''Trolls'' is a 2016 American animated

jukebox musical A jukebox musical is a stage musical or musical film in which a majority of the songs are well-known, pre-existing popular music songs, rather than original music composed for the musical. Some jukebox musicals use a wide variety of songs, while ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

produced by

DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios or simply DreamWorks) is an American animation studio, owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal as part of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios, Inc, Universal Stud ...

and distributed by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

, based on the Good Luck Trolls dolls created by Thomas Dam. The film was directed by Mike Mitchell from a screenplay by

Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger Jonathan Robert Aibel (born August 6, 1969 in Demarest, New Jersey) and Glenn Todd Berger (born August 26, 1969 in Smithtown, New York) are American screenwriters and producers, who are best known for writing the ''Kung Fu Panda'' movies, '' The ...

, based on a story by

Erica Rivinoja Erica Rivinoja is an American film and television writer, producer and director. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for co-writing ''Borat Subsequent Moviefilm''. Her other film screenplays include '' Extreme Movi ...

. It stars the voices of

Anna Kendrick Anna Cooke Kendrick (born August 9, 1985) is an American actress. Known for playing upbeat and endearing characters in comedies and musicals, List of awards and nominations received by Anna Kendrick, her accolades include nominations for an Aca ...

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...

Zooey Deschanel Zooey Claire Deschanel ( ; born January 17, 1980) is an American actress and musician. She made her film debut in ''Mumford (film), Mumford'' (1999) and had a supporting role in Cameron Crowe's film ''Almost Famous'' (2000). Deschanel is known f ...

Russell Brand Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975) is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and media personality. He established himself as a stand-up comedian and radio host before becoming a film actor. After beginning his career as a comedian and la ...

James Corden James Kimberley Corden (born 22 August 1978) is an English comedian, actor, writer, producer, singer, and television host. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom '' Gavin & S ...

and

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani Shelton ( ; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani rose to fame as a member and lead vocalist of the band No Doubt, whose hit singles include " Just a Girl", " Spiderwebs", an ...

. The film follows two trolls named Poppy and Branch 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 The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the BFI estimated that around 240 fe ...

on October 8, 2016, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 4, by

. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $347 million worldwide against its $125 million budget. It received an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nomination for

Best Original Song The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best ...

for "

Can't Stop the Feeling! "Can't Stop the Feeling!" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake. It was released on May 6, 2016, as the lead single of the soundtrack to the film ''Trolls'' (2016), in which Timberlake voiced the character "Branch" ...

". The film, alongside ''

The Boss Baby ''The Boss Baby'' is a 2017 American animated spy comedy film, produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Loosely based on the 2010 picture book of the same name by Marla Frazee, it was directed by Tom McGrath from ...

'' and '' Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie'' (both 2017) were the last films from DWA to be distributed by 20th Century Fox, following

Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...

and

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and Trade name, doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Show business, entertainment conglomerate (comp ...

's acquisition of DreamWorks Animation a few months before the film's release in August 2016. A sequel, ''

Trolls World Tour ''Trolls World Tour'' is a 2020 American animated musical fantasy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures, based on the Good Luck Trolls dolls created by Thomas Dam. The sequel to ''Trolls'' (2016) and the ...

'', was released on April 10, 2020, while a third film, ''

Trolls Band Together ''Trolls Band Together'' is a 2023 American animated jukebox musical comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures, based on the Good Luck Trolls dolls from Thomas Dam. It serves as the sequel to ''Trolls W ...

'', was released on November 17, 2023, which were both distributed by

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

Plot

The Trolls are small, colorful, perpetually happy creatures who like to sing, dance and hug all day. They are discovered by the Bergens, large, hideous and miserable creatures 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, son of King Gristle Sr., is due to eat his first Troll, the chef in charge of the ceremony discovers that the Trolls, under the leadership of King Peppy, have managed to escape. King Gristle banishes Chef from Bergen Town, and she vows to find the Trolls, secretly plotting to overthrow the

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

as revenge. Twenty years later, Peppy's daughter Princess Poppy organizes a gigantic party to celebrate the

anniversary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the List of national independence days, date of independen ...

of their escape. A serious, gray,

survivalist Survivalism is a social movement of individuals or groups (called survivalists, doomsday preppers or preppers) who proactively prepare for emergencies, such as natural disasters, and other disasters causing disruption to social order (that is, ...

