and harmonise?
It’s an inoffensive film and a few adults may get a kick out of the film’s ‘pop ruins everything’ sly gag. Not to sound toxic here but by the end you have had your fill of glittery relentless cheer but it keeps you watching, if for no other reason than its wild animation. The visuals are amplified by 11 from the first movie. Constantly crazy and assuredly colourful, although adults be warned: do not watch this film after partaking in lots of alcohol (or any substance – tsk tsk) because hells bells this is seriously trippy stuff, man! A glitter troll giving birth from his head, live-action newspaper clippings, intoxicated Jazz fever dreams… it’s madness.
For a film about music, some of its soundtrack is fleeting and while there are tunes here to get your toe-tapping and a few twists on classic earworms, there is not a bunch of new tracks that will rule the world. Probably won’t stop some youngsters feeling happy though.
While there are fun characters, aside from Anna Kendrick’s Poppy and Timberlake’s Branch, we can’t say that you’ll come away remembering your Biggie from your Delta Dawn but Ozzy Osbourne’s delightful self-deprecating rock bad guy dad King Thrash certainly stands out, as do some other star voices like Sam Rockwell and Jamie Dornan.
Trolls World Tour won’t win over many who are set to avoid it like the plague but in these trying times, the kids might get a kick out of this visual feast which celebrates our differences and promotes a crazy little thing called love at a point when many folks just might need a positive boost.
