Trolls World Tour
/“I'm gonna destroy all music, EXCEPT FOR ROCK!”
Filmology Rating: 2.5 out of 4
It seemed that the music of Trolls took over the holiday season in 2016, I couldn’t seem to escape hearing either “Can’t Stop the Feeling” or even “True Colors” playing on the radio or being talked about with children of friends and coworkers. It seemed that Trolls hit a sweet spot in pop culture and a sequel would be inevitable. I never would have imagined that it would take another four years for the film to hit and for that film to be better than the original.
Queen Poppy, voiced again by Anna Kendrick, has been ruling over the Pop Troll kingdom with an iron hug. She still believes and looks for the best in everyone so when she hears that Queen Barb, voiced by Rachel Bloom, ruler of the Hard Rock Trolls is setting out to destroy all music besides hard rock, Poppy sets out on a journey to convince Barb that all trolls can come together to have their own music in harmony.
Fans of the original might be disappointed to find that the characters from the original film really take a backseat in this film. I thought that was the smartest and bravest move the film could take, it could have easily just spoonfed us more of the same but the film wanted to take a risk. Instead of staying behind the safe walls of pop music, Trolls World Tour branches out to explore other types of music with the help of country trolls, played by Kelly Clarkson and Sam Rockwell, and even techno trolls with their king being played by Anthony Ramos. While this does the usual sequel trope of expanding the universe, it also does a disservice to the original cast giving most of them supporting roles and songs in the film. I do strongly agree that this was the best route to take with the film since glitter colorful pop trolls only have so much they can say on their own.
The film took a question that I had while watching the original, why do so many of the trolls in this troll kingdom look so different and ran with it. While my question is definitely crass and shows my own bias, and perhaps unknown prejudice, it’s one that more people must have asked since that is an aspect that helps kick off the plot of the film. Without getting into all the nooks and crannies of it, imperialism is bad. It has rewritten much of our history and it shows us how no matter the atrocities that we have committed that we overcome and take down our rivals.
Now if that all sounds to be like films you have seen before, that’s because the film’s message has been told a lot in films lately. I would highly recommend Zootopia to anyone who hasn’t seen it, that film is one of the most important animated films in recent years and Trolls World Tour owes a lot of its messaging to that film. I have been screaming for years it seems that children's movies deserve to be forward thinking and willing to challenge the status quo, and while Trolls World Tour does give you the upbeat music that you need, it also does explain the concept of cultural melting pot to children. As someone who works in the art fields, I wish I had watched more films and listened to different types of music than what my friends and family listened to. It’s incredibly important to branch out and at least appreciate different cultures other than your own, that doesn’t mean you take the culture appropriation but simply are exposed to a variety of cultures.
Since the story is the redeeming aspect of this film, it would only seem right that the music would be the side that would suffer. While none of the music falls flat, none of it comes to matching the magic of “Can’t Stop the Feeling” from the first film. While most of the music will leave your children dancing in the aisles, all of the music starts to blend together for the adults. It might feel monotonous but there are definitely enough in-jokes for adults to keep their focus, and children will never let their interest in the film wane.
Trolls World Tour is better than it has any right to be, and is completely better than any of the advertising would leave you to believe. Once again I was expecting an acid trip through Candy Crush, but I left with a slight glimmer of hope that children might finally be given some good entertainment.
Rating: Rent It
-Jonny G