Troll named Branch warns that this could expose their home, but everyone ignores him. However, his forebodings are justified; Chef notices the party

fireworks Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

, follows them to Troll Village, and kidnaps Poppy's friends, including her crush, a "

zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

" Troll named Creek. While the rest of the Trolls take refuge in Branch's survival

bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

despite his objections, 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 only followed her to escape his crowded bunker. After arriving in Bergen Town, Poppy and Branch sneak into the castle of the new King, Gristle Jr. They witness Chef apparently feeding Creek to King Gristle, but Poppy still holds out hope that Creek is alive. They find the other captives being guarded by a young

scullery maid In great houses, scullery maids were the lowest-ranked and often the youngest of the female domestic servants and acted as assistants to a kitchen maid. Description The scullery maid reported (through the kitchen maid) to the cook or chef. Alo ...

named Bridget; after learning that Bridget is secretly in love with Gristle, Poppy and the Trolls agree to help her get a date with him in exchange for her help in ascertaining whether or not Creek is still alive. When Branch refuses to sing along with the others in the ensuing musical number, he and Poppy argue, and he reveals that he has refused to sing ever since a Bergen followed his singing to his home and ate his grandmother when he was a child. His bitterness at the event also caused his colors to fade into gray. Bridget, Poppy, and the other trolls comfort Branch before setting out on their mission. The Trolls use their powers to disguise Bridget as "Lady Glittersparkles", and she and Gristle go on a date at a

roller rink A roller rink is a hard surface usually consisting of hardwood or concrete, used for roller skating or inline skating. This includes roller hockey, speed skating, roller derby, and individual recreational skating. Roller rinks can be located in ...

/ arcade restaurant. During the date, Poppy spots Creek being held captive inside a jewel on Gristle's mantle. Afterwards, the trolls leave Bridget and go to rescue Creek, but are all captured by Chef. Creek reveals he has betrayed them in exchange for his own survival; he steals a shocked Poppy's

cowbell A cowbell (or cow bell) is a bell (instrument), bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. ...

and uses it to summon King Peppy and the rest of the trolls from Troll Village. They are rounded up by the Bergens and imprisoned in a large cooking pot. A heartbroken Poppy then turns gray in her misery, believing the situation is all her fault; the rest of the Trolls also become sad and lose their colors. Branch breaks his rule and sings to cheer Poppy up; this successfully brings back both their colors and those of the other trolls. Bridget, grateful to the Trolls for helping her, secretly releases them from the pot while Chef is not looking. Poppy refuses to let Bridget be punished for their escape, so the Trolls return to Bergen Town, reveal to the Bergens that Bridget is Lady Glittersparkles, and explain that she and Gristle are happily in love with each other. This shows the rest of the Bergens that they can find happiness within themselves without eating the Trolls, and the Trolls and the Bergens celebrate together in song, ending their feud. Chef refuses to accept the peace, so she and Creek are sent rolling out of Bergen Town on a flaming

serving cart A serving cart is a kind of smaller food cart. It is typically used by restaurants to deliver or display food. Serving carts are also used in households, airplanes, and trains. Types * Dessert cart (known as a sweet trolley in the UK) – This i ...

. King Peppy crowns Poppy the Queen of the Trolls, and she and Branch share a hug. In a mid-credits scene, Creek and Chef come to rest on the top of a hill. Chef attempts to eat Creek, but the "hill", which is actually a large monster, eats them both.

