Sunday, November 13, 2016

[Review] Trolls


Like a sneeze of sprinkles or a fart of glitter, Trolls is a rainbow-blasted romp with a high concentration on dazzling visuals and sugary pop songs, but it's low on savory story.

It opens with a cutesy paper cutout sequence about the hug-y dance-y sing-y history of Trolls, as if South Park overdosed on Starbursts and kindness. In the present, we meet the exuberant Princess Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and a party-pooper named Branch (Justin Timberlake). The two opposites must team up in order to save a bunch of captured Trolls from the evil, warty ogre-like BERGENS.

This animated universe of smooth and fuzzy textures and pastel colors is stocked with an abundance of wedding reception dance floor tunes (the often-played tracks will either bring joy or annoy, depending on your mood and preferences). But if your ears aren't pleased, at least the musical montages pop with some wildly creative (and sometimes trippy) imagery. Like a swirling sugar rush of designer flair, the film bursts with various aesthetics of neon and Day-Glo tinted patterns. The screen virtually warps into a big and busy Candyworld-esque feast for the eyes.

As for the script, the humor is decent at best and the narrative is slightly soured with its unmemorable characters and well-intended but run-of-the-mill exploration of optimism and pessimism. Happiness and sadness. Naivety and realism. Of course I wasn't expecting a whole lot from the story. It isn't a bad one, however it didn't really tickle my fancy either. But look on the bright side. Your kids will probably like the movie, and the runtime is only 80 minutes long. Now I'm gonna go eat a cupcake.

( 6.5/10 )

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