Director:Â Mike Mitchell,Walt Dohrn
Voice Cast: Anna Kendrick,  Justin Timberlake,  Zooey Deschanel,  James Corden,  Christine Baranski, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Rating: U
Running Time: 92 mins
Release Date:Â Special previews:Â 15th and 16th October, full release:Â 21/10/2016
How can we keep up with all the wonderful animation on show in 2016?
Whilst it is certainly a candidate to be one of the picks of the Animation offerings this awards season, TROLLS certainly gets my vote as one of the most colourful and positive film experiences of the year.
This is simply the most energetic, musical and stylishly psychedelic experience in modern Animation history, really encompassing all that is great about the genre and industry, with some fantastic design and texture, which is saying something coming from someone who has embraced a number of Animation offerings this year. You cannot fault the Fox/Dreamworks release, which has been produced at a cost of about $120 million – and will certainly give families the same kind of joy that a certain Disney classic does whenever it let’s it go on the big-screen.
Queen of PITCH PERFECT-Movie Vocals Anna Kendrick and King of Hip Pop Justin Timberlake (who also serves as Executive Music Producer) voice lead character trolls Poppy and Branch in a truly classic boy-meets-girl tale, coupled with SHREK-ish fairy tale and musical yarn (with tunes that are very, very catchy (you certainly will hum Junior Senior and Lionel Ritchie over and over again in a way that may just make you forget Idina Menzel‘s vocal in FROZEN – anybody truly let it go yet? LOL)
The style of the film evokes memories of Ron Howard’s THE GRINCH and a touch of the BARBIE animations in recent years, but like KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS, you do feel you are watching less of an animation and more of a live-action offering given the technological advances on show.
Other voices in the mix include James Corden, Russell Brand and the aforementioned GRINCH’s Christine Baranski as the evil villainess of the Bergen kingdom (the bad guys of the piece who hold an annual festival called a ‘Trollstice’ in which Trolls get eaten). Poppy holds a party which indirectly brings the Bergens to capture some of the Trolls and it is up to her and Branch to save the day….
TROLLS is one of the more joyous Animations, not as scary as ZOOTROPOLIS or KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS is, and has much to offer both adults and children – a true family entertainment, whilst retaining consistency. Kendrick and Timberlake are perfect voice casting and you cannot ask any more than that.
Can’t wait until the film’s release on October 21st? Well, you don’t have to, as there are special preview screenings on October 15th and 16th!
Verdict
