THE MOVIE GUY — New Trolls dance into your living room

Published 12:09 am Thursday, April 9, 2020

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I will not assert that Trolls World Tour is a good movie, but if you’re a parent who has been watching Frozen 2 on repeat for the past month, a new Trolls movie is a much-appreciated way to entertain the kiddies stuck at home. What’s more, the movie deserves credit for its relentless pace, infectious musical score and overwhelmingly cheerful nature.

Trolls World Tour may not be good, but it’s still a lot of good-natured fun.

For those who may have forgotten the original film, these movies take place in a world populated by those brightly colored Troll dolls from the 1960s. It turns out that trolls just want to sing and dance, and while that meant non-stop pop music last time around, this latest film expands upon the musical options.

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That is especially true as the queen of the hard rock trolls (Rachael Bloom) is on a quest to conquer the other troll kingdoms and make them bow down to the power of rock and roll. There are tribes of classical, hip hop, country, funk and techno trolls who just want to do their own thing, so it’s up to Princess Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and her friend (Justin Timberlake) to save the day and teach the lesson that there’s room enough for every troll’s preferred style of music.

You could extrapolate this story into a warning about cultural appropriation and the importance of celebrating diversity, but that will sail right over the heads of the kids most interested in watching this movie. For those kids, Trolls World Tour works because of the vibrant troll characters that are always doing all sorts of silly things.

The story itself could have used a bit more work. This feels very much like a screenplay-by-committee where the story only exists as a means to connect the musical numbers and the predictable plot elements. It would have been nice if the story featured the same originality as many of the silly sight gags that pop up every few moments. These gags prove to be amusing additions, but the main story is a little bland.

That won’t matter to your easily distracted kids. They should have a blast with the non-stop energy of the story. Grownups won’t be as impressed, but neither will they dismay over gathering the family for Trolls World Tour. The film has a good heart and enough music to make you want to get up and dance.

Trolls World Tour is available to stream after Friday, April 10, on Amazon, Apple TV, Xfinity, YouTube, Fandango Now, Google Play and other home streaming services.

Movie reviews by Sean, “The Movie Guy,” are published each week in The Port Arthur News and seen weekly on KFDM and Fox4. Sean welcomes your comments via email at smcbride@sbgtv.com.