Voice cast

as Princess Poppy, the sweet, optimistic, and dimwitted princess and later queen of the Trolls ** Iris Dohrn as Baby Poppy *

as Branch, an over-cautious, unpleasant and cynical survivalist Troll who hates singing, dancing, hugging and music, after he turned gray due to his grandma's death ** Liam Henry as Young Branch *

Christopher Mintz-Plasse Christopher Charles Mintz-Plasse (; born June 20, 1989) is an American actor primarily known for his debut role as Fogell/McLovin in '' Superbad'' (2007) and Chris D'Amico/Red Mist in the ''Kick-Ass'' franchise. Early life Christopher Mintz- ...

as Prince Gristle, son of King Gristle Sr., and the second King of the Bergens *

as Bridget, a kind-hearted Bergen who works as a

to Chef *

Christine Baranski Christine Jane Baranski (born May 2, 1952) is an American actress. She received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Maryann Thorpe in the sitcom ''Cybill'' (1995–1998). Baranski is als ...

as Chef, the sadistic, cruel and power-hungry chef of the Bergens *

as Creek, a supposedly "zen" troll and Poppy's secret crush, who is actually a fraud and a traitor. *

as Biggie, a large, friendly British Troll and the owner of Mr. Dinkles. *

Jeffrey Tambor Jeffrey Michael Tambor (born July 8, 1944) is an American retired actor. He is known for his television roles such as Jeffrey Brookes, the uptight neighbor of Stanley and Helen Roper in the television sitcom ''The Ropers'' (1979–1980), as Hank ...

as King Peppy, the king of the Trolls and Poppy's father *

John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...

as King Gristle Sr., Prince Gristle's father and the first King of the Bergens. *

as DJ Suki, a Troll who uses DJ equipment made of insects. *

Ron Funches Ronald Kyle Funches (born March 12, 1983) is an American comedian and actor. Born in California, Funches spent his early life in Chicago before relocating to Salem, Oregon, as a teenager. He began his comedy career in Portland, Oregon, at age 23. ...

as Cooper, a

giraffe The giraffe is a large Fauna of Africa, African even-toed ungulate, hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa.'' It is the Largest mammals#Even-toed Ungulates (Artiodactyla), tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on ...

-like Troll who can walk on all fours, he raps and plays the harmonica *

Icona Pop Icona Pop ( ) are a Swedish synth-pop duo that formed in 2009, with electro house and indie pop music influences. Its two members, Aino Jawo (born 7 July 1986) and Caroline Hjelt (born 8 November 1987), grew up in Stockholm and created what the ...

as Satin and Chenille, twin Trolls with a flair for fashion design who are conjoined by their hair *

Kunal Nayyar Kunal Nayyar (, ; born 30 April 1981) is an actor. He gained recognition with his portrayal of Raj Koothrappali on the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019), and voiced Vijay on the Nickelodeon animated sitcom '' Sanjay and Craig'' ( ...

as Guy Diamond, a glittery Troll with a highly

auto-tuned Auto-Tune is audio processor software released on September 19, 1997, by the American company Antares Audio Technologies. It uses a proprietary device to measure and correct pitch in music. It operates on different principles from the vocoder ...

voice *

Quvenzhané Wallis Quvenzhané Wallis ( ; born August 28, 2003) is an American actress and author. In 2012, she starred as Hushpuppy in the drama film ''Beasts of the Southern Wild'' (2012), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, becomi ...

as Harper, a Troll artist with

heterochromia Heterochromia is a variation in coloration most often used to describe color differences of the iris, but can also be applied to color variation of hair or skin. Heterochromia is determined by the production, delivery, and concentration of mela ...

who paints with her hair *

GloZell GloZell Lynette Green (born July 30, 1972), better known mononymously as GloZell, is an American YouTube personality. GloZell established her YouTube channel in 2008, with video interviews, comedy about her life and song parodies. By 2015, the ...

as Grandma Rosiepuff, Branch's late grandmother who sacrificed herself when she and Branch were discovered by Chef. **

Dami Im Dami Im ( ; ; ; born 17 October 1988) is an Australian singer and songwriter. She represented Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 held in Stockholm, Sweden with the song " Sound of Silence", placing second and achieving the highes ...

voices the character in the Australian version. **

Susanna Reid Susanna Victoria Reid (born 10 December 1970) is an English television presenter and journalist. She was a co-presenter of '' BBC Breakfast'' from 2001 until 2014 alongside Bill Turnbull and Charlie Stayt. She also presented '' Sunday Morning ...

