Trolls

In 1959, a Danish woodcutter named Thomas Dam came up with the idea of a Good Luck Troll doll. As the story goes, he couldn't afford to buy a doll for his young daughter, so he carved one. Dam eventually became a toymaker, founding Dam Things, which produced Trolls in soft plastic with colorful, cotton-candy hair. Now we have an animated musical about the Trolls' search for happiness, set in woodland Trolltopia, where Trolls sing, dance, and hug, blissfully riffing on music ranging from Justin Timberlake's “Can't Stop the Feeling” to Earth, Wind & Fire's “September.” But as worrywart Branch (voiced by Timberlake) points out, although the Trolls' mortal enemies—the giant Bergen ogres—haven't been seen for 20 years, they may return any day now. Monstrous Bergens relish gobbling up Trolls and, confirming Branch's fears, the disgraced Bergen Chef (Christine Baranski) kidnaps several—including Biggie (James Corden) and DJ Suki (Gwen Stefani)—to serve on Trollstice, a feast day. So, perpetually optimistic pink Princess Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and Branch launch a rescue mission. Meanwhile, the Chef's long-suffering scullery maid (Zooey Deschanel) is secretly in love with Prince Gristle (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), and the ever-helpful Trolls give her a bedazzling makeover, turning her into Lady GlitterSparkles. Despite its syrupy, exuberant platitudes and derivative predictability, directors Walt Dohrn and Mike Mitchell's Trolls is peppy and blindingly colorful, with a rockin' soundtrack. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the behind-the-scenes featurettes “Travel Through Troll Village,” “The Potion for Stop-Motion,” and “Creating Troll Magic” (5 min. each), deleted scenes (8 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a “Party Mode” featuring interactive features and sing-alongs with various songs, a “Troll 2 Troll” character debate (5 min.), and bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a fine extras package for an overly familiar but quite colorful kids' film.] (S. Granger)