{"id":46377,"date":"2020-04-15T12:38:22","date_gmt":"2020-04-15T16:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/?p=46377"},"modified":"2020-04-15T12:38:26","modified_gmt":"2020-04-15T16:38:26","slug":"trolls-world-tour-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/2020\/04\/trolls-world-tour-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Trolls World Tour review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Bob Garver<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            In an era where theaters are closed and studios are pushing back their hottest movies until next year, Universal has made the bold decision to release its animated would-be blockbuster \u201cTrolls World Tour\u201d straight to On Demand so it can capitalize on an audience with dwindling entertainment options. At $19.95 per order (though each order allows multiple people to watch i.e. families gathered around one big TV), the studio stands to make a pretty penny off of being the newest game in town. I applaud Universal for choosing to reach and entertain customers at a time when movies are officially considered nonessential, but unofficially have an essential role to play in helping us maintain our sanity. That said, I don\u2019t necessarily applaud the film itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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            Following the events of 2016\u2019s \u201cTrolls,\u201d Queen Poppy (Anna Kendrick) lovingly rules over the Pop Trolls with her best friend Branch (Justin Timberlake), who wants to be more than friends. But the easy, everything-is-perfect existence is threatened by Queen Barb (Rachel Bloom) of the Rock Trolls (as in Rock \u2018n Roll, not the types of Rock Trolls that blemished \u201cFrozen\u201d), who wants to steal the magic guitar strings that are the essence of music for all the Troll Kingdoms. Poppy doesn\u2019t want a war, so she goes on a journey to broker a peace that would allow all the Troll Kingdoms to live harmoniously under Pop music, which no doubt everybody loves and will unite everybody in one big party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            The journey takes Poppy, Branch, and their friends Biggie (James Corden) and Cooper (Ron Funches) through the other Troll Kingdoms like Classical, Country, Techno, and Funk. Certain subgenres are represented by bounty hunters hired by Barb, including Smooth Jazz, Yodeling, and\u2026K-Pop? You\u2019d think K-Pop would fit in with the Pop Kingdom since \u201cPop\u201d is right there in the name, but we get a Red Velvet cameo out of the disparity, so I can\u2019t be too mad. Other industry cameos include Kelly Clarkson on behalf of Country, George Clinton and Mary J. Blige on behalf of Funk, J Balvin on behalf of Reggaeton, and Ozzy Osbourne on behalf of Smooth Jazz. Wait, sorry, my notes are wrong, I mean on behalf of Rock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along the way Poppy has to learn the hard lesson that not everybody likes Pop music, and some even like music that she doesn\u2019t like. But it\u2019s okay, we should celebrate our differences, dance to our own beat, etc. It\u2019s a good thing the movie goes in that direction, because I was feeling increasingly annoyed with being expected to root for Poppy against Queen Barb, who lovingly dotes over her aging father, has the funniest lines and voice performance, and depending on your taste, the best songs on the soundtrack. The movie spends way too much time on tiresome in-fighting between Poppy and Branch (egged on by a too-helpful-to-be-true cowboy voiced by Sam Rockwell) and not enough time on Barb and her \u201cWorld Tour\u201d of capturing the other kingdoms\u2019 guitar strings, which should have been the meat of the movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTrolls World Tour\u201d has the look, sound, and cast of a big screen release, but the half-hearted script of a movie that goes straight to On Demand. I often found myself doing that \u201cmove along\u201d hand gesture in anticipation of the story beats (\u201cGet to the obstacle\u2026 get to the twist\u2026 get to hitting us over the head with your unoriginal lesson\u201d), with the jokes, songs, and visuals doing nothing to prevent me from being bored. Maybe this is a movie that should have waited for the big screen, because its most prominent feature is its colorful visual style, which isn\u2019t effective on a mere TV. The best thing I can say about this movie is that it\u2019s better than nothing in an era where \u201cnothing\u201d happens to be very powerful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grade: C-<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTrolls World Tour\u201d is rated PG for some mild rude humor. Its running time is 90 minutes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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