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 Richard Porter Dillon Jr. is an American YouTube personality and singer. Over his ten years on YouTube, Dillon has amassed over 3.2 million subscribers on his channel, as well as more than 415 million views on his videos. Early life and e ...

as Aspen Heitz, a Troll skitterboarder. **

Greg James Gregory James Alan Milward (born 17 December 1985) is an English broadcaster and author. He has been a presenter on BBC Radio 1 since 2007, hosting shows including his old drive-time show and the station's flagship breakfast show. Since 201 ...

voices the character in the UK version * Kandee Johnson as Mandy Sparkledust, a Troll who designs and repairs treasures **

Abbey Clancy Abigail Marie Clancy (born 10 January 1986) is an English model and television personality. She was the runner-up of ''Britain's Next Top Model (series 2)'' in 2006 and won series 11 of ''Strictly Come Dancing'' in 2013. She presented ''Britain ...

voices the character in the UK version *

Walt Dohrn Walter Dohrn (born December 5, 1970) is an American writer, director, animator, musician, and actor. He performed the voice of Rumpelstiltskin in ''Shrek Forever After'' (2010), as well as various characters in ''Shrek the Third'' (2007). He co-d ...

as: ** Smidge, a small, inordinately strong female Troll with a shockingly deep voice ** Mr. Dinkles, Biggie's pet stuffed

worm Worms are many different distantly related bilateria, bilateral animals that typically have a long cylindrical tube-like body, no limb (anatomy), limbs, and usually no eyes. Worms vary in size from microscopic to over in length for marine ...

. ** Fuzzbert, a Troll whose legs are the only thing visible besides his hair ** Cloud Guy, an anthropomorphic cloud ** Karma *

Grace Helbig Grace Anne Helbig (born September 27, 1985) is an American comedian, actress, and internet personality. She is the co-creator and co-host of the podcast ''This Might Get Weird'' (2018–present) alongside frequent collaborator Mamrie Hart and ...

as Cookie Sugarloaf, one of the Trolls **

Carrie Hope Fletcher Carrie Hope Fletcher (born 22 October 1992) is an English West End theatre actress and singer. Her performances include the roles of Éponine and Fantine in ''Les Misérables'', starring as Veronica Sawyer in the original West End production ...

voices the character in the UK version. * Mike Mitchell and

Curtis Stone Curtis Travis Stone (born 4 November 1975) is an Australian celebrity chef, author, and television personality. Stone has been the fresh food and recipes ambassador for Coles Supermarkets in Australia since 2010. Early life Stone was born ...

as Chad and Todd, two royal guards that work for the Bergen Royal Family *

Rhys Darby Rhys Montague Darby (born 21 March 1974) is a New Zealand actor and comedian. He is known for his energetic physical comedy routines, telling stories accompanied with mime, and sound effects of things such as machinery and animals. He was nomin ...

as Bibbly, a Bergen shopkeeper of the Bib Store

Production

DreamWorks announced plans for a film based on the Troll toyline as early as 2010. This version was to be written by Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson LaBracio. By 2012,

Chloë Grace Moretz Chloë Grace Moretz (; born February 10, 1997) is an American actress. She began acting as a child, with early roles in the horror film ''The Amityville Horror (2005 film), The Amityville Horror'' (2005), the drama series ''Desperate Housewives' ...

had already been cast in the female lead role and

Jason Schwartzman Jason Schwartzman (born June 26, 1980) is an American actor, musician, and member of the Coppola family. Schwartzman made his film debut in Wes Anderson's 1998 film '' Rushmore'', and has since appeared in six other Anderson films: '' The Darjee ...

