Trolls

This review may contain spoilers!

This films got a few good laughs and a few good musical numbers but it ultimately falls flat with a rather weak plot and voice cast. I would give Trolls a 6/10.

This is an animated film with a strong sense of comedy, Dreamworks has always managed to work with some great comedic scripts for the animated features and Trolls is no exception. The animation looks great, the vivid use of colour versus absence of colour to define moods, characters and setting is done really well and I love how the style will change to Poppy's 'scrapbook' design from time to time. Yet what this film really thrives upon is it's music, the soundtrack for this film is perfect and adds to the comedic tone a fair bit; Anna Kendrick in particular is a singing powerhouse within the film.

Christine Baranski, who voiced Chef, is a perfect antagonist for this film; her sinister line delivery and manic desire to roast up some trolls makes her a classic animated villain. John Cleese, who voiced King Gristle Sr., has the perfect stately manner to introduce this film to the Bergen and their kingdom; Cleese has done some great work with Dreamworks in the Shrek films and he continues to do so in the Trolls film. Jeffrey Tambor, who voiced King Peppy, has a bold and heroic manner when we first get to see his role in the film; however as the narrative continues we see a great comforting father figure develop.

However the best performance came from Anna Kendrick, who voiced Poppy. Kendrick has that youthful energy this film needs in it's central protagonist, a voice that steals any scene it's in. If the Pitch Perfect films and Into The Woods hadn't already cemented it in Kendrick is an amazing singer and delivers some great musical moments throughout the film. The character of Poppy is so persistent, optimistic and hopeful that you can't help but enjoy as she works to free her friends and bring happiness to the Bergen.

This is a movie that kept things a little too simple, the action progressed alarmingly quick and it became all too apparent that the writers had to cram in some meaningless moments just to fill up the run time. There seems to be a lot of unnecessary ensemble characters or moments where the action pauses to create a cheap running gag which just draws you out of the story. The love story between Bridget and King Gristle is probably the hardest pill to swallow, a rushed and poorly parodied recreation of the Cinerella fairytale, this subplot is given far too much screen time and the main characters being paired together aren't exactly the most likeable to watch.

Justin Timberlake, who voiced Branch, gives a very exaggerated and over the top performance when first we're introduced to him; furthermore the character development for this role just seems to happen there isn't really any established reason for him getting to where he is by the end of the film. Zooey Deschanel, who voiced Bridget, is one of the weaker voice talents amongst the main cast; Deschanel creates a role who's shrill voice and over the top love for the king makes for a rather nauseating role. Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who voiced King Gristle, has essentially been typecast at this point; his nasally whiny boy-king is a bit of a blight on the film. Russell Brand, who voiced Creek, doesn't even seem to be putting any effort into his performance in this film; Brand has never exactly been the best actor and he struggles to actually embody even the basic concept of his role in this film. Gwen Stefani, James Corden, Ron Funches, Aino Jawo, Caroline Hjelt, Kunal Nayyar and Walt Dohrn, who voiced DJ Suki, Biggie, Cooper, Satin, Chenille, Guy Diamond and Smidge respectively, were quite a weak ensemble cast backing the main voice actors of this feature; any jokes that fell flat or moments that came off as awkward generally originated from this bunch. Walt Dohrn, who voiced Cloud Guy, voices a few characters in this film and unfortunately two are some of the more disappointing roles in the film; in the case of Cloud Guy we get a very obvious example of a character being jammed into the film to add a bit of time and not really do much for the narrative itself.