Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Director: Mike Mitchell, Walt Dohrn
Distributor: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Duration: 92 minutes
Trolls World Tour
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Director: Walt Dohrn, David P. Smith
Distributor: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Duration: 90 minutes
Trolls: 2 Movie Collection (Blu-ray) – Movies Review
Those who grew up in the 80s, or even the 90s, and had a fair number of toys will probably have had a ‘trolls’ doll at a certain point in time. These odd-looking critters didn’t do much, except having very colorful long hair that goes upward in a spike. Even though you could perhaps style these little dolls somewhat as a Super Saiyan, that’s basically as far as their options went. Of course, as the years progressed, these figures turned into collectibles, with different outfits and even action hero-like toys were released. Nonetheless, the hype died down, until in 2016, out of the blue, a movie by the name ‘Trolls’ was made. While this title could be about any kind of trolls, it was actually about the cutesy aforementioned ones with the grand hairdos. As we have received a box with both the 2016 and 2020 movies, we will discuss the contents of the box, rather than do a single movie review.
Trolls (2016) tells us the arduous journey of the little colorful Trolls who have been living in the center of the Bergens’ town. These Bergens are notoriously known for being gloomy and unhappy, only knowing true happiness when they eat a Troll during the Trollstice. As the Trolls do not want to live in constant fear anymore, they escape and start a community far away from the evil monsters. Sadly, even though Branch (Justin Timberlake), the gloomiest of the Trolls, keeps warning the rest of the group that they will never be safe, especially with all the loud parties they’re throwing, they basically look at him like a current-day conspiracy theorist. Of course, what Branch predicts happens, and the new Trolls’ town gets discovered. A few of them get snatched up by the Bergens and are going to be served as dinner during the next Trollstice. Together with Poppy (Anna Kendrick), the overly excited princess of the bunch, she has to get the rest of the Trolls back, before they get eaten.
In Trolls World Tour (2020), the group learns that they are actually the ‘Pop Trolls’, those who are into pop music and are one of the six factions that used to be one big Trolls community. Now, the ‘Hard Rock Trolls’ are trying to overthrow all the factions by stealing the strings that represent their music styles. By combining all the strings, all the Trolls would be turned into Hard Rock Trolls, and thus they would be united, albeit unwillingly. After queen Barb (Rachel Bloom) has already forcefully taken several of the strings, she has her sights set on the Pop Trolls.
Trolls and Trolls World Tour are both quite different in flow. Where the first movie hits the pacing and distribution of information perfectly, the second movie feels long-winded and has issues finding its own flow. In Trolls (2016), we get a proper background of how the Trolls used to live, and how they were treated by the ‘Bergens’. The movie has a proper intro, middle and a satisfying conclusion. Trolls World Tour, however, seems to dally on without any sense of direction and repeats what is going on a dozen times during to movie, treating its viewers as simpletons or little children. We feel that the second movie was somewhat ‘dumbed down’ to cater to a younger audience with song and dance, rather than an engaging story, witty dialogues and overall craftsmanship.
In terms of cast, for both movies, there is a massive amount of big names supporting these titles. While we mostly hear Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake, we also hear other legends such as Ozzy Osbourne, George Clinton, Mary J. Blige, John Cleese and Gwen Stefani during both adventures. Sadly, staples in the genre, such as James Cordon, are also present, not really adding that much value to the overall experience. While the man is ‘pleasant’ in his own way, he is now a victim of typecasting, which, for adult viewers, just gets tedious after a while. Even so, the overall impressive cast brings these little critters alive in our modern society.
When looking at the extras on both Blu-ray editions, there is actually a lot of content to explore. We feel, just like the dip in quality in the movies, that the special features of the 2016 movie are the best. This first disc includes a lot of ‘making of’ content, some additional witty short scenes, as well as a few cool snippets about other Dreamworks projects. The second movie includes more child-like features, that will entice a younger audience, rather than everyone. This includes a few silly dance tutorials, a small cartoon, an introduction to the different lands, and so on.
Conclusion
As a whole, this diptych of the Trolls franchise is a fun addition to your collection of animated movies, especially with children in the house. We do feel, if you’re into movies such as Shrek, which actually are directed to both young and old, you’re better off with the 2016 film, which covers both age groups a lot better. Trolls World Tour has been ‘kidified’ compared to the original, which is actually a shame. We hope, if a third movie is made, that the series will go back to its roots and find that Shrek-esque type of flow and humor again. Nonetheless, these movies are entertaining and very nicely animated.
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