was reported to have been offered the male lead. In September 2012,

and

announced that the film with the working title ''Trolls'' would be released on June 5, 2015, with

Anand Tucker Anand Tucker (born 24 June 1963) is a film director and producer based in London. He began his career directing factual television programming and adverts. He co-owns the production company Seven Stories. Personal life Tucker was born in Thail ...

set to direct the film, written by

Wallace Wolodarsky Wallace Wolodarsky, also billed as Wally Wolodarsky, is an American screenwriter, television producer, film director, and actor known for being one of the writers for ''The Simpsons'' during the first four seasons with his writing partner Jay ...

and

Maya Forbes Maya Forbes (born July 23, 1968) is an American screenwriter and television producer. She made her debut as a film director with ''Infinitely Polar Bear'' (2014). Her other writing credits include the screenplay of ''The Rocker (film), The Rocker' ...

. By April 2013, DreamWorks Animation had acquired the intellectual property for the Trolls franchise from the Dam Family and Dam Things. Having "big plans for the franchise," DreamWorks Animation became the exclusive worldwide licensor of the merchandise rights, except for Scandinavia, where Dam Things remains the licensor. In May 2013, the film was pushed back for a year to November 4, 2016. The same month, DreamWorks Animation announced that Mike Mitchell and

has been hired as a director and screenplay writer to "reimagine" the film as a musical comedy, which would present the origin of the Trolls' colorful hair. On June 16, 2014,

joined the cast to voice Poppy, a princess. On September 15, 2015, ''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...

'' reported that

would voice a character named Branch. Timberlake previously worked with DreamWorks Animation as the voice of Arthur "Artie" Pendragon in ''

Shrek the Third ''Shrek the Third'' (also known as ''Shrek 3'') is a 2007 American animated fantasy comedy film loosely based on the 1990 children's picture book '' Shrek!'' by William Steig. Directed by Chris Miller and co-directed by Raman Hui from a sc ...

'' in 2007. The full cast announced their respective roles via announcements on Twitter on January 6, 2016.

Music

Justin Timberlake served as an executive producer for the film's music and released the original song "

" 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 The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. In addition to Timberlake, the rest of the cast contributed to the film's soundtrack, which also features guest appearances from

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...

and

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, Grande is known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle re ...

. The soundtrack album was certified

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

and the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...

Release

Premiere

The film's opening premiere opened at the

Opening Celebration on October 8, 2016 as a special BFI presentation, and was theatrically released on November 4, 2016, in the United States by

, and in the United Kingdom at an earlier date of October 21, 2016.

Marketing

The first teaser trailer for ''Trolls'' was officially unveiled online on January 28, 2016. The following day, it would make its theatrical debut with the opening of ''

Kung Fu Panda 3 ''Kung Fu Panda 3 '' is a 2016 animated martial arts comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation, China Film Group Corporation, Oriental DreamWorks and Zhong Ming You Ying Film, and formerly distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the third ...

''. On June 29, 2016, a second trailer was then released online. DreamWorks spent an estimated $105 million promoting the film.

Home media

''Trolls'' was released on Digital HD on January 24, 2017, and on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

and

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

on February 7, 2017. The film topped the home video sales chart for two consecutive weeks. From June 2017 to December 2018, the film was available on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

, and the film returned to the streaming platform after 4 years on December 7, 2022.

Reception

Box office

''Trolls'' grossed $153.9 million in the US and Canada and $193.2 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $347 million, against a budget of $125 million. ''

'' calculated the film made a net profit of $19 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues. In the United States and Canada, ''Trolls'' was released alongside the releases of ''

Doctor Strange Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as ...

'' and ''

Hacksaw Ridge ''Hacksaw Ridge'' is a 2016 epic biographical war film directed by Mel Gibson and written by Andrew Knight and Robert Schenkkan, based on the 2004 documentary '' The Conscientious Objector'' directed by Terry Benedict. Set in World War II, A ...

