Trolls are small, cute, colorful, perpetually happy creatures who like to sing, dance and hug all day. They are discovered by the Bergens, large, hideous and miserable creatures who believe they can only feel happy by consuming a Troll. The Bergens imprison the Trolls in a caged tree and eat them every year on a special occasion called "Trollstice".
On the year that Bergen Prince Gristle, son of King Gristle Sr., is due to eat his first Troll, the chef in charge of the ceremony discovers that the Trolls, under the leadership of King Peppy, have managed to escape. King Gristle banishes Chef from Bergen Town, and she vows to find the Trolls, secretly plotting to overthrow themonarchy as revenge.
Twenty years later, Peppy's daughter Princess Poppy organizes a gigantic party to celebrate theanniversary of their escape. A serious, gray Troll named Branch warns that this could expose their home, but everyone ignores him. However, his forebodings are justified; Chef notices the partyfireworks, follows them to Troll Village, and kidnaps Poppy's friends, including her secret crush, a "zen" Troll named Creek. While the rest of the Trolls take refuge in Branch's survivalbunker despite his objections, Poppy sets off alone to rescue her friends. She gets herself into several potentially deadly situations and is finally rescued by Branch, who thinks her quest is hopeless and only followed her to escape his crowded bunker.
After arriving in Bergen Town, Poppy and Branch sneak into the castle of the new King, Gristle Jr. They witness Chef apparently feeding Creek to King Gristle, but Poppy still holds out hope that Creek is alive. They find the other captives being guarded by a youngscullery maid named Bridget; after learning that Bridget is secretly in love with Gristle, Poppy and the Trolls agree to help her get a date with him in exchange for her help in ascertaining whether or not Creek is still alive. When Branch refuses to sing along with the others in the ensuing musical number, he and Poppy argue, and he reveals that he has refused to sing ever since Chef followed his singing to his home and took his grandmother away when he was a child in a past Trollstice. His bitterness at the event also caused his colors to fade into gray. Bridget, Poppy, and the other Trolls comfort Branch before setting out on their mission.
The Trolls use their powers to disguise Bridget as "Lady Glittersparkles", and she and Gristle go on a date at aroller rink/arcade restaurant. During the date, Poppy spots Creek being held captive inside a jewel on Gristle'smantle. Afterwards, the Trolls leave Bridget and go to rescue Creek, but are all captured by Chef. Creek reveals he has betrayed them in exchange for his own survival, and steals a shocked Poppy'scowbell and uses it to summon King Peppy and the rest of the Trolls from Troll Village. They are rounded up by the Bergens and imprisoned in a large cooking pot. A heartbroken Poppy then turns gray in her misery just like Branch did when he was young, believing the situation is all her fault and the rest of the Trolls also become sad and lose their colors.
Branch, however, breaks his rule and sings "True Colours" to cheer Poppy up, which successfully brings back both their colors and those of the other Trolls. Bridget, grateful to the Trolls for helping her, secretly releases them from the pot while Chef is not looking. Poppy refuses to let Bridget be punished for their escape, so the Trolls return to Bergen Town, reveal Bridget's true identity to the Bergens and explain that she and Gristle are happily in love with each other. This shows the rest of the Bergens that they can find happiness within themselves without eating the Trolls, and the Trolls and the Bergens celebrate together in song, ending their feud. Chef refuses to accept the peace, so she and Creek are sent rolling out of Bergen Town on a flamingserving cart, eventually getting eaten by a giant monster disguised as a hill, while King Peppy crowns Poppy the queen of the Trolls.
Anna Kendrick as Princess Poppy, the sweet and optimistic princess and later queen of the Trolls[7][8][9]
Iris Dohrn as Baby Poppy
Justin Timberlake as Branch, an over-cautious and cynical survivalist Troll who hates singing, dancing, hugging and music, after he turned gray due to his grandma's death[7][10]
DreamWorks announced plans for a film based on the Troll toyline as early as 2010. This version was to be written by Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson LaBracio.[22] By 2012,Chloë Grace Moretz had already been cast in the female lead role andJason Schwartzman was reported to have been offered the male lead.[23] In September 2012,20th Century Fox andDreamWorks Animation announced that the film with the working titleTrolls would be released on June 5, 2015, withAnand Tucker set to direct the film, written byWallace Wolodarsky andMaya Forbes.[24]
By April 2013, DreamWorks Animation had acquired the intellectual property for theTrolls franchise from the Dam Family and Dam Things. Having "big plans for the franchise," DreamWorks Animation became the exclusive worldwide licensor of the merchandise rights, except for Scandinavia, where Dam Things remains the licensor.[25] In May 2013, the film was pushed back for a year to November 4, 2016.[26] The same month, DreamWorks Animation announced thatMike Mitchell andErica Rivinoja had been hired as a director and screenplay writer to "reimagine" the film as a musical comedy, which would present the origin of the Trolls' colorful hair.[27] On June 16, 2014,Anna Kendrick joined the cast to voice Poppy, a princess.[8] On September 15, 2015,Deadline Hollywood reported thatJustin Timberlake would voice a character named Branch.[7] Timberlake previously worked with DreamWorks Animation as the voice of Arthur "Artie" Pendragon inShrek the Third in 2007. The full cast announced their respective roles via announcements on Twitter on January 6, 2016.[28]
The film's opening premiere opened at theBFI London Film Festival Opening Celebration on October 8, 2016, as a special BFI presentation, and was theatrically released on November 4, 2016, in the United States by20th Century Fox, and in the United Kingdom at an earlier date of October 21, 2016.[33][34]
