Trolls (film)

Theatrical release poster

***Trolls*** is a 2016 American computer-animated jukebox musical comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox, based on the Good Luck Trolls dolls created by Thomas Dam. The film was directed by Mike Mitchell and co-directed by Walt Dohrn (in his feature directorial debut), from a screenplay by the writing team of Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, based on a story by Erica Rivinoja. It stars the voices of Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Zooey Deschanel, Russell Brand, James Corden, and Gwen Stefani. The film follows two trolls named Poppy (Kendrick) and Branch (Timberlake) who go on a quest to save their village from destruction by the Bergens, giant creatures who eat Trolls to be happy.

*Trolls* premiered at the BFI London Film Festival on October 8, 2016, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 4, by 20th Century Fox. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $346 million worldwide against its $125 million budget. It received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for "Can't Stop the Feeling!".

A sequel, *Trolls World Tour*, was released on April 10, 2020 a third film, *Trolls Band Together*, was released on November 17, 2023, and a fourth film, *Trolls Musical Revolution*, was released on February 19, 2027.

## Plot

The Trolls are small, colorful, perpetually happy creatures who like to sing, dance, and hug all day. They are discovered by the gigantic, ugly, and miserable Bergens, who believe they can only feel happy by consuming a Troll. The Bergens imprison the Trolls in a caged tree and eat them every year on a special occasion called Trollstice. On the year that Bergen Prince Gristle Jr., son of King Gristle Sr., is due to eat his first troll, the chef in charge of the ceremony discovers that the Trolls' leader, King Peppy, has escaped with his daughter, Princess Poppy, and the rest of the Trolls. King Gristle banishes Chef from Bergen Town, and she vows to find the Trolls, plotting to overthrow the monarchy as revenge.

20 years later, an adult Poppy organizes a gigantic party to celebrate the anniversary of their escape. A serious, gray, survivalist troll named Branch warns that this could expose their home, but everyone ignores him. His forewarnings are realized when Chef locates the Trolls' vibrant, loud, and visible party, kidnapping Poppy's friends, including her secret crush, a "zen" troll named Creek. While the rest of the Trolls take refuge in Branch's survival bunker, who reluctantly permits them to do so, 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 reluctantly follows her only to escape his crowded bunker.

After arriving in Bergen Town, Poppy and Branch sneak into the castle of the now King Gristle Jr. and see Chef serving Creek to him. Gristle Jr. appears to eat Creek, but Poppy still holds out hope that he is alive and finds the rest of the trolls guarded by a young scullery maid named Bridget. After learning that Bridget is secretly in love with Gristle Jr., Poppy and the trolls agree to help her get a date with him in exchange for her help in ascertaining if Creek is alive. When Branch refuses to sing along with the rest in the ensuing musical number, he and Poppy argue, and he reveals that he has refused to sing ever since a Trollstice many years ago. On that day, his singing drew the attention of Chef, who found his home and took his grandmother away as she tried to protect him. Since then, he lost his happiness and turned gray.

Poppy comforts him with a hug, and the trolls disguise Bridget as "Lady Glittersparkles", and she and Gristle Jr. go on a date at a roller rink/arcade restaurant. Poppy spots Creek being held captive inside a jewel on Gristle's mantle, and after the date, the trolls sneak into Gristle's room to free him, but discover the jewel empty. Chef arrives and recaptures them, and Poppy gets horrified to learn that Creek, in exchange for his own life, betrayed them all out to Chef. He then steals Poppy's cowbell and later uses it to summon the rest of the trolls, whom Chef captures and places in a pot to be served at the feast. Poppy and the other trolls fall into despair and turn gray.

In a moment of compassion, Branch sings to cheer Poppy up, which regains their colors, with the rest of the Trolls joining in. Bridget secretly releases them while Chef is not looking, but Poppy refuses to let her take the blame. The trolls return to Bergen Town and reveal to the Bergens that Bridget was in fact Lady Glittersparkles, and that she and Gristle are happily in love with each other, showing the Bergens that they too can find happiness within themselves. Joy is brought to Bergen Town as a result, and the Trolls and the Bergens end their feud, though Chef refuses to accept peace, and she and Creek are sent rolling out of Bergen Town into the woods via a flaming serving cart. Back home, Peppy allows Poppy to become Queen of the Trolls, and she begins a friendship with Branch.

In a mid-credits scene, Creek and Chef find themselves on the top of a hill, where Chef attempts to eat Creek, but the hill, which is actually a monster, eats them.

## Voice cast

* Anna Kendrick as Princess Poppy, the excitable and optimistic princess later queen of the Trolls ==
	+ Iris Dohrn as Baby Poppy
* Justin Timberlake as Branch, an over-cautious, unpleasant and cynical survivalist Troll who hates singing, dancing, hugging and also music, after he turned gray
	+ Liam Henry as Baby Branch
* Christopher Mintz-Plasse as King Gristle Jr., son of Gristle Sr, and the second King of the Bergens
* Zooey Deschanel as Bridget, a kindhearted Bergen who works as a scullery maid to Chef
* Christine Baranski as Chef, the sadistic, cruel and power-hungry chef of the Bergens
* Russell Brand as Creek, a supposedly "zen" troll who is actually a cowardly traitor
* James Corden as Biggie, a large, friendly British Troll and the owner of Mr. Dinkles.
* Jeffrey Tambor as King Peppy, the king of the Trolls and Poppy's father
* John Cleese as King Gristle Sr., Gristle Jr's father and the first King of the Bergens.
* Gwen Stefani as DJ Suki, a Troll who uses DJ equipment made of insects.
* Ron Funches as Cooper, a giraffe-like Troll who raps and plays the harmonica
* Icona Pop as Satin and Chenille, twin Trolls with a flair for fashion design and are conjoined by their hair
* Kunal Nayyar as Guy Diamond, a glittery Troll with an highly auto-tuned voice
* Quvenzhané Wallis as Harper, a Troll artist with heterochromia who paints with her hair
* GloZell as Grandma Rosiepuff, Branch's late grandmother who sacrificed herself when she and Branch were discovered by Chef.
	+ Dami Im voices the character in the Australian version.[*citation needed*]
	+ Susanna Reid voices the character in the UK version.
* Meg DeAngelis as Moxie Dewdrop, a dancing Troll
	+ Connie Glynn voices the character in the UK version
* Ricky Dillon as Aspen Heitz, a Troll skitterboarder.
	+ Greg James voices the character in the UK version
* Kandee Johnson as Mandy Sparkledust, a Troll who designs and repairs treasures
	+ Abbey Clancy voices the character in the UK version
* Walt Dohrn as:
	+ Smidge, a small, inordinately strong female Troll with a shockingly deep voice
	+ Mr. Dinkles, Biggie's pet worm
	+ Fuzzbert, a Troll whose legs are the only thing visible besides his hair
	+ Cloud Guy, an anthropomorphic cloud
	+ Karma
* Grace Helbig as Cookie Sugarloaf, one of the Trolls
	+ Carrie Hope Fletcher voices the character in the UK version.
* Mike Mitchell and Curtis Stone as Chad and Todd, two royal guards that work for the Bergen Royal Family
* Rhys Darby as Bibbly, a Bergen shopkeeper of the Bib Store

## Music

*Main article: Trolls (soundtrack)*

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.