'', and was projected to gross $35–40 million from 4,060 theaters in its opening weekend. On its first day, the film grossed $12.3 million (including $900,000 made from Thursday night previews). It went on to open to $46.5 million, finishing second at the box office behind ''Doctor Strange''.

Critical response

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 76% based on 165 reviews, with an average rating of 6.30/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "''Trolls'' brings its instantly recognizable characters to the big screen in a colorful adventure that, while geared toward the younger set, isn't without rewards for parents." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score of 55 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while

PostTrak PostTrak is a U.S.-based service that surveys film audiences for film studios. History The service conducts surveys in the top 20 markets in the U.S. and Canada with the use of polling cards and electronic kiosks. A PostTrak report for a fil ...

reported filmgoers gave it an 80% overall positive score. Lindsey Bahr of

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

gave the film a positive review and said, "Ultimately, the 'get happy' moral of the story, while trite compared to something like ''

Inside Out Inside Out may refer to: * Backwards or inverse Books * '' Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd'', by Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason * ''Inside Out'', Christian book by Larry Crabb * ''Inside Out'', espionage thriller by Barry Eisler * ...

'', is sufficiently sweet enough for its audience. Did you expect more from a piece of candy?" Bill Zwecker of ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four and said, "You simply will walk out – or perhaps dance out – of the theater feeling very happy yourself." Andy Webster of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' said, "Exuberant, busy and sometimes funny, DreamWorks Animation's ''Trolls'' is determined to amuse." Michael Rechtshaffen, writing for ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', called the film "an admittedly vibrant-looking but awfully recognizable animated musical comedy concoction."

Alonso Duralde Alonso Duralde (born May 18, 1967) is an American film critic, author, and podcaster. He has been a writer and editor for ''The Film Verdict'', ''The Wrap'', ''The Advocate (LGBT magazine), The Advocate'' and MSNBC.com. Personal life Duralde ...

TheWrap ''TheWrap'' is an American online news organization that covers the business of entertainment and media. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman in 2009 and is based in Los Angeles. The site features original reporting, analysis, and editor ...

said the film "combines the barely-there characterization and irritating cutesiness of ''

The Smurfs ''The Smurfs'' (; ) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was created and introduced as a series of comic characters by ...

'' with the hideous character design and awful pop covers of '' Strange Magic''." Betsy Bozdech of

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

gave the movie 4 stars. She said, "Make no mistake: Kids are going to love this movie. Trolls is cute, it's colorful, it has tons of catchy songs, and the messages are positive and easy to understand (happiness is inside everyone, if you know where/how to find it, and you shouldn't have to change who you are to get someone to like you)."

Accolades

Trolls was nominated at the

89th Academy Awards The 89th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2016 in film, films of 2016, and took place on February 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Californ ...

for

for "

" and at the

74th Golden Globe Awards The 74th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and American television of 2016, was broadcast live on January 8, 2017 from The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California beginning at 5:00 p.m. PST / 8:00 p.m. EST by NBC. ...

for

for the same song. However, "Can't Stop the Feeling" did win at the

59th Annual Grammy Awards The 59th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 12, 2017. The CBS network broadcast the show live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year ...

for Best Song Written for Visual Media. *Regarding music award shows, only film-related categories are included on this list.

Franchise

''DreamWorks Trolls: The Experience'' was the first of multiple mobile pop-up attractions

Feld Entertainment Feld Entertainment Inc. is an American live show production company which owns a number of traveling shows. The company began with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus before expanding into additional live events, including Disney on ...

and Universal Brand Development had agreed to develop in April 2018. The pop-up attraction opened in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on October 22, 2018.

