Trolls (film)

Trolls is a 2016 American computer-animated buddy musical comedy film based on the Troll dolls created by Thomas Dam. The film was directed by Mike Mitchell and co-directed by Walt Dohrn, written by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger and based on a story by Erica Rivinoja. The film features the voices of Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Zooey Deschanel, Russell Brand, James Corden and Gwen Stefani. The film follows two trolls who go on a quest to save their village from destruction by the Bergens, creatures who eat Trolls to be happy.

The 33rd animated feature film produced by DreamWorks Animation, the film premiered on October 8, 2016, at the BFI London Film Festival and was theatrically released in the United States on November 4, 2016, by 20th Century Fox. The film grossed $346 million worldwide against its $125 million budget and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for "Can't Stop the Feeling!". A sequel, Trolls World Tour, is scheduled to be released on April 17, 2020.

Plot
The Trolls are small creatures who live in an almost perpetual state of happiness, singing, dancing and hugging all day. However, they are discovered by the Bergens, large miserable creatures, who can feel happy only after eating a Troll. The Bergens imprison the trolls and eat them every year on a special occasion, called Trollstice. The Trolls, led by their king, King Peppy, with his baby daughter, Princess Poppy, escape through underground tunnels on the day of Trollstice, when Prince Gristle Jr. was going to eat his first Troll. Enraged, Gristle Jr.’s father King Gristle Sr. banishes Chef, who was in charge of preparing for Trollstice

20 years later, (at the age of 20) Poppy throws a big party to celebrate the Trolls' escape, despite the fears and warnings of the gray troll, Branch, that loud parties will attract the Bergens. A Zen troll named Creek, who is Poppy's boyfriend, arrives and tells Branch to start being happy instead of being grumpy; Branch refuses. At the party, Branch's fears come true, when Chef sees the fireworks and kidnaps Guy Diamond, Biggie with Mr. Dinkles, Fuzzbert, Smidge, Satin with Chenille, D.J. Suki, Cooper, and Creek (which Poppy tried to rescue). Chef then takes the kidnapped Trolls back to Bergen Town, while secretly plotting to overthrow its monarchy in revenge for her banishment.

Alone inside the bunker, Branch looks at a bunch of homemade party invitations, indicating that he appreciates Poppy's offers of friendship and internally would like to have fun with the rest of the trolls. Meanwhile, Poppy goes on a rescue mission alone, as no other troll is willing to venture to Bergen Town, including Branch. But later on, when Poppy gets into trouble, she is saved by Branch, who thinks she will not make it if she goes alone. Once inside the Bergen king's castle, Poppy and Branch witness Creek apparently get eaten by Gristle Jr. (who is now king), but Poppy remains hopeful that Creek survived. Poppy and Branch find the rest of the captured Trolls being guarded by a scullery maid named Bridget. Poppy discovers that Bridget is secretly in love with King Gristle Jr. and offers to help her get a date with the king while trying to confirm if Creek is alive.

While setting Bridget up for the date with an musical number, Branch refuses to sing and triggers an argument with Poppy, revealing that, as a child, his grandmother was captured and got killed while trying to save him, because his singing compromised his location to Chef. Branch's guilt and shame over his grandmother's death caused his color to turn from blue to gray.

After Poppy comforts him with a hug, Branch decides to help Bridget and the trolls, though he still refuses to sing. Bridget, disguised under the name of 'Lady Glitter Sparkles' gets her date with Gristle Jr. at a roller rink and arcade restaurant and Gristle Jr. asks her to be his "plus one" at Trollstice. Poppy notices Creek being held captive inside the jewel adorning the king's mantle.

Having helped Bridget, the Trolls attempt to rescue Creek from Gristle's room and steal his jewel but discover that it is empty. The Trolls are then captured by Chef and are shocked to discover that Creek sold them out to the Bergens to spare himself from being eaten. Creek lures out every troll from Troll village and they are captured by Chef and the other Bergen cooks. With all the Trolls captured and soon to be eaten, a heartbroken Poppy becomes sad after she had been betrayed by her boyfriend, loses hope as she and all the other Trolls turn gray.

Branch sings “True Colors” for the princess to cheer her up, and also confesses his affection for her. Poppy, after regaining her colors, returns Branch's feelings, and they both end up restoring all the trolls' colors including Branch's. Bridget saves the trolls, willing to sacrifice herself. Poppy cannot bring herself to abandon Bridget after her sacrifice that is sure to doom her life, and with Branch and her friends, shows the Bergens that Bridget was Lady Glitter Sparkles and that it is not necessary to eat Trolls to be happy, and they too, can find happiness within themselves.

