Trolls (film)

Trolls are small, colorful, perpetually happy creatures who like to sing, dance and hug all day. They are discovered by the Bergens, large, hideous and miserable creatures who believe they can only feel happy by consuming a Troll. The Bergens imprison the Trolls in a caged tree, and eat them once a year on a special occasion called "Trollstice". On the year that Bergen Prince Gristle, son of King Gristle Sr., is due to eat his first Troll, the chef in charge of the ceremony discovers that the Trolls, under the leadership of King Peppy, have managed to escape. King Gristle banishes Chef from Bergen Town, and she vows to find the Trolls, secretly plotting to overthrow the monarchy as revenge. Twenty years later, Peppy's daughter Princess Poppy organizes a gigantic party to celebrate the anniversary of their escape. A serious, gray Troll named Branch warns that this could expose their home, but everyone ignores him. However, his forebodings are justified; Chef notices the party fireworks, follows them to Troll Village, and kidnaps Poppy's friends, including her Boyfriend and minister, a "zen" Troll named Creek. While the rest of the Trolls take refuge in Branch's survival bunker despite his objections, Poppy sets off alone to rescue her friends. She gets herself into several potentially deadly situations and is finally rescued by Branch, who thinks her quest is hopeless and only followed her to escape his crowded bunker. After encountering further challenges, Poppy and Branch meet a mischievous Cloud Guy, who leads them to Bergen Town. The pair sneak into the castle of the new King, Gristle Jr. They witness Chef apparently feeding Creek to King Gristle, but Poppy still holds out hope that Creek is alive. They find the other captives being guarded by a young scullery maid named Bridget; after learning that Bridget is secretly in love with Gristle, Poppy and the Trolls agree to help her get a date with him in exchange for her help in ascertaining whether or not Creek is still alive. When Branch refuses to sing along with the others in the ensuing musical number, he and Poppy argue, and he reveals that, as a child, his loud singing inadvertently led Chef to his home, and she took away his Grandmother. Branch's bitterness and grief caused his colors to fade into gray, and he swore never to sing again. The Trolls use their powers to disguise Bridget as "Lady Glittersparkles", and she and Gristle go on a date at a roller rink/arcade restaurant. During the date, Poppy spots Creek being held captive inside a jewel on Gristle's mantle. Afterwards, the Trolls leave Bridget and go to rescue Creek, but are all captured by Chef when Creek sells them out in exchange for his own life being spared. Creek steals a horrified Poppy's cowbell and uses it to lure the rest of the Trolls out of hiding. They are rounded up by the Bergens, and imprisoned in a large cooking pot. Blaming herself for the situation, Poppy becomes embittered, and her colors turn to gray. Saddened, the other Trolls lose their colors as well. Branch, however, breaks his rule and sings "True Colours" to cheer Poppy up; this successfully brings back both of their colors, and those of the other Trolls. Bridget, grateful to the Trolls for helping her, secretly releases them from the pot while Chef is not looking. Poppy refuses to let Bridget be punished for their escape, so she and the Trolls return to Bergen Town, reveal Bridget's true identity to the Bergens, and explain that she and Gristle are happily in love with each other. This shows the rest of the Bergens that they can find happiness within themselves without eating the Trolls, and the two sides celebrate together in song, ending their feud. Chef refuses to accept the peace, so she and Creek are sent rolling out of Bergen Town on a flaming serving cart, while King Peppy crowns Poppy the queen of the Trolls. Meanwhile, the flaming cart rolls to a stop atop what appears to be a hill. Chef tries to eat Creek, but the "hill" reveals itself to be a huge monster, which eats them both. ==Voice cast==

• Anna Kendrick as Princess Poppy • Iris Dohrn as Baby Poppy • Justin Timberlake as Branch • Liam Henry as Young Branch • Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Prince Gristle Jr. • Zooey Deschanel as Bridget • Christine Baranski as Chef Bergen • James Corden as Biggie • Ron Funches as Cooper • Icona Pop as Satin and Chenille • Kunal Nayyar as Guy Diamond • Gwen Stefani as DJ Suki • Russell Brand as Creek • Jeffrey Tambor as King Peppy • Quvenzhané Wallis as Harper • GloZell as Rosiepuff Dory • Dami Im voices the character in the Australian version. • Susanna Reid voices the character in the UK version. • John Cleese as King Gristle Sr. • Meg DeAngelis as Moxie Dewdrop • Connie Glynn voices the character in the UK version • Ricky Dillon as Aspen Heitz • Greg James voices the character in the UK version • Kandee Johnson as Mandy Sparkledust • Abbey Clancy voices the character in the UK version • Walt Dohrn as Smidge and Karma • Grace Helbig as Cookie Sugarloaf • Carrie Hope Fletcher voices the character in the UK version. • Mike Mitchell as Chad • Curtis Stone as Todd • Rhys Darby as Bibbly ==Production==