Sequels

On February 28, 2017,

, the studio's new distributor and parent company since 2016, and

announced that a sequel titled ''Trolls 2'' would be released on April 10, 2020, with Kendrick and Timberlake reprising their respective roles of Poppy and Branch as well as Aibel and Berger returning to write the script. On October 4, 2017, the release date for the sequel was moved up to February 14, 2020, as '' Fast & Furious 9'' took its original April 10, 2020 slot. Along with the new release date, it was announced that Dohrn will be returning to direct and Shay will return to produce the sequel. On December 6, 2017, the film was pushed back to an April 17, 2020 release. On March 4, 2020, ''

No Time to Die ''No Time to Die'' is a 2021 spy thriller film and the twenty-fifth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series, and the fifth and final to star Daniel Craig as fictional British MI6 agent Portrayal of James Bond in film, James Bon ...

'' got delayed, so the film was pushed to an April 10, 2020 release again. In May 2018, it was confirmed that

Sam Rockwell Sam Rockwell (born November 5, 1968) is an American actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for playing troubled police officer Jason Dixon in ''Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri'' (2017). He was nominated i ...

Chance the Rapper Chancelor Johnathan Bennett (born April 16, 1993), known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, he released his debut mixtape '' 10 Day'' (2012) during one of his high school suspension ...

Anthony Ramos Anthony Paul Ramos Martinez (born November 1, 1991) is an American actor and singer. After graduating in musical theater from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, he began performing in stage musicals. In 2015, he originated the dual role ...

Karan Soni Karan Soni (born January 8, 1989) is an Indian-American actor and comedian. Often appearing in comedic roles, he came to prominence for playing Dopinder in the films '' Deadpool'' (2016) and its sequels '' Deadpool 2'' (2018) and '' Deadpool & ...

Flula Borg Flula Borg (; born 28 March 1982) is a German actor, comedian, and musician. Borg's acting career includes roles in feature films, including '' Pitch Perfect 2'' and '' The Suicide Squad'', as well as in a number of television shows, including ' ...

, and

Jamie Dornan James Peter Maxwell Dornan (; born 1 May 1982) is an actor, model, and musician from Northern Ireland. The recipient of two Irish Film and Television Awards, he has been nominated for a BAFTA Television Award and a Golden Globe Award. In 202 ...

joined the cast. Corden, Icona Pop, Funches, Stefani and Nayyar will also reprise their roles. In October 2018, it was confirmed that

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Rising to fame after winning the American Idol season 1, first season of ''Ameri ...

had joined the cast, and will perform an original song. A new title for the sequel, ''Trolls World Tour'', was announced in June 2018. In May 2017, podcasters

Justin Justin may refer to: People and fictional characters * Justin (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Justin (historian), Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527) ...

Travis Travis may refer to: People and fictional characters *Travis (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Travis (surname), a list of people Places in the United States *Travis, Staten Island, a neighborhood *Travis Air Force Base, a ...

and

Griffin McElroy Griffin Andrew McElroy ( , born April 17, 1987) is an American podcaster, actor, writer, composer, and former video game journalist. He is known for his work on podcasts such as ''My Brother, My Brother and Me'' and ''The Adventure Zone'', as we ...

began campaigning for roles in the film via a podcast titled "The McElroy Brothers Will Be in Trolls 2" (later renamed "The McElroy Brothers Will Be in Trolls: World Tour" after the sequel's subtitle was revealed). Following the podcast's popularity, DreamWorks confirmed in September 2018 that the McElroy brothers would make cameo appearances in ''World Tour''. In June 2019, along with promotional posters, new cast members had been announced, which included:

J Balvin José Álvaro Osorio Balvín (born 7 May 1985), known professionally as J Balvin, is a Colombian singer. He is one of the best-selling Latin artists, with 35 million records sold worldwide. Balvin was born in Medellín. At age 17, he moved to th ...

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...

Rachel Bloom Rachel Leah Bloom (born April 3, 1987) is an American actress, comedian, singer, writer, and producer. She is best known for co-creating and starring as Rebecca Bunch in The CW musical comedy-drama series ''Crazy Ex-Girlfriend'' (2015– ...

