Trolls (2016)

[Ezen Baklattan]

Review, Discuss, Debate, Celebrate, etc.

 

Just don't get TOO crazy.

[YM!]

B-, Trolls was surprisingly enjoyable even though it was a bit juvenile. The characters and story were both good, the music was great (except for Hair Up) but the humor was hit or miss for me.

 

 

[Blankments]

Trolls is the rare film musical that actually gets why musicals work. During the musical numbers, characters' feelings are expressed in such an intimate way, it's hard to imagine someone not getting goosebumps at least once while watching it. This is pretty surprising seeing that most of the songs in this are previously recorded songs. It is worth noting though that the best number in the film, "Get Back Up Again," is an original. Perhaps the reason the numbers work overall is because the animation isn't afraid to go a little esoteric, or make more jokes involving edits and graphic matches.

 

Perhaps less surprisingly, the film's best aspect outside of these musical numbers is Anna Kendrick's vocal performance. Shockingly, this is only her second time exploring voice acting, even though her singing voice and general inflection make her a perfect fit for it. If you listen for her voice in Princess Poppy, it's recognizable, but she makes her a memorable character, despite generic aspects to it. The rest of the voice cast shines, but the film as a whole works primarily because of Anna Kendrick.

 

It's a shame that the rest of the film isn't really as inspired as the musical numbers. The story is generic, and despite seeming to lean towards an interesting message, it ultimately mangles the ending by not realizing who the real villain of the ideological conflict set up is. The only part that's really good regardless of what's on screen (besides Kendrick) is the art direction, where nearly everything is designed to look like it's made out of felt or otherwise puppet-like in ways. It's always a joy to look at.

 

Trolls, more than anything else, proves that musicals can be a beautiful art form. Of course, with two more animated musicals releasing in the next two months plus one highly anticipated live-action one, one might wonder if we need Trolls to prove it already. We might not, but those who take a chance on Trolls might be surprised by how entertained and touched they are by its delightful musical numbers, despite its other major flaws. C+

[Morieris]

It's hard to make a super pessimistic character likeable and .... they tried their best I suppose. I'm not the most chipper person in the world, far from it, but even I got tired of Branch after about 20 minutes, although he is more tolerable after they reach Berganville.

 

The visual styles are amazing. It's like Kirby's Epic Yarn but then put to 3D and then pushed back to 2D.

 

Shocked that we didn't get the Boogie Wonderland remix that was in the first teaser. Also happy that the movie wasn't as topical as said teaser. It's pretty timeless.

 

I think the overall plot is a little trite, but what they do within it was unexpected. The side plot about helping Bridget was actually sweet.

 

On 11/8/2016 at 4:20 PM, Blankments said:

The story is generic, and despite seeming to lean towards an interesting message, it ultimately mangles the ending by not realizing who the real villain of the ideological conflict set up is.

 

^ 

"You don't have to eat us!" is fine and good but "Holy shit, we have been living in fear because of the cook, bad guys shouldn't get away with that" would have been more fitting.  But the comeuppance was hilarious.

 

Overall, this year;

 

1. Zootopia
2. Kubo
3. Dory
4. Trolls
5. Boy and the World
6. KFP 3
7. Pets
8. Storks

Edited November 11, 2016 by Morieris

[xanamanax]

Saw this with my son and it was pleasant. Some pretty good laughs (the cupcakes CRACKED me up). The story was rather predictable but nothing really bad. It looked great. My son is now sold on 3-D. Voice work was good too. I didn't care for much of the music though. I just prefer original songs in films like this.

 

B-

[aabattery]

I know it's a kids movie but...

Just walk out of the cage man. The gaps are clearly large enough.

 

But yeah, it's got it's fun parts but it didn't really click with me.

 

C-