The first teaser trailer forTrolls was officially unveiled online on January 28, 2016.[35] The following day, it would make its theatrical debut with the opening ofKung Fu Panda 3.[36] On June 29, 2016, a second trailer was then released online.[37]
DreamWorks spent an estimated $105 million promoting the film.[38]
Trolls grossed $153.9 million in the US and Canada and $193.2 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $347 million, against a budget of $125 million.[5]Deadline Hollywood calculated the film made a net profit of $19 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.[38]
In the United States and Canada,Trolls was released alongside the releases ofDoctor Strange andHacksaw Ridge, and was projected to gross $35–40 million from 4,060 theaters in its opening weekend.[43] On its first day, the film grossed $12.3 million (including $900,000 made from Thursday night previews). It went on to open to $46.5 million, finishing second at the box office behindDoctor Strange.[44]
Onreview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 76% based on 165 reviews, with an average rating of 6.30/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Trolls brings its instantly recognizable characters to the big screen in a colorful adventure that, while geared toward the younger set, isn't without rewards for parents."[45] OnMetacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score of 55 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[46] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, whilePostTrak reported filmgoers gave it an 80% overall positive score.[44]
Lindsey Bahr ofAssociated Press gave the film a positive review and said, "Ultimately, the 'get happy' moral of the story, while trite compared to something likeInside Out, is sufficiently sweet enough for its audience. Did you expect more from a piece of candy?"[47] Bill Zwecker ofChicago Sun-Times gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four and said, "You simply will walk out – or perhaps dance out – of the theater feeling very happy yourself."[48] Andy Webster ofThe New York Times said, "Exuberant, busy and sometimes funny, DreamWorks Animation'sTrolls is determined to amuse."[49]
Michael Rechtshaffen, writing forThe Hollywood Reporter, called the film "an admittedly vibrant-looking but awfully recognizable animated musical comedy concoction."[50]Alonso Duralde ofTheWrap said the film "combines the barely-there characterization and irritating cutesiness ofThe Smurfs with the hideous character design and awful pop covers ofStrange Magic."[51] Betsy Bozdech ofCommon Sense Media gave the movie 4 stars. She said, "Make no mistake: Kids are going to love this movie. Trolls is cute, it's colorful, it has tons of catchy songs, and the messages are positive and easy to understand (happiness is inside everyone, if you know where/how to find it, and you shouldn't have to change who you are to get someone to like you)."[52]
On February 28, 2017,Universal Pictures, the studio's new distributor and parent company since its acquisition byComcast andNBCUniversal in 2016, andDreamWorks Animation announced that a sequel titledTrolls 2 would be released on April 10, 2020, with Kendrick and Timberlake reprising their respective roles of Poppy and Branch as well as Aibel and Berger returning to write the script.[74] On October 4, 2017, the release date for the sequel was moved up to February 14, 2020, asFast & Furious 9 took its original April 10, 2020 slot. Along with the new release date, it was announced that Dohrn will be returning to direct and Shay will return to produce the sequel. On December 6, 2017, the film was pushed back to an April 17, 2020 release. On March 4, 2020,No Time to Die got delayed as a result of theCOVID-19 pandemic, so the film was pushed to an April 10, 2020 release again throughpremium video on demand.[75]
The title for the sequel,Trolls World Tour, was announced in June 2018.[78] In May 2017, podcastersJustin,Travis andGriffin McElroy began campaigning for roles in the film via a podcast titled "The McElroy Brothers Will Be in Trolls 2" (later renamed "The McElroy Brothers Will Be in Trolls: World Tour" after the sequel's subtitle was revealed).[79] Following the podcast's popularity, DreamWorks confirmed in September 2018 that the McElroy brothers would make cameo appearances inWorld Tour.[80]
On April 9, 2020, Timberlake expressed interest in futureTrolls films during his Apple Music takeover, saying, "I hope we make, like, seven Trolls movies, because it literally is the gift that keeps on giving".[82] On November 22, 2021, it was announced that a third film, titledTrolls Band Together, would be released in theaters on November 17, 2023. The film followed Branch and his brothers saving another brother.[83]
Trolls Holiday is a half-hour[84] television special that aired on November 24, 2017, onNBC.[85] Poppy realizes that the Bergens have no holidays to celebrate. She enlists Branch and their friends (the Snack Pack) to show their best friend Bridget and other Bergens the importance of holidays. Most of the original cast (including Kendrick, Timberlake, Deschanel, Mintz-Plasse, Corden, Funches, Nayyar and Dohrn) all reprise their roles from the film. The likely-Christmas Special is also directed by Crawford and written by Josh Bycel & Jonathan Fener with music by Jeff Morrow.[84] Its soundtrack album that features seven songs was released on October 27, 2017.[86] It is now available on Netflix and on DVD byUniversal Pictures Home Entertainment. The bonus features of the DVD also include one episode ofSpirit Riding Free and two ofHome: Adventures with Tip & Oh.
A 52-episode animated series based on the film, entitledTrolls: The Beat Goes On! that airs onNetflix premiered on January 19, 2018, and ran for 8 seasons.[87][88] The show starsAmanda Leighton as Poppy,Skylar Astin as Branch, and Funches who is reprising his role as Cooper, and Dohrn reprising his role as Cloud Guy.[89]
Following the release ofTrolls World Tour, another animated series, titledTrolls: TrollsTopia, was released onPeacock andHulu in 2020.
^Fletcher, Carrie (October 2016)."Voicing A Troll". Carrie Hope Fletcher.Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. RetrievedDecember 3, 2017 – via YouTube.
^"44th Annie Award Nominees". International Animated Film Society. November 28, 2016.Archived from the original on June 16, 2017. RetrievedNovember 29, 2016.