‘Trolls’ review: Surprisingly enthralling

Walt Dohrn and Mike Mitchell’s Trolls is one happy movie.

It opens with an overview of the tenuous relationship between the Trolls and the Bergens, ogre-like creatures who are sad year-round except for one day they call Trollstice. See, the trolls, as expressed by their brightly-colored skin and hair, are extremely happy creatures, and the Bergens, who are desperate to experience joy, have always thought that if they ate a troll, they will experience happiness. But one Trollstice, the trolls managed to escape. 

Simplistic enough

The lore is simple enough. The movie exploits the simplistic links between the Trolls and the Bergens by launching into the equally simplistic adventure of Poppy (Anna Kendrick), princess of trolls, and Branch (Justin Timberlake), the only troll who suspects that their excessive happiness may lead to trouble. The two venture into Bergen territory to rescue their captured friends.  

Don’t let the simplicity fool you. While the movie feels like it is fashioned to keep the kids happy with its over-indulgent color palette and humor, there is enough to keep grown-ups equally amused.

At first, it almost felt like Trolls would be hopelessly jubilant. Thankfully, the movie is quite self-aware, acknowledging that the abundance of cuteness and cheer may be off-putting.  

There is cynicism to the joy, to the Trolls’ concept of celebration. So happiness here is depicted through glitters exploding from farts, tacky hourly hugs, and a rave party that inevitably leads Chef (Christine Baranski), the meanest of the Bergens who had the idea of turning Trolls into a delicacy, to their secret refuge. 

True colors 

The overt changes in the movie’s upbeat mood lifts the conceit, making it very apparent that it isn’t really about happiness. Instead, it is about the value of happiness, that it is earned not from bare rituals of glee or soulless parties, but from experiencing other emotions such as sadness or fear. 

Near the end of the movie, the Trolls experience for the first time a rare sorrow and hopelessness, and they all lose their bright colors, one after the other. Branch then sings a rather meaningful version of Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors,” reminding them of the bliss they so easily lost. It’s a lovely scene, one that is starkly gray and somber, making it stand out in a movie that is brimming with glow and verve. 

Then there is Bridget (Zooey Deschanel), a scullery maid who secretly longs for the love of Gristle (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), king of Bergens. The romance, obviously culled from Cinderella, is cute, oftentimes hilarious, but also engaging, as they are creatures who are so bereft of glee that the idea of being in love feels alien and unusual. Bridget’s love anthem, a belabored take of Lionel Richie’s Hello, is so garishly forlorn that it becomes strangely affecting despite its apparent goal of poking fun at discreet love and admiration.

Scrapbook inspiration

The look of Trolls feels delightfully makeshift. It feels like the entire movie is told from bits and pieces of an unearthed scrapbook from the ’80s, with town and forests seemingly crafted from cardboard and felt paper and a soundtrack curated out of a list of favorite songs. 

There is a certain delight in seeing the trolls interact with surroundings that feel like they were constructed out of elements straight out of somebody’s childhood. The movie is molded from an imagination that was shaped by preserved memories of times when life was certainly less complicated. Trolls charms in the most surprising of ways. – Rappler.com