In 2016, Trolls introduced the glittery, candy-colored world of the eponymous tiny, singing, dancing creatures. They had a fairly pleasant, though predictable, adventure enhanced by the numerous pop songs worked into the narrative. Now the trolls are back in Trolls World Tour, which expands the universe of the trolls, including its musical repertoire, and is all the better for it. While the movie maintains a similar colorful aesthetic, this film introduces far more shades of grey while imparting timely lessons about tolerance and leadership.
Trolls World Tour starts by introducing a new tribe of trolls, whose techno rave, is interrupted by the hard-rock trolls, led by punk-hardened Queen Barb (Rachel Bloom). Barb lays out her plan to bring the trolls together by uniting them under rock -- and obliterating every other form of music. From there the movie returns to the land of the trolls we know from the first film -- rebranded here as the pop trolls -- where the group learns about Barb’s plans and that there are, in fact, six tribes of trolls whose musical differences drove them apart long ago.
Despite the warnings of her father and Branch (Justin Timberlake), Queen Poppy (Anna Kendrick) can’t conceive of a world where Barb’s intentions could be bad. She believes in the idea of uniting the trolls again and believes Barb wants to celebrate their differences like she does. So she heads off to find Barb and help her on her quest. She’s joined by a reluctant Branch and stowaways Biggie (James Corden) and Mr Dinkles (Kevin Michael Richardson). Along the way they visit the lands of the classical music trolls, the country music trolls and the funk trolls.
Barb’s desire to oppress those with other musical tastes and Poppy’s inability to listen to anyone else’s concerns are thinly veiled metaphors for the evils of intolerance and the need to listen to others, even those you might not agree with. Although these aren’t the most revolutionary ideas, the movie presents them in a fun music-filled way that will appeal to both children and adults.
The different kinds of music throughout the movie makes it all the more appealing. While the pop music that drove the first movie is still present, there’s something delightful about hearing the voices of diverse musical talents voicing different characters. Kelly Clarkson sings a woeful country tune, Anderson .Paak raps a lesson about the trolls’ dicey history, Ozzy Osborne plays Barb’s elderly father and Mary J. Blige and George Clinton show up as the King and Queen of the funk trolls.
Of course right now, Trolls World Tour’s biggest claim to fame is that it’s the first studio movie to forego a theatrical run and be released directly on VOD amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. Many will be watching to see how the movie fares, with some suggesting that if Trolls World Tour does well, it could have long-lasting implications for theatrical movie-going. It’s easy to see the movie having success on-demand. After all, it’s the first new big-budget movie available to viewers in almost a month, plus it has the added appeal of keeping antsy house-bound children occupied for an hour and a half. From that perspective, Universal’s decision to release Trolls World Tour for home viewing makes sense. But that also means it’s a strategy that won’t work for every upcoming blockbuster, and therefore is unlikely to destroy the traditional theatrical model.
Ultimately, Trolls World Tour is an exuberant blast of big-screen movie energy that those who choose to watch it at home will appreciate. Fans of the first Trolls will find more to love here, and those who were only lukewarm on that movie are likely to appreciate the expansion of the trolls’ world. While not every movie that was delayed due to the pandemic should be released this way, it works for the miniature universe of Trolls World Tour, which makes for an entertaining and hopeful distraction from what’s going on in the world.
Trolls World Tour stars Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Rachel Bloom, Ozzy Osbourne, James Corden, Caroline Hjelt, Aino Jawo, Ron Funches, Kunal Nayyar, Mary J. Blige, George Clinton, Anderson .Paak, Kelly Clarkson, Sam Rockwell, Flula Borg, J Balvin, Ester Dean, Anthony Ramos, Jamie Dornan, Gustavo Dudamel, Charlyne Yi and Kenan Thompson. It arrives on VOD April 10.