Trolls: Band Together‘ is the third offering in the Trolls cinematic saga, a spangly musical adventure that takes viewers on a ride filled with laughter, quirky animations, and a nostalgic trip down the boy-band era. This DreamWorks creation seems to resonate with a blend of ‘Smurfs’ and ‘Pitch Perfect’, painting a vibrant picture adorned with pom-poms, glitter glue, and Fuzzy-Felt.
The narrative orbits around Branch, a character once part of a boy band ‘BroZone’, and his quest alongside Poppy to rescue his kidnapped brother, Floyd, by reuniting with his other siblings and harmonizing their way through challenges. The big-name cast including Justin Timberlake, Anna Kendrick, and Amy Schumer adds a flavor of familiarity, as they bring their characters to life amidst a series of whimsical and musical escapades.
The trolls’ journey through various fantasy kingdoms is not just a visual feast but a carousel of musical genres. Each kingdom they traverse brings a new rhythm, a new beat, making the narrative a bouncy odyssey through musical history, much like its predecessor, ‘Trolls World Tour’. However, this time the pretext is a boyband reunion tour, a less inspired but humor-infused storyline that pokes fun at the bygone boyband era, with Timberlake’s own boyband past being humorously referenced in the script.
Animation: The Soulful String that Ties it Together
While the plot might sometimes trudge, it’s the animation that steals the spotlight, adding a layer of charm and whimsy to the narrative. The characters, especially the villains Velvet and Veneer, with their wide-eyed, spaghetti-limbed animations hark back to the medium’s creepy-cute Betty Boop era, a nostalgic nod to classical animation styles.
The musical interludes are where the animation truly shines. The vibrancy and whimsicality of the animation are not just eye candy but resonate with the buoyant spirit of the narrative. During a brief foray into doodly psychedelia, when the trolls punch the overdrive button on their tour bus marked “Hustle”, the audience is treated to a hallucinatory wormhole-jump set to a 1970s disco favorite, showcasing the creative zenith of the animation team.
The animation is not just a visual treat but an emotional ride as well. As the trolls move through a world crammed with familiar childhood textures, the sea of plastic ball-pool balls, and jungle creepers made of foam swimming noodles, it evokes a sense of nostalgia, making ‘Trolls: Band Together‘ not just a movie but an experience that tugs at the heartstrings of both the young and the young at heart.
