Trolls

Dir: Walt Dohrn, Mike Mitchell

2016

***

I remember when Trolls had a second wind in the 1990s, although technically it was their fifth wind, having enjoyed bubbles of popularity since their 1959 invention. I understood the appeal and still think the origins of the toy to be rather special. Back in 1959, Danish Fisherman Thomas Dam had no money to buy his daughter a Christmas present, so he carved a wooden Troll doll for her. The local children were so envious of the doll that Dam soon found himself running his own doll factory under the brilliant company name of Dam Things. I had one at school, you had to, it was the law of the playground for around five minutes or so and the law of the playground has to be upheld or ridicule would be fierce and forthcoming. They're not something I have warm nostalgic feelings for, and a film adaptation (as it were) was not something I had an enthusiasm for. For me, Trolls The Movie was just another example of the demise of creativity in the word of cinema and it is. It's a toy commercial, not a new concept, pretty much every cartoon I enjoyed as a child was made as a way to sell a toy but I can't help but feel more effort was put into them, I see them as somehow superior, when in all honesty they really weren't. Anyway, I stayed with family one weekend and after my two lovely nieces woke me at some ungodly hour I agreed to sit and watch Trolls with them. It was either that or another tea party with Barbie and Ken, but I was overruled, we watched Trolls instead and to my amazement I didn't hate it. Putting aside the fact that I enjoy every minute spent with my nieces, the film was very funny. I found myself laughing at all of the same jokes that they laughed at because it tapped into that one thing that kids and adults both love: silliness. So many kid's animations these days are far too serious, they either have a lazy plot involving a popstars/X-factor style audition or involve rather adult themes of love, marriage and problems with in-laws. So a film whereby the lead characters fart glitter and poop cupcakes appealed to me greatly. I wouldn't say the Trolls of the film where particularly reminiscent of the toys I grew up with but I can only say that this is a good thing. I hope they do sell lots of toys based on this film, they deserve to. It's not particularly preachy but there is a good message in the end. I liked the detail, how the Trolls and other animals were clearly made of suede and I liked that they used known songs. I would usually argue that using existing and popular songs was lazy, in many respects it is, but it helps the film along greatly, you can get into it right away and with so many doubts surrounding the film it probably had no choice. I thought the voice cast were really good too, Anna Kendrick has the right voice and can sing, Justine Timberlake is proving himself to be quite the voice artist and I'm amazed I have found a film that features Russell Brand, James Corden and Zooey Deschanel that I didn't hate. Christopher Mintz-Plasse is instantly recognizable and Christine Baranski's character even looks like her. John Cleese and Jeffrey Tambor are both lovely in their supporting roles. The plot is right out of Fraggle Rock, although much of that was from folktales anyway but I saw a lot of Jim Henson in the characters and humour, which I really liked. Sometimes when a film borrows enough from others it works, Trolls isn't original but it gets away with it and this is because it provides its own silliness. Never overlook the power of silly!