, George Clinton,

Ester Dean Esther Renay Dean (born April 15, 1982), known professionally as Ester Dean, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. She rose to prominence as a pop songwriter in the late 2000s and wrote numerous hit songs for singers including R ...

and

Gustavo Dudamel Gustavo Adolfo Dudamel Ramírez (born 26 January 1981) is a Venezuelan conductor. He is currently the music director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He is scheduled to become the Music and Artistic ...

. On April 9, 2020, Justin Timberlake expressed interest in participating in future ''Trolls'' films during his Apple Music takeover, "I hope we make, like, seven Trolls movies, because it literally is the gift that keeps on giving". On November 22, 2021, it was announced that a third ''Trolls'' film titled Trolls Band Together would be released in theaters on November 17, 2023. The film followed Branch and his brothers saving another brother.

Television specials

''Trolls Holiday'' is a half-hour television special that aired on November 24, 2017 on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. Poppy realizes that the Bergens have no holidays to celebrate. She enlists Branch and their friends (the Snack Pack) to show their best friend Bridget and other Bergens the importance of holidays. Most of the original cast (including Kendrick, Timberlake, Deschanel, Mintz-Plasse, Corden, Funches, Nayyar and Dohrn) all reprise their roles from the film. The likely-Christmas Special is also directed by Crawford and written by Josh Bycel & Jonathan Fener with music by Jeff Morrow. Its soundtrack album that features seven songs was released on October 27, 2017. It is now available on Netflix and on DVD by

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment LLC (UPHE) is the home video distribution division of Universal Pictures, an American film studio owned by NBCUniversal, the entertainment unit of Comcast. UPHE is the home video distributor for all of the ...

. The bonus features of the DVD also include one episode of ''

Spirit Riding Free ''Spirit Riding Free'' is an American animated television series, produced by DreamWorks Animation Television and distributed by Netflix, based on the 2002 Oscar-nominated traditionally animated film, '' Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron'', and t ...

'' and two of '' Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh''. A second special, '' Trolls: Holiday in Harmony'', aired on November 26, 2021.

Animated series

A 52-episode animated series based on the film, entitled ''Trolls: The Beat Goes On!'' that airs on

premiered on January 19, 2018 and ran for 8 seasons. The show stars

Amanda Leighton Amanda Moreno Leighton (born June 7, 1993) is an American actress. She is known for her voice acting as Blossom in the 2016 Cartoon Network animated series ''The Powerpuff Girls'', Poppy in the 2018 Netflix animated series '' Trolls: The Beat Go ...

as Poppy,

Skylar Astin Skylar Astin Lipstein (born September 23, 1987) is an American actor. He became known for portraying Jesse Swanson in the musical films '' Pitch Perfect'' (2012) and '' Pitch Perfect 2'' (2015). He originated the role of Georg in the Broadway mu ...

as Branch, and Funches who is reprising his role as Cooper, and Dohrn reprising his role as Cloud Guy. Following the release of ''Trolls World Tour'', another animated series, titled ''Trolls: TrollsTopia'', was released on

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

and

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

in 2020.

Notes

References

External links

*
Dreamworks Trolls Party
* * {{Portal bar, Film, United States, Cartoon, Animation, Comedy 2016 films 2010s children's animated films 2010s children's comedy films 2010s children's fantasy films 2010s English-language films 2010s fantasy comedy films 2010s musical comedy films 2010s musical fantasy films 2016 3D films 2016 American animated films 2016 comedy films 2016 computer-animated films 2016 fantasy films 2016 musical films 20th Century Fox animated films 3D animated films American 3D films American children's animated comedy films American children's animated fantasy films American children's animated musical films American computer-animated films American fantasy comedy films American musical comedy films American musical fantasy films Animated films about father–daughter relationships Animated films about friendship Animated films about music and musicians Animated films about trolls Animated films based on toys DreamWorks Animation films English-language fantasy comedy films English-language musical comedy films English-language musical fantasy films Films adapted into television shows Films directed by Mike Mitchell Films scored by Christophe Beck Films with screenplays by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger Jukebox musical films Trolls (franchise)