Trolls World Tour

“Queen Poppy (Anna Kendrick), Branch (Justin Timberlake), and the rest of your favorite Trolls are back for another musical adventure that’s bigger – and louder – than ever before! In Trolls World Tour, Poppy and Branch discover that their kingdom is only one of six musical realms – Funk, Country, Techno, Classical, Pop, and Rock – that were once united in perfect harmony. When the power-hungry ruler of the Rock Trolls threatens to silence all other music so her tribe can reign supreme, Poppy and Branch must embark on an epic quest to unite the realms of Trollkind, before the songs in their hearts are lost forever!”

Trolls have changed quite a bit since I remember them as a kid, with the wild hair and different colored jeweled stomachs. The Dreamworks Trolls are much different, with much more intricacies, styles, and culture than anyone who collected them over the years could have ever imagined. Although as a child I’m sure I would have enjoyed a film about these collectable figures, as an adult I honestly wasn’t looking forward to what I perceived to be the film equivalent of a glitter bomb.

My expectations of the film weren’t easily quelled, especially during the opening sequence with enough color and flashing lights they should have required a warning at the beginning. Despite this, the story of different factions, each with a different style of music was intriguing, and some of the music choices especially pleasing.

What ultimately won me over was the theme of the film. While it struggled in the first half to identify with which direction it was headed, with Poppy adamant that all Trolls are the same, despite their differences and appearances, and also the celebration of their differences and what makes them unique. Although Poppy’s belief is nice, that everyone should be equal, the film dives a bit deeper than that, pointing out that it is the differences in the different Troll tribes that make them special, and those tribes shouldn’t let go of who they are in order to conform with the rest. With racial tensions at an all time high and divisiveness in our society at every turn, this is an especially important message to tell children, and having the main character, the Queen of the Pop Trolls, realize that although her intentions to unite the Troll tribes under Pop music was an admirable idea, it was wrong to ask the other tribes to give up their heritage. Certain lines she has, like telling Branch that the Country Music Trolls are utilizing music in the wrong way singing sad songs, and that all music should be happy, really gives the film a lot more depth in making the main protagonist have such a big flaw to overcome. In animated films like this, it is usually just the antagonist with the bad qualities to overcome, demonstrating the moral message it wants to send to kids, but Trolls World Tour also teaches that good intentions don’t always equal the right moral choice.

The voice acting is all done very well, with Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake giving some emotional voice performances and equally impressive musical numbers. Rachel Bloom has created some of the funniest musical videos that I’ve ever seen in my life, has such a great range and was hilarious as the antagonist Barb, the Queen of the Rock Trolls who want to take over the other tribes in the name of Rock music. Some other surprises in the cast, like Sam Rockwell as Hickory, gave the film more credibility to me as an adult watching the film.

I don’t normally enjoy films like this, especially given the fact that these types of films are the reason children simply can’t watch some of the older films I grew up watching and that had a lasting impact on me. The bright colors, catchy music, ADD-style comedy provides constant stimulation, something that a movie like Marry Poppins, won’t. Still, the message the film provides is an important one, and if you can give your children a healthy film balance to entertain them, then this film has potential to be a good one for them.

Video

Trolls World Tour is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 2.35:1. If there was one word I could use to describe the film it would definitely be colorful. On the Blu-Ray, colors are vibrant, well balanced, and look incredible in this animated world. I can’t imagine the difference you’d see in HDR, so if you have the choice, I’d do the latter since color is the big benefit there, and Trolls World Tour has lots of it. The animated world in particular is very interesting, reminding me a lot of something out of Yoshi’s Woolly World. Overall, a nice looking animated feature that is basically a visual glitter bomb.

Audio

The audio is presented in Dolby Atmos, and for a film about different genres of music, the audio is the biggest factor in the film. The track sounds great, with a nice balance between the center channel and surrounds, which is always featuring some kind of sound through them. Being a fan of Rock music myself, I really enjoyed the different renditions and riffs they played in between sequences as the Rock tribe made their way from village to village taking over, but each genre sounded fantastic in their own way, especially the song at the end of the film which takes something unique from every genre.

Special Features

This set has all kinds of extras to keep the kids busy on multiple re-watches, especially the Dance Party Mode which tells them to get up and dance and sing along with the lyrics, ensuring tired out children at the end of it.

Extras include:

• Dance Party Mode
• Tiny Diamond Goes Back to School Original Short
• Trolls Dance Academy
• Trolls World Tourist Map
• Deleted Scenes
• Trolls Perfect Harmony
• Trolls World Tour Backstage
• Audio Commentary

Trolls World Tour has a lot of flash to it which may turn off some perspective parents, but the message at its core is something special that kids should be taught, with some unique ways of teaching it. Some great songs, good animation, worth checking out, even if you haven’t seen the first.