''Trolls Band Together'' is a 2023 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

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 ...

, based on the Good Luck Trolls dolls from Thomas Dam. It serves as the sequel to ''

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 ...

'' (2020), and the third installment in the ''Trolls'' franchise. The film was directed by

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 ...

and co-directed by Tim Heitz, and written by Elizabeth Tippet.

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 ...

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- ...

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 ...

, Anderson .Paak,

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. ...

Kenan Thompson Kenan Thompson (; born May 10, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He has been a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' since Saturday Night Live season 29, 2003, making him the longest-tenured cast member in the ...

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'' ( ...

and Dohrn reprise their voice roles from the previous films, with newcomers

Eric André Eric Samuel André (born April 4, 1983) is an American comedian, actor, television host, writer, producer, and musician. He is best known as the creator, host, and co-writer of the Adult Swim surreal comedy series '' The Eric Andre Show'' (2012� ...

Kid Cudi Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ; formerly stylized as KiD CuDi), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and fashion designer. Born and raised in Clevelan ...

Daveed Diggs Daveed Daniele Diggs (born January 24, 1982) is an American actor, rapper, and singer-songwriter. He is the vocalist of the experimental hip hop group Clipping, and in 2015, he originated the dual roles of Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jeffer ...

Troye Sivan Troye Sivan Mellet ( ; born 5 June 1995) is an Australian singer-songwriter and actor. After gaining popularity as a singer on YouTube and in Australian talent competitions, Sivan signed with Universal Music Australia, EMI Australia in 2013 and ...

Camila Cabello Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao (; ; born March 3, 1997) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence as a member of the Pop music, pop girl group Fifth Harmony, one of the List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl gro ...

Amy Schumer Amy Beth Schumer (born June 1, 1981) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, producer, and director. Schumer ventured into comedy in the early 2000s before appearing as a contestant on the fifth season of the NBC reality competition ...

Andrew Rannells Andrew Scott Rannells (born August 23, 1978) is an American actor. He is best known for originating the role of Elder Kevin Price in the 2011 Broadway musical ''The Book of Mormon (musical), The Book of Mormon'', for which he was nominated for th ...

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and has received List of awards ...

and

Zosia Mamet Zosia Mamet (; born February 2, 1988) is an American actress. She is known for her breakout role as Shoshanna Shapiro in the HBO series '' Girls''. Mamet also starred as Annie Mouradian in the HBO Max original series '' The Flight Attendant'' an ...

joining the ensemble voice cast. The film follows Poppy and Branch as they attempt to rescue Floyd while reuniting Branch's brothers after the boyband phenomenon, BroZone, was disbanded. Ideas for a third ''Trolls'' film began prior to the release of ''Trolls World Tour'' in April 2020, when Timberlake expressed interest in participating during his

Apple Music Apple Music is an audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users can select music to stream to their device on-demand, or listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the sister internet radio stations Apple Musi ...

takeover. DreamWorks Animation officially confirmed the third film's development in November 2021. Despite being predominantly CGI animation, with some additional animation by

DNEG The DNEG Group, or DNEG (formerly known as Double Negative and stylized as D N E G), is a British-Indian visual effects, computer animation and stereo conversion studio that was founded in 1998 in London, and rebranded as DNEG in 2014 after ...

, the film includes some 2D animation sequences with animation styles inspired by '' Yellow Submarine'' (1968) and ''

Fantasia Fantasia may refer to: Film and television * ''Fantasia'' (1940 film), an animated musical film produced by Walt Disney ** '' Fantasia 2000'', a sequel to the 1940 film * ''Fantasia'' (2004 film), a Hong Kong comedy film * ''Fantasia'' (201 ...

'' (1940).

Theodore Shapiro Theodore Michael Shapiro ( ; born September 29, 1971) is an American composer best known for his film scores. He is a frequent collaborator of directors Ben Stiller, Paul Feig, Jay Roach, Karyn Kusama, and Rawson Marshall Thurber, and won the ...

returned to compose the score for the film. ''Trolls Band Together'' premiered in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

on November 12, 2023, and in the United States on November 17. The film grossed $209 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics.

Plot

In a flashback, an infant Branch and his four older brothers John Dory, Spruce, Clay, and Floyd perform as a

boyband A boy band is a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Many boy bands dance a ...

