Taking theaters on Nov. 17, “Trolls Band Together” has had a strong presence in the box office as people revel in the unexpected quality of the new movie. It not only introduced more story to the much beloved character Branch, but also created two hilarious villains that brought the story to life.
Main characters Poppy, Branch and Tiny Diamond, voiced by Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, and Kenan Thompson respectively, are once again met with another wild adventure. The movie introduces the old boy band Branch used to be a part of, with his brothers, before the band “broke up” when he was younger. Flash to the present and Branch’s older brother, John Dory, voiced by Eric Andrè, reunites with him and is trying to bring back their old boy band “Bro-Zone” in an effort to save their other brother Floyd, voiced by Troye Sivan. In order to face the teenage popstar villains Velvet and Veneer, voiced respectively by Amy Schumer and Andrew Rannells, they set out to recruit the rest of the brothers. In this heartwarming and family-oriented film, the movie truly captures the experience of sibling conflicts.
The theme centers around family. It is clearly presented all throughout the film, followed by the growing up trope that always surfaces in family conflict-driven films. However, “Trolls Band Together” does a great job portraying all sibling dynamics, including rivalry, the older versus younger sibling trope and the overprotective sibling trope. It presents conflicts of adulthood and the battle of having the older sibling superiority complex to audiences, making it relatable to those in the audience with the same or similar situations.
Aside from the plot and theme, the songs may have been the best part of the movie. The main antagonists’ versions of “Sweet Dreams Are Made of This” by Eurythmics and their own song “Watch Me Work” were amazing and tied to the villains’ story well. “Watch Me Work” was included in the final battle scene between the trolls and Velvet and Veneer, which really amplified the feel. Other songs, like “Better Place“ by NSYNC, also had the same effect, closing out the film beautifully as it ended on the same note as past “Trolls” films, which was singing and dancing to the song that saved everyone. This shows that despite the more added motifs, this movie still truly is made for kids.
For visuals, varying scenes of the film were true to the other films in terms of properties and textures, but the animators used new volumes of color and saturation, which made the liveliness of the film look even more colorful and bright. Although, they did have darker tones to add to the more unsettling aspects of the movie. Most of the new settings had these aspects, adding to the emotion, all while providing background to other new characters. A favorite of mine was Mount Rageous, where Velvet and Veneer live because it all looked to be super high-tech Hollywood while keeping a magical charm to it.
The visuals also added to the quality of character designs for many of the main characters, including Velvet and Veneer. The designs for the characters were fun and had expression to them, sparking creativity for the film’s intricate nature of design that consists through all films.
Nevertheless “Trolls Band Together” did not come without faults, as a major downside was the plot. There were an unsettling amount of plot holes which made some moments awkward, and filler-like. In the backstory for Viva, voiced respectfully by Camilla Cabello, some parts are not sensible in terms of timeline, and come off as confusing to the audience. Other parts like how Mount Rageous is introduced also have this problem, but the only significant and unnecessary plot hole is Viva.
In the twisty and a little bit confusing journey of this film, it did not disappoint and made audiences laugh. It is a lighthearted film that the whole family can enjoy, and while geared toward younger crowds, it still mixes in a decent amount of adult humor, which allows the dynamic theme to apply to all ages.
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