‘Trolls’ is a Dreamworks Animated Musical Comedy based off the popular toy line of the same name kids have been buying since the 1960’s. The film combines Dreamworks’ trademark animation style with plenty of high profile voice talent and a soundtrack combining ‘Earth, Wind and Fire’ with Justin Timberlake, a combination that actually works very well. When the troll village is attacked by the evil Bergens, Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and Branch (Justin Timberlake) must embark on a treacherous adventure to save their friends from being eaten. This is a very feel-good family friendly animation utilising upbeat music, entertaining and diverse characters, and rich colours along the way to lighten up the film and give adults and kids something to enjoy. The plot is very straightforward as you’d expect being geared towards young kids but there are some elements woven in there people of all ages can enjoy.

Trolls takes the generic animation formula and makes something entertaining out of it through the other elements of the film. In terms of the characters they do a really good job at having a diverse range of personalities that are all funny and entertaining in their own ways. You won’t come out of this film remembering any of their names though as they don’t get a whole lot of focus individually (apart from Poppy and Branch) but as a group their comedic shenanigans and distinct visual appearance are enough to have you remember them. The voice talent behind the characters is also very well applied in most cases, James Corden, Russell Brand, Anna Kendrick, Zooey Deschanel, Justin Timberlake, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse all get plenty of exposure and do a good job as their respective characters. There are some others such as Kunal Nayyar and Jeffrey Tambor whose characters don’t do a whole lot and you won’t pick up as being in the film…. Not a bad thing just something that comes from a film with a stacked amount of characters.

The soundtrack as i mentioned is one of the highlights that can be taken in and enjoyed by most people watching this film. The upbeat R&B/Pop soundtrack blended in well with the very colourful vibrant world you explore and makes for a smooth and easy experience from beginning to end. It also lends itself to the story accurately which is a good touch. In terms of humour, there isn’t any laugh out loud moments, but there are subtle things that are funny if you pick them out. The child friendly humour isn’t a burden on the film because it all fits with the cute colourful aesthetic given to it. So in the end the film doesn’t do anything obviously wrong, its a somewhat enjoyable animated film geared towards kids with a very straightforward plot but a good soundtrack and characters allow families to get something out of it.

6/10