called BroZone. When they failed to perform the "Perfect Family Harmony", a powerful ability that Trolls can achieve when they are in complete sync, the brothers argue and go their separate ways. Branch is left alone to be raised by his grandmother Rosiepuff. In the present, leaving off after saving music from the Hard Rock Trolls, Branch and Poppy attend Bridget and Gristle's wedding in Bergen Town. They are interrupted by John Dory, who reveals to Branch that Floyd has been captured by Velvet and Veneer, two Mount Rageon teenagers who wish to be pop stars. The siblings have trapped Floyd in a diamond perfume bottle, which they use to extract his essence and improve their singing, although the process could eventually kill him. As the Perfect Family Harmony is the only thing that can destroy diamond, Branch reluctantly agrees to help John Dory find their brothers and rescue Floyd. Along with Poppy and Tiny Diamond, they set out in John Dory's armadillo-like portable van named Rhonda. They find Spruce at the Vacay Island resort, where he has changed his name to Bruce and started a family. Bruce is reluctant to help, until his wife and kids convince him to do so. The group later finds Clay at an abandoned Bergen miniature golf course, inhabited by a hidden colony of Pop Trolls who do not know that the Bergens are no longer their enemies, having been separated from the other Pop Trolls when they fled the final Trollstice. They also meet the colony's leader, Viva, who reveals herself to be Poppy's long-lost sister. At first, Poppy is delighted, but the visit turns sour when Viva refuses to believe the Bergens have changed, and tries to stop Poppy's group from leaving the golf course. They manage to escape thanks to Clay, who has agreed to help, and Poppy and Viva sadly part ways. Meanwhile, Velvet and Veneer continue to strip Floyd of his essence, and Velvet reveals that she forged Floyd's handwriting and sent a letter to John Dory, in order to bait Floyd's brothers to come and rescue him. Furthermore, the siblings' assistant Crimp invents shoulder-pad suits that enhance the extraction, which they plan to use when they capture all of BroZone. The Trolls almost made it to Mount Rageous, but once again argue and fail to perform the Perfect Family Harmony. When his brothers decide they will split up again after saving Floyd, Branch scolds them for still treating him like a baby, revealing to them that he lived his whole life alone after their grandmother got eaten. Poppy and Tiny help Branch make it to Mount Rageous and locate Floyd, but Velvet and Veneer capture the rest of Branch's brothers, making a rescue even more difficult. Branch and Poppy soon confront Velvet and Veneer when they start mingling with their fans, prompting them to drive away in their luxury vehicle. During the ensuing chase, Velvet and Veneer begin using the shoulder-pads to extract the essence from Branch's brothers in order to put on a show, while Branch and Poppy are soon helped by Viva, who joined forces with Bridget and Gristle after they stumbled onto the golf course during their

honeymoon A honeymoon is a vacation taken by newlyweds after their wedding to celebrate their marriage. Today, honeymoons are often celebrated in destinations considered exotic or romantic. In a similar context, it may also refer to the phase in a couple ...

. The three rescue Branch's brothers, except for Floyd. Seeing that Floyd is just about out of essence, Branch tells his brothers that they all simply need to be in harmony. They, along with Poppy and Viva, perform the Perfect Family Harmony and break free of their prisons just as Floyd loses the last of his essence, killing him, but he is quickly revived. Veneer, who had been second-guessing Velvet's machinations, publicly confesses everything, and the siblings are sent to prison as Branch and Poppy share their first kiss. The Trolls return to Vacay Island and witness BroZone's comeback concert, joined by Kismet, another band Branch was once part of.

Voice cast

Production

On April 9, 2020,

expressed interest in participating in the future ''Trolls'' films during his

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 would be released in theaters on November 17, 2023.

and Justin Timberlake were confirmed to reprise their voice roles as Poppy and Branch, respectively. On March 28, 2023, with the release of the first official trailer, new cast members of the film were officially announced, including

, and

returned to direct the third film after doing so for its predecessor, while

Gina Shay Gina Shay is an American producer at DreamWorks Animation specializing in animated feature films. She was nominated for the Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature award due to her contributions for th ...

returned to serve as producer. Tim Heitz was later announced as co-director. The same day of these announcements,

revealed the official title, ''Trolls Band Together''. According to Shay, the idea for the film came about right after ''

Trolls A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human be ...

'' (2016). Although ''Trolls Band Together'' was predominantly CGI animation, the film includes some 2D animation sequences done by Titmouse, Inc., with animation styles inspired by '' Yellow Submarine'' (1968) and ''

'' (1940). Additional animation was done by

Music

On March 6, 2023,

was confirmed to compose the score for ''Trolls Band Together'', returning from its predecessor. On September 14, 2023, following the release of the second trailer, DreamWorks announced that

NSYNC NSYNC ( ; also stylized as *NSYNC or N Sync) was an American vocal group and pop boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. The group consists of Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, ...

would perform an original song for the film, called " Better Place" marking the group's first song in 22 years.

Release

Marketing

Universal and DreamWorks collaborated with several brands and product partnerships to promote the film for its marketing campaign, including ShineWater Beverages, ICEE,

Shake Shack Shake Shack is an American multinational fast casual restaurant chain based in New York City. It started out as a hot dog cart inside Madison Square Park in 2001, and its popularity steadily grew. In 2004, it received a permit to open a permane ...

Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., or simply Southwest, is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States that formerly operated on a low-cost carrier model. It is headquartered in the Love Field, Dallas, Love Field neighborhood ...

