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Trolls World Tour review: A vibrant and fun animated sequel with catchy songs

Photo credit: Universal
Photo credit: Universal

From Digital Spy

Trolls World Tour is set to be a killer pub-quiz trivia question in the years to come given the huge significance of its release.

While Universal made The Invisible Man, The Hunt and Emma. available for early digital release, those movies did at least get a theatrical release – even if it was a shortened one due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Related: How to watch Trolls World Tour online at home

But Trolls World Tour is notable for being the first major blockbuster to skip a cinema release in the UK and US entirely. (It had received cinema releases in some Asian countries in early March.)

Universal could have delayed the release like other studios have done, but the decision to make Trolls World Tour available digitally could make the colourful animated sequel an Easter hit.

Photo credit: Universal
Photo credit: Universal

Picking up after Poppy (Anna Kendrick) was made Queen of the Trolls, Trolls World Tour sees her reign challenged by the discovery that their tribe is just one of six different Troll tribes across the land.

Poppy receives an invite from Queen Barb (Rachel Bloom) of the hard rock Trolls to reunite the lands, unaware that what Barb really wants to do is destroy all of the other music by collecting each tribe's magical string. (Just go with it, honest.)

Together with the dedicated but cautious, Branch (Justin Timberlake) and Biggie (James Corden), Poppy sets off on a journey to unite all of the other tribes in harmony against Barb.

Photo credit: DreamWorks Animation
Photo credit: DreamWorks Animation

In truth, the plot only serves to get Poppy and Branch to visit each of the Troll tribes to showcase the impressive soundtrack that covers a wider variety of genres than the first movie.

As with the original, Justin Timberlake served as the executive producer, so you can be sure everything is as catchy and polished as it can be. Good luck getting the pop music medley (including 'Wannabe', 'Gangnam Style' and more) out of your head.

The joy for adults watching will be spotting the eclectic cast that populates the various tribes. There's Mary J Blige as Queen Essence of the funk Trolls, Ozzy Osbourne as King Thrash of the hard rock Trolls and Sam Rockwell as Hickory of the yodel Trolls to name but a few.

It's a brilliant cast with very few weak points, but the best of the lot is Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star Rachel Bloom as Queen Barb. She's as perfectly cast as Kendrick and Timberlake are as Poppy and Branch, getting to deliver some absolute bangers fitting of a hard rock Queen.

Photo credit: Universal
Photo credit: Universal

Trolls World Tour does get a bit bogged down in its familiar message – Poppy learns we're all different and that's OK – that gets repeated in every tribe they visit, highlighting the episodic nature of its plot.

It's also unfortunate that a big reveal is a spin on what happened in Frozen 2. It likely won't bother the children watching, but that does mean it's a step down from Trolls rather than a sequel that improves on it.

Trolls World Tour is certainly a bigger sequel though (even if it's on the small screen) as Walt Dohrn and co-director David P Smith have built a vibrant, bold and inventive world where each tribe is uniquely designed.

Photo credit: Universal
Photo credit: Universal

Together with its ridiculous catchy songs, it means that the movie is always an engaging watch.

And by the time the rousing finale rolls around, you'll want to 'Just Sing' along with the Trolls. You really can't stop the feeling.

Trolls World Tour is now available to rent from Prime Video UK, iTunes, Microsoft Store, Sky Store, Google Play and other UK streaming platforms.

Director: Walt Dohrn, David P Smith; Starring: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Rachel Bloom, Sam Rockwell, Jamie Dornan, James Corden; Running time: 91 minutes; Certificate: U


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