Hey everyone and welcome to a new 2020 movie review! Today I’ll finally be looking at the first of two Dreamworks sequels that came out last year (the other being the Croods: A New Age) which is the follow up to the hit 2016 film, Trolls World Tour! Yes the once declared game changer of how movies would be released as it was the first big theatrical title to forgo most theaters, and debut on VOD where it apparently did very well and because of that it got a heck of a lot more media coverage than it otherwise would’ve gotten if had been released under normal circumstances. But aside from that I was actually looking forward for this one as I enjoy the first one quite a bit and find it to be pretty underrated (If you want to hear my in depth thoughts on it then you could go check my review which should be under the Dreamworks Animation category on this post) and was curious to see how this sequel would fare as Dreamworks has a pretty great track record when it comes to them. With the exception of Shrek the Third I find each of their other follow ups to be very enjoyable and all of their second films in particular I find to be better than their respective predecessors (Shrek 2, Madagascar Escape 2 Africa, Kung Fu Panda 2, and How to Train Your Dragon 2). Fortunately that winning streak continues with this one as I had a ton of fun watching Trolls World Tour as it yet another solid movie from the studio! Let’s jump back into the world of the Trolls with Poppy, and Branch once more to see what this second installment improved upon from the original.
Right off the bat we are thrusted into the main conflict at play which is how the Rock trolls led by one Queen Barb are enacting a plan to steal each one of the magical strings of each of the troll tribes that represents a different type of music (in this case pop, rock, country, techno, classical, and funk) so she can unite everyone under rock music. Meanwhile in the Pop land Queen Poppy (who is not yet aware of the situation) is enjoying her role as ruler of the tribe with Branch serving as her helper and of course making sure the trolls are as happy as they can be. Yet once she gets word about Barb’s scheme she decides that she wants to help unite all of the different tribes even if Branch, and her father are very much against this due how the tribes are so different from one another and Branch’s usual suspicions. Nevertheless Branch still decides to set out with Poppy (along with a stowaway in fellow pop troll, Biggie) on her quest to unite the trolls though will she be successful in convincing everyone to work together before Barb goes through with her evil plan?
With this follow up it does what I think any good sequel does and that is both maintain what worked about the original while also expanding, and improving upon what was already there. In the case of Trolls World Tour it still has that infectious energy, and sense of fun that I really liked about the first one but this time it felt like a case of the writers going “okay now that we’ve got our set up for this world, and characters out of the way, let’s go all out with this one”. By that I mean that this sequel really does go even further with the weirdness, and mythology exploring the history of the trolls and of course showing us more of this world with all of these different Troll tribes. It makes this one stand out from it’s predecessor and it’s just a really cool concept almost playing like a crazier version of Avengers Infinity War that led to some very fun scenarios, and it brimmed with creativity. As for how it works as a comedy well I actually found this to be funnier than it’s predecessor as the jokes landed more consistently with many getting a good laugh out of me (one stand out in particular is when the trio heads to the country tribe and performs a whole bunch of ridiculous pop music and the country troll’s reactions to it are very relatable) and more so than the original this one doubles down on the musical aspects as music plays a more integral part of the story which has some nice commentary on the music genre and how many always seem to only listen to one genre and call the rest a disgrace to music (which is of course exemplified by the Rock trolls). This also leads me to the film’s themes, and messaging and I found it to be better handled here as my biggest issue with the original was that it had really good messages but didn’t quite stick with them to the very end. Here on the other hand the movie sticks with it’s guns all the way through and I really like what had to say about learning to accept one another’s differences and find the beauty, and fun in them while also learning to try new things. Yet the movie does acknowledge the differences between cultural appropriation, and actually supporting diversity and makes sure to explain it in a way that kids can understand without constantly banging them over the head with it and it fits in the movie nicely and it was definitely one of the aspects of this movie that I was most impressed with. As for any issues it did feel like the plot itself was a little thin as it mostly just consisted of Poppy, Branch, and Biggie just traveling from one place to another, and there are definitely some jokes that don’t quite work as much as others. I can also definitely see people not liking the frenetic energy or fast pacing if that’s not their cup of tea but I for one did enjoy this one because of that and it never ceased to entertain while also improving on the first in many key areas.
