Trolls: World Tourwas supposed to be a theatrical release, but now that we’re all stuck inside due to COVID-19 and social distancing, the film’s message of togetherness seems like longing for a different time. We’d all like to make beautiful music together, but at best we can just rent a digital download of DreamWorks Animation’s new family film and think of a time when we could all be in the same room. While some will wonder ifTrolls: World Tour’s release spells doom for the theater industry or if this is some brave new world, it’s clear that this is a movie that can probably succeed at home where other movies in Universal’s stockpile are too valuable (henceF9andMinions: The Rise of Grumoving to 2021). But that doesn’t meanTrolls: World Tourshould be discarded or overlooked. Even if you didn’t like the 2016 original, there’s plenty to enjoy with the sequel, which bears a stronger aesthetic and more hopeful message of inclusion in the face of tribalism.
Poppy (Anna Kendrick) is settling into her new role as queen, but her reign is quickly disrupted by the world-dominating plans of Barb (Rachel Bloom), who is queen of the rock trolls. In a plan that appears to be inspired by Thanos, Barb wants to collect the six strings from the different troll tribes (country, funk, techno, classical, and pop) and use them to strike a power chord that will conquer the world under rock. Poppy, with a reluctant Branch (Justin Timberlake) in tow, goes to see if she can make peace with Barb, but learns about the importance of embracing our differences rather than just thinking we should all be the same.
The firstTrollsfailed because it was about rejecting differences. The sad antagonists were somehow broken because they were sad and it took the joyous Trolls to make them see the error of bad feelings.World Tourinverts that premise to much stronger results by showing that homogenization is not the answer. It’s a nice platitude to say, “Hey, we’re all the same, and when we’re all the same, we can live in harmony,” but Poppy and Barb have to learn the failing of that design. While it would have been nice to give Barb a little more character development (we never learn exactly why she wants homogenization other than thinking that it’s her responsibility as queen), the larger message shines through that it’s our differences that allow us to make beautiful musical together, not being roped off into our own little tribes.
DirectorsWalt DohrnandDavid. P. Smithhave also done a terrific job playing up the handmade aesthetic of theTrollsworld. Moving between different tribes allows them to change up the visuals while still keeping everything under a crafted look. For example, when our heroes visit Country Music world, it has the look of an Old West town, but look closer and you can see that the ground is made of a patchwork quilt and the “hay” is actually just yellow pieces of yarn. This attention to detail makes theTrollsworld feel unique and vibrant and worth exploring.
Of course, this beingTrolls, it all comes back to the music, andWorld Touris perfectly serviceable as a jukebox musical similar toSingbut with a better plot, better characters, better jokes, and better visuals. That being said, for all the faults with the originalTrolls, it did have a great centerpiece original tune with “CAN’T STOP THE FEELING” andWorld Tourdoesn’t really have that. The original songs aren’t bad, but they’re not going to get stuck inside your head even though the film is headed towards some epic anthem that combines six music genres.
I was worried thatWorld Tourwould make rock music out to be bad, but the film’s really enemy is cultural homogenization. In a world where our artistic tastes frequently graft onto our identity, we sometimes forget that advocacy shouldn’t become domination. Just because we like something, that doesn’t mean everyone else needs to like it too, and in fact, our differences are what make us stronger. I doubt the makers of a DreamWorks Animation movie wanted to get too political with their pop-infused family movie where a character poops a birthday cake, but they have made a statement about the power of inclusion and rejecting isolationism and imperialism. Of course, that will all fly over kids' heads as they smile along to the upbeat tunes and colorful characters. As a 90-minute distraction for kids,Trolls: World Tourdoes the job, but I’m grateful there’s some substance beneath its lovely handcrafted exterior.
