Trolls World Tour has arrived on the scene, digitally, to a nation of parents eager to give their children some quality entertainment for a few hours while we’re all cooped up inside during this pandemic. The good news is that the film is a spectacle of sonic succulence, eye-popping visual brilliance and a cast of characters that kids adore and parents can treasure their messages.
Anna Kendrick returns as Poppy, the pink Troll who has became queen at the close of 2016’s Trolls. As our film commences, there is trouble in the world of Trolls. There’s Barb (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s Rachel Bloom), a Rock Troll who wants to take over the entire Troll landscape. She has landed with her fellow hard rock revelers to take over Techno Trolls village. As Daft Punk’s One More Time has our toes a tapping, the Techno Trolls are decimated by Barb and they acquire the beat-loving Trolls’ string.
What’s a string? Well, in a fantastic way of expanding the Trolls universe, screenwriters Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger, Maya Forbes, Wallace Wolodarsky and Elizabeth Tippet have joined forces to showcase a landscape where Trolls of different musical milieus life peacefully in their own corners of the world. Each has been given a magic string that represents their village in all its musical uniqueness. We learn of the Country Trolls, the Hip-Hop Trolls, the Classical Trolls and more. Each one has a string and Barb wants them all. So far, nothing has been able to stop her.
Even though peace has been shattered by Barb, the ever optimistic Poppy believes that hitting the road with her BFF Branch (Justin Timberlake, returning to the role he originated) in an effort to unite the newly discovered Troll villages in the battle against Barb, is exactly what the situation calls for.
Visually, Trolls: World Tour is even more fluorescently fantastic than the original and its color spectrum sears the screen with its awesomeness. Sonically, the sequel raises the bar with a series of mash-ups that are simply delightful. Timberlake also served as a music producer this time out and his musical mastery is on full display. The song selections impeccably fit the action of the moment and the emotive spectrum needed of each musical number. Don’t be surprised if your children start asking to hear some LMFAO and the Baja Men!
Plot wise, the film is not exactly earth shattering. But, honestly, it never needed to be as what Poppy and her Trolls go through this time out speaks for itself. Trying to unite is a message we could all use right now and the timing of this release could not be more perfect. Much of what we’ve been teaching my daughter, socially, seemed to be reinforced through the story of Trolls: World Tour. It was a breath of fresh air to hear her echo those themes later in the day as the power of the movie sunk into her psyche. Put it this way, as the film ended … my daughter ran to her mother and said, “Mama, that was soooo great!”
For a parent and child moment during these troubled and scary times, Trolls World Tour is the tonic we need.
Grade: B