Trolls: Band Together

 Everyone's favorite dolls with the wild hair now have another movie. I skipped Trolls: World Tour, as by the time I got Hulu, where it landed, I was already busy with plenty of other films. Well, I have time for the threequel, Trolls: Band Together, one of many, many, films on my docket for the rest of the year. Yay.

Fortunately, anyone who skipped out on World Tour is barely lost here. Sure, plenty of stuff happened since they last saw Trolls Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and Branch (Justin Timberlake) win over the hungry Bergens with music, but a lot of it is natural progress. For one thing, Poppy and Branch are officially boyfriend and girlfriend. For another, the Bergen King Gristle (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and his former scullery maid, Bridget (Zooey Deschanel), are about to get married. The ceremony is disrupted by former Troll heartthrob John Dory (Eric Andre), who announces himself as Branch's long-lost brother!

That's not all. Branch and his brothers were a boy band called BroZone, who broke up when they couldn't get NSYNC (ha!). Their brother Floyd (Troye Sivan) has been troll-napped for his talent by twin hacks, Velvet and Veneer (Amy Schumer and Andrew Rannells). Floyd needs Branch's help to get their other brothers, Clay and Spruce (Kid Kudi and Daveed Diggs), back together to save Floyd. It seems only the "Perfect Family Harmony" can break the diamond prison the hacks are holding Floyd in. So begins a weird road trip that also sees Poppy reunited with her own long-lost sister, Viva (Camila Cabello). But are the hacks really going to let them walk into their home turf of Mount Rageous? Obviously not.

Everybody got that?

It's actually a much simpler story than my summary suggests. The road trip is pretty straightforward, but it has a few interesting stops. One of them is the subplot involving Crimp (Zosia Mamet), the hacks' put-upon mop assistant, who gets some sweet revenge at the end. Likewise, Bridget and Gristle's honeymoon is pretty amusing, and it pays off near the end. The glittery Troll Tiny Diamond (Kenan Thompson), who was introduced in World Tour, is mildly amusing, while Veneer is almost sympathetic. Viva's insecurities manifest in the film's most poignant scene. Its climactic scene tries to be poignant with a character's death, but it's blatantly obvious that it's a fake-out. 

Its most appealing aspect is its art styles. The Trolls and Bergens are still ugly cute, but its new characters have wholly unique aesthetics. The denizens of "Vacay Island," where the Trolls find Spruce, are clearly CGI Muppets that almost look real. The Mount Rageons look like hip updates of lanky golden age cartoon characters. A "hustle button" on John Dory's bus critter, Rhonda, is just an excuse to throw in trippy 2D sequences. The visual highlight is the climactic chase of the hacks across the wacky highways of Mount Rageous. It's that sequence alone that would make a trip to IMAX worth it (I saw it on a regular sized screen).

The soundtrack includes more mashups of pop standards, a few new songs, and an instrumental score by Theodore Shapiro. Let's cut to the chase on some of the new songs. The much-hyped Better Place, which sees Timberlake collaborate with his old NSYNC bandmates (who get a weird cameo), is simply fine. It's a good listen but nothing too special. Watch Me Work, the hacks' hit single, is quite appealing, especially when it's mixed with Fame in the climax. The mashups are fine, but Crimp's take on 9 to 5 is entertaining. The instrumental score stands out just fine amongst all the pop. 

Trolls: Band Together's 92 minutes of cartoon silliness will appeal to kids the most. Its oldest audience members will still get some amusement, even a few groaners, out of it. It's good for an afternoon matinee, but who knows if you'll still feel the beat beyond that. I surprisingly remembered quite a bit of plot from Trolls as I watched it; that might be a good sign going into a Trolls 4. Make your plans soon before the cineplexes get crowded this holiday season.