Chef refuses to accept the peace and tries to kill the Trolls, but is knocked into a serving cart that is sent rolling out of Bergen Town. Chef is set on fire with Creek, who was still in her pouch. Both species celebrate, bringing new life to the town and renewing the life of the troll tree. Poppy is then declared queen of the Trolls, and Poppy and Branch share a hug.

In a mid-credits scene, Chef and Creek's cart stops rolling. Chef prepares to eat Creek herself, but they soon find out they are on top of a monster, who opens his mouth and eats them.

Cast

 * Anna Kendrick as Princess Poppy, the princess and later queen of the Trolls.
 * Iris Dohrn as Baby Poppy.
 * Justin Timberlake as Branch, a paranoid, disgruntled Troll survivalist.
 * Liam Henry as Young Branch.
 * Zooey Deschanel as Bridget, a kind-hearted Bergen who works as a scullery maid to Chef and has feelings for Gristle.
 * Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Prince Gristle, the prince of the Bergens.
 * Christine Baranski as Chef, the evil, power-hungry Bergen chef who is in charge of Troll preparation.
 * Russell Brand as Creek, a Troll with a positive personality and zen-like wisdom later revealed to be a coward and double-crosser willing to sell out all the Trolls just so he won't be eaten.
 * Gwen Stefani as DJ Suki, the Trolls' resident disc jockey.
 * James Corden as Biggie, a chubby, friendly Troll.
 * Jeffrey Tambor as King Peppy, the king of the Trolls and Poppy's father.
 * Ron Funches as Cooper, a giraffe-like Troll that walks on all fours.
 * Icona Pop as Satin and Chenille, twin trolls who are joined by their hair and love fashion.
 * Kunal Nayyar as Guy Diamond, a glittery silver Troll with a highly Auto-Tuned voice who is always naked.
 * John Cleese as King Gristle Sr., Gristle's father and the ruler of the Bergens at the start of the film.
 * Walt Dohrn as Smidge, Fuzzbert, Cloud Guy, Tunnel Troll and Wedgie Bergen #2 and Mr. Dinkles, Biggie's pet worm.
 * GloZell as Grandma Rosiepuff, an elderly Troll and Branch's late grandmother who was taken by a Bergen while saving Branch. In the UK version, newsreader Susanna Reid voices the character and in the Australian version, Dami Im voices the character.
 * Meg DeAngelis as Moxie Dewdrop, a dancing Troll. Noodlerella voices the character in the UK version.
 * Ricky Dillon as Aspen Heitz, a Troll skitterboarder.
 * Kandee Johnson as Mandy Sparkledust, a Troll who designs and repairs all the treasures of Troll Town.
 * Quvenzhané Wallis as Harper, a Troll artist who paints with her hair.
 * Mike Mitchell as Darius, Vinny the Phone, Captain Starfunkle, Spider, Wedgie Bergen #1, Chad, Card
 * Grace Helbig as Cookie Sugarloaf, one of the trolls. Carrie Hope Fletcher voices the character in the UK version.
 * Curtis Stone as Todd, a royal guard that works for the Bergen Royal Family.
 * Rhys Darby as Bibbly, a Bergen shopkeeper of the Bib Store.

Production
DreamWorks announced plans for a film based on the Troll toyline as early as 2010. This version was to be written by Adam Wilson and his wife Melanie. By 2012, Chloë Grace Moretz had already been cast in the female lead role and Jason Schwartzman was reported to have been offered the male lead. 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 Wolodarsky and Maya Forbes.

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 has 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 Hollywood reported that Justin Timberlake will voice a character named Branch. Timberlake previously worked with DreamWorks Animation as the voice of Arthur "Artie" Pendragon in Shrek the Third in 2007. The full cast announced their respective roles via announcements on Twitter on January 6, 2016.

Music
Justin Timberlake served as an executive producer for the film's music and released the original song "Can't Stop the Feeling!" on May 6, 2016. The song reached No. 1 in the official charts of 17 countries, including the United States and Canada. Timberlake along with the film cast, with guest appearances from Earth, Wind & Fire and Ariana Grande, contributed to the soundtrack. The soundtrack album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and the Australian Recording Industry Association.

Release
The film's opening premiere opened at the BFI London Film Festival Event on October 8, 2016 as a special BFI presentation, and was theatrically released on November 4, 2016, in the United States by 20th Century Fox.