and co-director Walt Dohrn presented footage from the film at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con. DreamWorks announced plans for a film based on the Troll toyline as early as 2010. This version was to be written by Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson LaBracio. By 2012, Chloë Grace Moretz had already been cast in the female lead role and Jason Schwartzman was reported to have been offered the male lead. In September 2012, 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks Animation announced that the film with the working title Trolls would be released on June 5, 2015, with Anand Tucker set to direct the film, written by Wallace Wolodarsky and Maya Forbes. By April 2013, DreamWorks Animation had acquired the intellectual property for the Trolls franchise from the Dam Family and Dam Things. Having "big plans for the franchise," DreamWorks Animation became the exclusive worldwide licensor of the merchandise rights, except for Scandinavia, where Dam Things remains the licensor. In May 2013, the film was pushed back for a year to November 4, 2016. The same month, DreamWorks Animation announced that Mike Mitchell and Erica Rivinoja had been hired as a director and screenplay writer to "reimagine" the film as a musical comedy, which would present the origin of the Trolls' colorful hair. On June 16, 2014, Anna Kendrick joined the cast to voice Poppy, a princess. On September 15, 2015, Deadline Hollywood reported that Justin Timberlake would voice a character named Branch. Timberlake previously worked with DreamWorks Animation as the voice of Arthur "Artie" Pendragon in Shrek the Third in 2007. The full cast announced their respective roles via announcements on Twitter on January 6, 2016. ==Music==

Justin Timberlake served as an executive producer for the film's music and released the original song "Can't Stop the Feeling!" in conjunction with "Hello Darkness" on May 6, 2016. The song reached No. 1 in the official charts of 17 countries, including the United States and Canada. In addition to Timberlake, the rest of the cast contributed to the film's soundtrack, which also features guest appearances from Earth, Wind & Fire and Ariana Grande. The soundtrack album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and the Australian Recording Industry Association. ==Release==

Premiere The film's opening premiere opened at the BFI London Film Festival Opening Celebration on October 8, 2016, as a special BFI presentation, and was theatrically released on November 4, 2016, in the United States by 20th Century Fox, and in the United Kingdom at an earlier date of October 21, 2016. Marketing The first teaser trailer for Trolls was officially unveiled online on January 28, 2016. The following day, it would make its theatrical debut with the opening of Kung Fu Panda 3. On June 29, 2016, a second trailer was then released online. DreamWorks spent an estimated $105 million promoting the film. The film topped the home video sales chart for two consecutive weeks. The film was also released in a three-movie pack alongside its sequels Trolls World Tour and Trolls Band Together on DVD and Blu-ray by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment and Studio Distribution Services on January 16, 2024. ==Reception==

Box office Trolls grossed $153.9 million in the US and Canada and $193.2 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $347 million, against a budget of $125 million. In the United States and Canada, Trolls was released alongside the releases of Doctor Strange and Hacksaw Ridge, and was projected to gross $35–40 million from 4,060 theaters in its opening weekend. On its first day, the film grossed $12.3 million (including $900,000 made from Thursday night previews). It went on to open to $46.5 million, finishing second at the box office behind Doctor Strange. Critical response On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 76% based on 165 reviews, with an average rating of 6.30/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Trolls brings its instantly recognizable characters to the big screen in a colorful adventure that, while geared toward the younger set, isn't without rewards for parents." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score of 55 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it an 80% overall positive score. Bill Zwecker of Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four and said, "You simply will walk out – or perhaps dance out – of the theater feeling very happy yourself." Andy Webster of The New York Times said, "Exuberant, busy and sometimes funny, DreamWorks Animation's Trolls is determined to amuse." Michael Rechtshaffen, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, called the film "an admittedly vibrant-looking but awfully recognizable animated musical comedy concoction." Alonso Duralde of TheWrap said the film "combines the barely-there characterization and irritating cutesiness of The Smurfs with the hideous character design and awful pop covers of Strange Magic." Betsy Bozdech of Common Sense Media gave the movie 4 stars. She said, "Make no mistake: Kids are going to love this movie. Trolls is cute, it's colorful, it has tons of catchy songs, and the messages are positive and easy to understand (happiness is inside everyone, if you know where/how to find it, and you shouldn't have to change who you are to get someone to like you)." Accolades Trolls was nominated at the 89th Academy Awards for Best Original Song for "Can't Stop the Feeling!" and at the 74th Golden Globe Awards for Best Original Song for the same song. However, "Can't Stop the Feeling" did win at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Song Written for Visual Media. • Regarding music award shows, only film-related categories are included on this list. ==Franchise==

