Trolls World Tour is a 2020 Dreamworks animated film that is a direct sequel to the 2016 film Trolls. This sequel is directed by Walt Dohrn and stars the vocal talents of Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Rachel Bloom, James Corden, Kelly Clarkson, Mary J Blige and Sam Rockwell. Following the events of Trolls, the new Queen Poppy (Kendrick) sets out on an adventure with her best friend Branch (Timberlake) to stop the Queen of Rock (Bloom) from taking control of all 6 strings of music in the land of trolls!
Much like its predecessor, Trolls World Tour provides a vibrantly colored jukebox musical that gives kids high energy eye-candy. This sequel improves on a bland (and often annoying) predecessor by providing messages that actually deliver relevance and substance to the sugary coating.
For this second go-round, we are presented with the idea that our differences are what make our society strong, which is a refreshing deviation from the MUST BE HAPPY messaging of the first. The message for the sequel works well as a literal call to let people like what they like but also serves as a deeper metaphor for a diverse society. The most surprising highlight of the film is a musical lesson on how (white) pop music has stolen from other genres and makes strong reference to the fact of white musicians taking from and burying the careers black musicians throughout history.
The film is a lot to take in. From the moment you click play to the very end of the credits, this film is turned up to 100 and doesn’t show interest in turning down. The opening act is basically a montage of troll-filled music videos and little more. We also get very little time or attention given to the other musical troll away from Poppy. Speaking on our protagonist, she is also taken to a really obnoxious places as a character that make her insufferable to spend the film with.
Trolls World Tour is stronger than the first film solely based on the fact that it provides useful messages. Unfortunately, it keeps the over-bearing tone of the first that makes the experience tough to stomach. Don’t rush to pay the high “theatrical release equivalent” pricing to rent this family adventure. Wait for a Redbox rental and let your family have dance-filled fun.
RECOMMENDATION: Rental (Regular Price/Redbox)
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