The first Trolls movie, released in 2017, is actually a great movie, despite not being one of Dreamworks’ best. Its sequel, Trolls: World Tour, was a downgrade in some ways but honestly it was still an average movie. And I must confess, Trolls: Band Together is actually not terrible, and also not another downgrade, but it’s safe to say (obviously) that the Trolls trilogy is the worst trilogy Dreamworks ever had, but also the competition is massive, because in the other side we have How To Train Your Dragon, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda… Trolls can’t be compared to these movies of course.
In Trolls: Band Together, Poppy discovers that Branch was once part of a boy band, BroZone, with his brothers: Floyd, John Dory, Spruce, and Clay. But when Floyd is kidnapped, Branch and Poppy embark on a journey to reunite the other brothers and rescue Floyd.
The movie has the simplest plot possible, but it’s executed in an okay way considering is a little kids movie, I bet kids will have a blast with this one. The movie starts off with Bridget and King Gristle Jr. getting married, and surprisingly, these characters have again a prominent role in this franchise. In Trolls: World Tour we barely saw the Bergens so I assumed they wouldn’t return anymore but no! They’re back and more back than expected.
So they stop the wedding because a random guy shows up saying that Branch is his brother and wow! That’s such a creative plot right? Okay, I don’t want to judge the script itself because even tho it’s pretty simple, it got some pretty funny but also weird dialogue. There’s a one specific line where a character says: “you’re sucking the life out of me.” Of course there’s context but the moment I heard that it felt awkward.
The thing I hated the most about this movie is how they only focus on introducing new characters while just simply side-kicking every single old character besides Tiny Diamond. So yes, characters like Biggie, Mr. Dinkles, DJ Suki, Smidge (doesn’t even show up), King Peppy, and Chenille barely shows up in screen, which is so sad because those characters were there in every movie and now they’re just ignored.
At least, the additions are not bad! Viva, played by Camila Cabello, was a great addition to the cast and she delivered such an enjoyable performance. Branch’s brothers are also all fun! The cast is packed with great additions even though it disappoints me how they ignore the old cast.
There’s something that this movie made worse than any other Trolls movie and that was the villains. They’re so bad, I already thought Barb was a weak villain but at least she was more menacing than these ones, they are not scary at all and you can tell that they’ll be beaten pretty easily.
Another thing that I got to highlight is the soundtrack which is full of great remixes of popular songs and an amazing original song by *NSYNC titled “Better Place”. This movie also has the best visuals of the entire franchise, full of colors, stylized characters and new, different worlds.
Overall, Trolls: Band Together is a simple yet enjoyable movie that will be a delight for kids. The plot is predictable and dull at some points but the movie is packed with great visuals and songs.
★★★½
Trolls: Band Together releases in theaters on November 17
