Race to the Crest

"Race to the Crest" is the first segment of the 4th episode of the sixth season of Trolls: TrollsTopia, and the 84th overall episode in the series. It premiered in February 17, 2022.
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When gum gets Dante Crescendo's wings stuck together, he and Val try to use other means of transportation to reach Classical Crest before the long-awaited bloom of the Organ Orchid is over.
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Poppy is with a group of Trolls including Val Thundershock and Dante Crescendo. She tells them to get ready to blow the biggest bubble and she asks them to present their chewable and they all begin to chew. Everyone chews their gum and Val comments chewing gum "rocks so hard", Poppy states chewing gum is the best and turns to Dante, who finds this all horrifying due to the way the other Trolls are chewing their gum and making noises. He starts to fly off and Poppy asks where he is going. Dante won't put wade of gum in his mouth. It turns out he mistook what a "Bubble Blowing Party" was, thinking it was to do with a jacuzzi-like party instead. Poppy tries to get him to join in but Dante doesn't want to be part of the biggest bubble ever bubbled, Poppy begins the bubble and Dante views this as a nightmare and goes to fly off. Val stops him to try and get him try something new and step outside his "comfort zone". Dante finds the term confusing as why would you want to step outside something that sounds good.
At that moment, he hears bells from Classical Crest. Dante explains to Val that the bells are an alarm system he has rigged up to alert him when his Organ Orchid is about to bloom. Once every 20 years for a mere 20 minutes, the Organ Orchid blooms and makes a sound so beautiful it makes all who hear it bark like a dog with joy. As he flies off, the bubble is about to burst and he fails to get to cover in time and everyone is covered in gum as Dante is covered in flex, to his horror. As he goes to fly off, he discovers that his wings are gummed together, which causes an issue with getting to the flower.
Poppy suggests the Metroll, but that is stuck in gum too and even the Dune Huggy is out of action thanks to the gum. She suggests the Shroom bounce which Val believes will work. Val shows that this is the fastest way to bong across to TrollsTopia. Dante instead tries to take a balloon. Val notes that the speed of the balloon is too slow and he won't make it, so Dante asks the balloon to go faster. It complies and sends him flying through the air at great speed. She doesn't make it to the Crest and crashes to the ground.
Val arrives moments later and Dante notes that the point is he made it in time. Now he just has to go up to the Crest, except Val points out he destroyed the elevator to the Crest. They go inside the tree and Val introduces him to the Maintenance Shaft, a ladder the Pop Trolls added for maintenance purposes that leads to the Crest. Due to the fact its covered in Fly Sluggy Bugs, which are slimy, he refuses to take it. Instead, he tries to climb the maintenance slide next to it. As Val points out its only for coming down not for going up.
The two climb and Dante insists he is doing well despite his slow progress. All of a sudden as Dante nears the top, he hears a rumble, Val remembers that at 2 pm every day it becomes a water slide. As Dante is washed down the slide, he crashes through the ladder that Val is climbing on and she jumps in to enjoy the slide also. Dante is now back at the beginning and has to restart his climb, but it is now impossible to climb the water slide. He tries to walk straight up the tree out of frantic desperation.
Dante finally breaks down crying in defeat, and admits to Val that she is right; if he had stepped out his comfort zone, he might have made it. Val apologizes for giving her friend a hard time; she states that she has been rooting for him all day and is disappointed he won't get to bark like a dog with joy. As she puts her hand on his shoulder, some gum sticks to her. When Dante sees this, he realizes he can still make it. He puts the gum on himself to use it to climb up the tree to reach all the way up to a high branch. When on the branch, more Fly Sluggys come out of a hole, disgusting him, but then he gets an idea. He calls to them and they fly him to the flower just in time to play it. All while he sings in his mind about not giving up no matter how yucky it gets and being determined and strong about it despite about to become sick.
At that moment, Val comes through the elevator, she was able to fix it in time and Dante groans a "urgh" with annoyance at her. Val apologizes to him for not the most hardcore timing, but Dante tells her no apologies needed. He then admits it felt good to step out of his comfort zone.
He plays the Organ Orchid and Val soon howls upon hearing, Dante notices and pair join together to howl out of joy.
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;Pop Trolls
*Amanda Leighton as Queen Poppy
;Classical Trolls
*JP Karliak as Dante Crescendo
;Rock Trolls
*Lauren Mayhew as Val Thundershock
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*"Not Giving Up"
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*The episode's title is a pun on "Race to the finish line!".
*This episode marks the ninth (Dante attempting to fly but falls to the ground) and tenth (the balloon not making it to Classical Crest and falls after staying in the air for a second) time the gag of "gravity does not work until you look down" occurs in the series.
*The song where Dante sings is played to the tune of "Ride of the Valkyries".
*A "comfort zone" is a term used to give for something that someone feels comfortable doing and applies to something that the person would do on an extreme level. Stepping out of that comfort zone means that the person is doing something which is normally a thing they would refrain from doing. In the episode, for example, Dante has to keep doing scary or gross things, both of which are situations he avoids normally. People who have difficulty stepping out of their comfort zones often are more more focused on the idea of the consequences (often a result of unnecessary fear or paranoia to the certainty or uncertainty it will bring) then they are the actual thing their asked to do and may make more of a fuss of the idea then the act itself. Either way stepping out of said comfort zone is seen as a big deal or an achievement for that individual.
*The storyboard animatic version of the episode can be seen here.
Category:Episodes
Category:Trolls: TrollsTopia episodes
Category:Classical Trolls Story Arc Episodes
Category:TT Season 6 episodes
Category:2D animation