DreamWorks Trolls: The Experience was the first of multiple mobile pop-up attractions Feld Entertainment and Universal Brand Development had agreed to develop in April 2018. The pop-up attraction opened in New York City on October 22, 2018. Sequels On February 28, 2017, Universal Pictures, the studio's new distributor and parent company since its acquisition by Comcast and NBCUniversal in 2016, and DreamWorks Animation announced that a sequel titled Trolls 2 would be released on April 10, 2020, with Kendrick and Timberlake reprising their respective roles of Poppy and Branch as well as Aibel and Berger returning to write the script. On October 4, 2017, the release date for the sequel was moved up to February 14, 2020, as Fast & Furious 9 took its original April 10, 2020 slot. Along with the new release date, it was announced that Dohrn will be returning to direct and Shay will return to produce the sequel. On December 6, 2017, the film was pushed back to an April 17, 2020 release. On March 4, 2020, No Time to Die got delayed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, so the film was pushed to an April 10, 2020 release again through premium video on demand. In May 2018, it was confirmed that Sam Rockwell, Chance the Rapper, Anthony Ramos, Karan Soni, Flula Borg, and Jamie Dornan joined the cast. Corden, Icona Pop, Funches, Stefani and Nayyar will also reprise their roles. In October 2018, it was confirmed that Kelly Clarkson had joined the cast, and will perform an original song. The title for the sequel, Trolls World Tour, was announced in June 2018. In May 2017, podcasters Justin, Travis and Griffin McElroy began campaigning for roles in the film via a podcast titled "The McElroy Brothers Will Be in Trolls 2" (later renamed "The McElroy Brothers Will Be in Trolls: World Tour" after the sequel's subtitle was revealed). Following the podcast's popularity, DreamWorks confirmed in September 2018 that the McElroy brothers would make cameo appearances in World Tour. In June 2019, along with promotional posters, new cast members were announced, which included: J Balvin, Mary J. Blige, Rachel Bloom, George Clinton, Ester Dean and Gustavo Dudamel. On April 9, 2020, Timberlake expressed interest in future Trolls films during his Apple Music takeover, saying, "I hope we make, like, seven Trolls movies, because it literally is the gift that keeps on giving". On November 22, 2021, it was announced that a third film, titled Trolls Band Together, would be released in theaters on November 17, 2023. The film followed Branch and his brothers saving another brother. Television specials Trolls Holiday is a half-hour Poppy realizes that the Bergens have no holidays to celebrate. She enlists Branch and their friends (the Snack Pack) to show their best friend Bridget and other Bergens the importance of holidays. Most of the original cast (including Kendrick, Timberlake, Deschanel, Mintz-Plasse, Corden, Funches, Nayyar and Dohrn) all reprise their roles from the film. The likely-Christmas Special is also directed by Crawford and written by Josh Bycel & Jonathan Fener with music by Jeff Morrow. Its soundtrack album that features seven songs was released on October 27, 2017. It is now available on Netflix and on DVD by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. The bonus features of the DVD also include one episode of Spirit Riding Free and two of Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh. A second special, Trolls: Holiday in Harmony, aired on November 26, 2021. Animated series A 52-episode animated series based on the film, entitled Trolls: The Beat Goes On! that airs on Netflix premiered on January 19, 2018, and ran for 8 seasons. The show stars Amanda Leighton as Poppy, Skylar Astin as Branch, and Funches who is reprising his role as Cooper, and Dohrn reprising his role as Cloud Guy. Following the release of Trolls World Tour, another animated series, titled Trolls: TrollsTopia, was released on Peacock and Hulu in 2020. ==Notes==