One of my favorite aspects of the original was it’s unique animation style and how everything was designed with so much color as it looked like a big budget arts and crafts project come to life and I’m happy to see that aesthetic used once more here. Just as I said the writers were going all out with the story the same applies to the animators as it seems they must’ve had a fun time crafting these film as there are a lot of neat, and psychedelic visuals just like in the first but thanks to the different locales that are visited we get a nice variety in terms of the backgrounds which all capture each respective land of the tribes very well (in particular the funk, and country lands) and they maintain that scrap book like look while also having some neat little touches, and visuals (Love how the mothership of the Funk Trolls looks like a vinyl record). Same goes for the designs which like the backgrounds are varied, colorful, and very creative as each Troll has a distinctive look to them and I like how each troll tribe don’t look similar at all from each other with my favorites being the Rock, Funk, and Techno Trolls, and the movements are very energetic as befitting the feel of the movie. The movie also manages to put in some different animation techniques into the mix as well as there are some cool little flourishes like how the glitter sand in a desert scene, or a tiny sentient flute move almost like stop motion. Also new director Walt Dohrn takes over for Mike Mitchel here and he succeed in lending a very energetic, and fun direction to the proceedings and handles the musical sequences nicely. Speaking of which one of the highlights of the original was it’s catchy music, and fun musical numbers and there’s plenty of that here but this time there’s a nice variety in the songs that they play here thanks to the nature of the story. Of course you hear a lot of renditions of familiar tunes throughout (“Crazy Train”, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”, etc.) but there are also plenty of new songs for the movie as Kelly Clarkson gets a fun number in there with “Born to Die”, the “It’s All Love scene” has some cool visuals, and the big finale song, “Just Song” got stuck in my head for a while as it is quite catchy and I like how each genre got their moment to shine. It’s a very fun soundtrack on the whole and has a lot of talent providing it as well.
Also having a lot of talent is the voice cast as once again it is stacked with plenty of famous celebrities who do a fine job in the roles. Anna Kendrick, and Justin Timberlake fit right into their roles as Poppy, and Branch respectively and both have a nice comraderies with one another as Poppy is once again the enthusiastic optimist while Branch is more of the straight man who nevertheless still cares a lot about Poppy and is not as grouchy as he was in the original. I also like what was done with the former as she is learning how to become a Queen and while she think she’s making the right decisions, and wants what she thinks is best with her heart in the right place she learns that some of it may not be as realistic as she would’ve liked it to be and other characters do call out on her whenever she makes a rash decision. It made her into a relatable character, and I also like how Branch tries to deal with her as well even if there is a typical second act break up which admittedly at the very least doesn’t come completely out of left field. Now as for the other characters well I like how Biggie (voiced by James Corden), King Peppy (Dohrn himself), and Cooper (voiced by the always delightful, Ron Funches) get a bit more to do here with the latter actually getting something of a backstory. But easily the stand out here for me was Rachel Bloom as Barb as she was just so hilarious and provided some of the biggest laughs of the entire movie with her thrash personality, and love of hard rock (once again Bloom stars in another superior animated sequel with the other being Angry Birds Movie 2). I also found her pretty relatable with how I was at a younger age always bashing other types of music because I found one genre superior to anything else so she was entertaining to watch. The rest of the cast is filled to the brim with plenty of recognizable names and it was a nice touch how they got so many music talent to voice certain roles like Kelly Clarkson (as the leader of the Country trolls, Delta Dawn), Mary J. Blige (Queen Essence of the Funk Trolls), George Clinton (King Quincy of the Funk trolls), Anderson .Paak (Prince D of the Funk trolls). Anthony Ramos (King Trollex of the Techno trolls), Gustavo Dudamel (Trollzart of the Classical trolls), K-Pop band, Rand Velvet (as well the K-Pop trolls), and Rock star legend himself Ozzie Osbourne (as Barb’s father, and king of the Rock trolls, King Thrash). Also making some memorable appearances were Sam Rockwell who I almost didn’t recognize for a second as a country troll named Hickory who is very enjoyable, and given the nature of the twist involving him it’s refreshing how he was handled in that regard, and Jamie Dornan out of all people as this Smooth Jazz troll, Chaz, who is responsible for one of the strangest, and most trippy scenes in the entire movie. It’s a huge cast and while not everyone has this large role to play in the narrative, and maybe it’s a little too overstuffed in this regard, they still manage to make the proceedings enjoyable to watch.
In the end I really enjoyed Trolls World Tour as it is yet another winning Dreamworks Animation sequel. It’s plot may not be the strongest one out there, it’s got similar issues as the first, it can be a little over stuffed, and it won’t be for everybody but I thought that it improved upon several aspects of the first like the humor, the worldbuilding, and it’s messaging in particular while also keeping what I liked such as the constant energy, the colorful, and trippy visuals, the catchy soundtrack, and the memorable cast of characters. I still find these movies to be among the more underappreciated of the studio’s output as they are very entertaining movies that have a lot to offer in many areas and it’s a shame that this wasn’t able to get a conventional theatrical release as I can imagine it would’ve played great on the big screen. Still though I can see kids enjoying the heck out of it and really anyone whose in the mood for a fun time, and really loves insane imagery well this can do the trick. Plus with how good this one turned out I am very excited to check out the Croods A New Age when I can, and heck I’m even kind of hopeful for the Boss Baby Family Business if this, and all the other Dreamworks sequels are any indication.
Rating: B+
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