Trolls

Everyone's favorite dolls with the wild hair now have their own movie. Trolls isn't that much a deep, sophisticated film, but it is a fine diversion from all those films coming out right around now.

The Trolls are little critters who sing and dance and hug. The Bergens, meanwhile, are ogres who don't know how to sing and dance and hug. But a Bergen can get some happiness by eating a Troll. So they had the Trolls captured and served on a holiday called Trollstice. That was before King Peppy (Jeffrey Tambor) led his Trolls to freedom. The Trolls lived the good life for the next twenty years.

Princess Poppy (Anna Kendrick) is the happiest Troll of all. Branch (Justin Timberlake) is the grumpiest Troll of all. Poppy throws the biggest, loudest party of all to celebrate their freedom. But Branch thinks that'll bring a Bergen over. Sure enough, the banished Bergen Royal Chef (Christine Baranski) shows up and takes a handful to Bergentown. She wants to gain favor with young King Gristle (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) by giving him his first Troll.

Naturally, Poppy goes off to save her friends. She also coerces Branch to come along on pain of hugs. Their rescue mission meets plenty of complications in Bergentown. One of them is a scullery maid, Bridget (Zooey Deschanel), who likes King Gristle. Perhaps they can use her to convince him that happiness is not Fillet of Troll.

The film's soundtrack is a mishmash of pop standards and new songs by Timberlake. Timberlake's most prominent contribution is the showstopper Can't Stop The Feeling. It's a light, fun soundtrack that's sure to resonate with kids and adults. There's also a score by Christophe Beck, but unfortunately, it's overshadowed by all the pomp and circumstance.

The artistic style was pretty good. The character designs, whether Troll or Bergen, fall on the ugly cute spectrum. Their hometowns reflect their color palletes perfectly. The creatures that Branch and Poppy meet on the way to Bergentown are also fun designs. All the pretty colors are sure to keep kids entertained...

Now I get to talk about the story. The film has a few genuinely funny moments playing off Branch and Poppy's personalities. Their voyage to Bergentown made for a fun trek. It's halfway through that the plot stalls. One dramatic revelation that should lead to the climax leads to another. And another and another and another. This makes the 93 minutes far longer than it should be. The actual climactic moment was a legitimately powerful scene. The cast gave their characters a welcome dose of gusto.

Trolls is a decent matinee for the pre-holiday crowd. It aims to please and I was pleased a bit. If only the plot didn't run out of steam at Bergentown. Still, it was a relief to see an animated movie on the big screen after a few months of Oscar Bait and Blockbusters. That diversion made the experience better.