Review of Trolls by Rashid Irani: An animated romp

They’re cute. They’re chirpy. They sing and dance as they fight for peace. It’s all good.

TROLLS

The cheerfulness of the trolls is infectious. But the real highlight of the film is the soundtrack, with its cover versions and the super-catchy theme song ’Can’t stop the feeling’ by Justin Timberlake.

Direction: Walt Dohrn and Mike Mitchell

Voices: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Zooey Deschanel

Rating: 3 / 5

They are the proverbial neighbours from hell. In this all-singing, all-dancing, animated romp, a clan of ogre-like creatures called Bergens is determined to gobble up the neighbourhoood community of fuzzy-haired trolls. They believe that just a taste of the tiny things will bring them everlasting joy.

The thoughtful trolls even leave the baddies with a heartening message on peaceful co-existence!

Inspired by the popular marble-eyed plastic dolls from the 1960s, this candy-coloured 3D musical follows a troll princess (zestfully voiced by the Pitch Perfect singing sensation Anna Kendrick) and her perennially grumpy partner (Justin Timberlake) as they fight to save their pint-sized family and friends from a terrible fate.

The duo is aided in their mission by a lovelorn scullery maid (endearingly dubbed by Zooey Deschanel). Gratifyingly, they also leave their misguided nemeses with a valuable lesson about peaceful coexistence.

Watch Justin Timberlake’s ‘Can’t stop the feeling’

A multitude of animators, storyboard artists and designers have sketched the characters with charm and expressiveness. But the real highlight of the film is the soundtrack.

Suffused with cover versions of such chart-topping tunes as ‘Hello’, ‘True colours’ and ‘The sound of silence’, it also features a rousing rendition of the theme song ’Can’t stop the feeling’, by Timberlake.

The cheerfulness of Trolls is infectious. Go for it.

Watch the trailer for Trolls