The Oswegonian

The Independent Student Newspaper of Oswego State

DATE

Apr. 26, 2024 

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Laker Review

‘Trolls’ predictable at points but enjoyable, funny film

For viewers who enjoy singing and dancing in films, “Trolls” is a strong choice.

Released Nov. 4, the film features a story that targets younger audiences, but the film has some adult humor as well.

“Trolls” follows the story of Princess Poppy, played by Anna Kendrick (“The Accountant”), and her journey to save her friends from the evil beings called the Bergens, who eat trolls in order to feel happiness.

Poppy is very optimistic, she loves scrapbooking and is cheerful throughout the film. Accompanying her is Branch, played by Justin Timberlake (“Popstar: Never Stop Stopping”), a pessimist who is the only troll left to help.

In a traditional opposites attract story, audience members who are older than 12 years could easily predict the outcomes and structure as the story progresses. This film makes some references to other children’s stories, such as “Cinderella,” almost completely following its storyline at one point.

With random covers of songs and remixes to classics, such as Kool & The Gang’s  “Celebrate” and even Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence,” this film appeases older audiences by modernizing songs, causing a sense of nostalgia for some of the older viewers.

The animation in the film is well done, contrasting between the bright vivid colors of the Trolls, to the dull bland color scheme within the world of the Bergens. The antagonists of the film almost resemble boxtrolls from the film “The Boxtrolls.”

The film also features a star studded cast, such as James Corden (“Into The Woods”), Zooey Deschanel (“New Girl”), Christine Baranski (“Into The Woods”), Jeffrey Tambor (“Transparent”) and many more. With such a large cast, this film provides familiar voices and great chemistry between the characters the audience meets.

Although the plot is somewhat predictable and the singing and dancing seems weird at times, this is a great film with a powerful lesson where families learn about happiness.