Candy Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a Confectionery, confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum ...

, CAMP Store, and Puma, as well as the international brands such as Zing Flowers. A video game based on the film, titled ''Trolls: Remix Rescue'', was released on October 27, 2023 by DreamWorks Animation and Game Mill Entertainment for

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

and 5,

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...

and Series X,

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

, and PC. In this game, which takes place after the events of the second film ''Trolls World Tour'', Poppy, Branch, and the player character must embark on a quest to save the Troll Kingdom from Chaz the Smooth Jazz Troll when he tries to take over the place by hypnotizing the residents with his saxophone.

Theatrical

''Trolls Band Together'' began releasing in international markets, starting with Denmark on October 12, 2023, and made its premiere in

on November 12, and was then released in the United States on November 17. After ''

'' (2020) was simultaneously released on

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...

in addition to a limited number of theaters due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, this film returned to being released exclusively in theaters.

Home media

''Trolls Band Together'' was released on VOD on December 19, 2023. The film was released on

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 ...

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

4K UHD Ultra-high-definition television (also known as Ultra HD television, Ultra HD, UHDTV, UHD and Super Hi-Vision) today includes 4K UHD and 8K UHD, which are two digital video formats with an aspect ratio of 16:9. These were first proposed by ...

on January 16, 2024. It was added to Peacock on March 15, 2024. As part of Universal's deal with

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 ...

, the film will stream 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 ...

for the first four months starting on of the pay-TV window, before moving to Netflix for the next ten starting in July 2024, and returning to Peacock for the remaining four starting in April 2025.

Reception

Box office

''Trolls Band Together'' grossed $103 million in the United States and Canada, and $106.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide gross of $209.5 million. In the United States and Canada, ''Trolls Band Together'' was released alongside '' Next Goal Wins'', '' The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes'', and ''

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

'', and was projected to gross $27–32 million from 3,800 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $9.4 million on its first day, including $1.3 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut $30.6 million, finishing second behind ''The Hunger Games''. The film made $17.8 million in its second weekend (a drop of 40.6%), finishing in fourth.

Critical response

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, same as the first film, while those polled by

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 ...

gave it an 85% overall positive score, with 67% saying they would definitely recommend the film.

Frank Scheck Frank Scheck is an American film critic. He is best known for his reviews in the ''New York Post'' and ''The Hollywood Reporter''. He formerly edited ''STAGES Magazine'' and worked as a theater critic for the ''Christian Science Monitor ''Th ...

of ''

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 ...

'' gave the film a positive review, writing, "Elizabeth Tippet's screenplay garners laughs thanks to the sheer volume of jokes (the hit-to-miss ratio is pretty unbalanced), and there are several amusing one-liners about the music business." Tatiana Hullender of ''

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and comic books. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publications including Comic Book Resources, Collider, MovieWeb and XDA Developers. ...

'' rated the film 2.5 out of 5 score, writing "''Trolls Band Together'' shows clear signs of franchise fatigue, but a few new songs and vivid animation choices keep it afloat a little longer."

Accolades

Unlike the last two films, Trolls Band Together has gotten the most wins with five with one of them being for its

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

at the

2024 Billboard Music Awards The 31st ''Billboard'' Music Awards took place on December 12, 2024. Hosted by Michelle Buteau and presented by Marriott Bonvoy, the event was live streamed on Paramount+ and broadcast on Fox and Amazon Fire TV at 8:00 Eastern Time and Pacifi ...

for top soundtrack. Also,

once again wins for Favorite Female Voice from an Animated Movie for this film at the

2024 Kids' Choice Awards The 37th Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards ceremony was held on July 13, 2024, at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California. It aired live on Nickelodeon and in a domestic simulcast with several other Paramount Global cable networks, a ...

. The song Better Place was nominated at the

67th Annual Grammy Awards The 67th Annual Grammy Awards honored the best recordings, compositions, and artists from September 16, 2023, to August 30, 2024, as chosen by the members of the Recording Academy, on February 2, 2025. In its 22nd year at Crypto.com Arena in L ...

for best song written for visual media.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Portal bar, Film, United States, Cartoon, Animation, Comedy Trolls (franchise) 2023 films 2023 3D films 2023 computer-animated films 2023 American animated films 2020s fantasy comedy films 2020s musical comedy films 2020s children's animated films 3D animated films American 3D films American computer-animated films American sequel films Animated films about trolls Films about weddings Films about boy bands Films based on toys Anime-influenced animated films DreamWorks Animation films Universal Pictures animated films Universal Pictures films Animated films about music and musicians American children's animated comedy films American children's animated fantasy films American children's animated musical films American fantasy comedy films American musical comedy films American romantic comedy films American romantic musical films Animated buddy films Jukebox musical films Films scored by Theodore Shapiro 2020s English-language films 4DX films Films directed by Walt Dohrn English-language musical comedy films English-language fantasy comedy films Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award–winning films 2023 musical films