Home media
Trolls was released on Digital HD on January 24, 2017, and on DVD and Blu-ray on February 7, 2017. The film topped the home video sales chart for two consecutive weeks.

Box office
Trolls grossed $153.7 million in the US and Canada and $193.2 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $346.8 million, against a budget of $125 million.

In the United States and Canada, Trolls was released alongside the releases of Doctor Strange and Hacksaw Ridge, and was projected to gross $35–40 million from 4,060 theaters in its opening weekend. On its first day, the film grossed $12.3 million (including $900,000 made from Thursday night previews). It went on to open to $46.5 million, finishing second at the box office behind Doctor Strange.

Critical response
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 74% based on 148 reviews; the average rating is 6.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Trolls brings its instantly recognizable characters to the big screen in a colorful adventure that, while geared toward the younger set, isn't without rewards for parents." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score of 56 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it an 80% overall positive score.

Lindsey Bahr of Associated Press gave the film a positive review and said, "Ultimately, the 'get happy' moral of the story, while trite compared to something like Inside Out, is sufficiently sweet enough for its audience. Did you expect more from a piece of candy?" Bill Zwecker of Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four and said, "You simply will walk out — or perhaps dance out — of the theater feeling very happy yourself." Andy Webster of The New York Times said, "Exuberant, busy and sometimes funny, DreamWorks Animation's Trolls is determined to amuse."

The Hollywood Reporter called the film "an admittedly vibrant-looking but awfully recognizable animated musical comedy concoction." Alonso Duralde of TheWrap said the film "combines the barely-there characterization and irritating cutesiness of The Smurfs with the hideous character design and awful pop covers of Strange Magic." Betsy Bozdech of Common Sense Media gave the movie 4 stars. She said, "Make no mistake: Kids are going to love this movie. Trolls is cute, it's colorful, it has tons of catchy songs, and the messages are positive and easy to understand (happiness is inside everyone, if you know where/how to find it, and you shouldn't have to change who you are to get someone to like you)."

Accolades

 * Regarding music award shows, only film-related categories are included on this list.

Franchise
DreamWorks Trolls: The Experience was the first of multiple properties mobile pop-up attractions Feld Entertainment and Universal Brand Development had agreed to develop in April 2018. The pop-up attraction opening in New York City on October 22, 2018.

Trolls World Tour (2020 sequel)
On February 28, 2017, Universal Pictures, the studio's new distributor and parent company since 2016, and DreamWorks Animation announced that a sequel titled Trolls 2 would be released on April 10, 2020, with Kendrick and Timberlake reprising their roles of Poppy and Branch. On October 4, 2017, the release date for the sequel was moved up to February 14, 2020, as Fast & Furious 9 took its original April 10, 2020 slot. Along with the new release date, it was announced that Dohrn will be returning to direct and Shay will return to produce the sequel. On December 6, 2017, the film was pushed back to an April 17, 2020 release.

In May 2018, it was confirmed that Sam Rockwell, Chance the Rapper, Anthony Ramos, Karan Soni, Flula Borg, and Jamie Dornan joined the cast. Corden, Icona Pop, Funches, and Nayyar will also reprise their roles. In October 2018, it was confirmed that Kelly Clarkson had joined the cast, and will perform an original song.

A new title for the sequel, Trolls World Tour, was announced in June 2018. In May 2017, podcasters Justin, Travis and Griffin McElroy began campaigning for roles in the film via a podcast titled "The McElroy Brothers Will Be In Trolls 2". Following the campaign's success, DreamWorks confirmed in September 2018 that the McElroy brothers would make cameo appearances in ''World Tour.

Television special
Trolls Holiday is a half-hour television special that aired on November 24, 2017 on NBC. Set after the film, Poppy realizes that the Bergens have no holidays to celebrate. She enlists Branch and their friends (the Snack Pack) to show their best friend Bridget and other Bergens the importance of holidays. Most of the original cast (including Kendrick, Timberlake, Deschanel, Mintz-Plasse, Corden, Funches, Nayyar and Dohrn) all reprise their roles from the film. The likely-Christmas Special is also directed by Crawford and written by Josh Bycel & Jonathan Fener with music by Jeff Morrow. Its soundtrack album that features seven songs was released on October 27, 2017. It is now available on Netflix and on DVD by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. The bonus features of the DVD also include one episode of Spirit Riding Free and two of Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh.

Animated series
A 26-episode animated series based on the film, entitled Trolls: The Beat Goes On! that airs on Netflix premiered on January 19, 2018. The show stars Amanda Leighton as Poppy, Skylar Astin as Branch, and Funches who is reprising his role as Cooper.