TROLLS: PARTY EDITION (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD)
Release Date: February 7, 2016
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Video: 2.39:1 1080p Widescreen
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Danish DTS 5.1, Finnish DTS 5.1, Norwegian DTS 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1, Swedish DTS 5.1
THE RATINGS
The Movie Itself - ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Video Quality - ★ ★ ★ ★ ✰
Audio Quality - ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Special Features - ★ ★ ★ ½ ✰
Overall - ★ ★ ★ ★ ½
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THE FILM ITSELF Our Reviewer's Take
Colorful fun for all ages.
Colorful fun for all ages.
Reviewed by Gavin King
To be completely frank, I wasn't alive at the time when the Good-Luck Trolls were, for lack of a better term, a thing. My 2007-2013 elementary school years were generally not the time when those sometimes creepy looking fellows were being gossiped around from classroom desk to the other. So, no, I didn't live in a prepubescent time and day where the big-haired creatures were clipped on to my backpack, designed on my lunchbox, or stuffed in my pockets (or, at least I think that's what kids my age did with those little things back then?). Now today's market saturation culture is filled to the brim with brands like Barbie, Transformers (thanks, Michael Bay), Frozen, and even Monster Jam, all of which have caught the eye and uttered the "Mom, can we get the Optimus Prime action figure? Pleeeeeaaaase?" phrase out of kids on trips to Wal-Mart or Target. Now those Trolls are getting a comeback to the discount store's toy aisle, thanks to DreamWorks Animation's newest film, fittingly titled Trolls, starring the voice talents of Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Russell Brand, James Corden, and Gwen Stefani. Trolls merchandise has now occupied shelves among shelves of aisles at toy stores, and for good reason. It's an infectiously fun, constantly entertaining, toe-tapping, and really lovable little heartwarmer of a film that will dazzle the kids with its beautiful visuals and spot-on gags and more than satisfy the adults with an endless array of inspired songs and/or well-performed spin-offs that makes for fun for the whole family.
Once upon a time, there lived a happy, always-positive race of lovable little creatures known as the Trolls. Their hobbies consisted of singing, dancing, hugging, and other things that make the entire race of Trolls feel warm and joyful inside. However, these Trolls were soon discovered by the Bergens; a miserable, gloomy race of unhappy ogre-like creatures that only gain smiles on their faces by eating the optimistic Trolls on a day those Bergens like to call Trollstice. 20 years ago, though, was the last time that Trollstice would occur, as the Bergen's royal chef named, well, Chef (voiced by Christine Baranksi), lets the Trolls escape from becoming Bergen food, therefore kicking Chef out of Bergen Town for eternity as a punishment. Today, the Trolls live a wonderful life in the Troll Tree, led by their insanely bubbly and joyous leader, Poppy (voiced by Anna Kendrick), who shares her love with all of the other Trolls by hugging every hour and throwing outrageously fun parties. Her polar opposite, Branch (voiced by Justin Timberlake), however, isn't very fond of the always-happy leader. He prefers to stay alone in his heavily-fortified, highly-camoflauged, Bergen-proof survial bunker, prevented from all of the loud joy Poppy and the rest of the Trolls spunk out. But one day, while the Trolls are throwing the biggest, the loudest, the craziest party ever, a busy Chef spots them. The maniacal Bergen invades Troll Village, taking with her the Zen-loving Creek (voiced by Russell Brand), glittery Guy Diamond (voiced by Kunal Nayyar), music-busting DJ Suki (voiced by Gwen Stefani), fashion twins Satin (voiced by Aino Jawo) and Chenille (voiced by Caroline Hjelt), the lovable blue Biggie (voiced by James Corden) and his tiny sidekick, Mr. Dinkles (voiced by Walt Dohrn), cupcake-pooping giraffe-like Troll Cooper (voiced by Ron Funches), and the "OMG" screaming Smidge (also voiced by Walt Dohrn). Now with their loyal friends at the stake of becoming a Troll Brulee or any other kind of Troll entree, Poppy and Branch must join forces and set their opposite moods aside to save their friends from being put in the crooked-teethed mouths of Bergens, and show to everyone that true happiness can be found inside all of us, even the most stalwart of people.
The eternally optomistic Poppy...
Once upon a time, there lived a happy, always-positive race of lovable little creatures known as the Trolls. Their hobbies consisted of singing, dancing, hugging, and other things that make the entire race of Trolls feel warm and joyful inside. However, these Trolls were soon discovered by the Bergens; a miserable, gloomy race of unhappy ogre-like creatures that only gain smiles on their faces by eating the optimistic Trolls on a day those Bergens like to call Trollstice. 20 years ago, though, was the last time that Trollstice would occur, as the Bergen's royal chef named, well, Chef (voiced by Christine Baranksi), lets the Trolls escape from becoming Bergen food, therefore kicking Chef out of Bergen Town for eternity as a punishment. Today, the Trolls live a wonderful life in the Troll Tree, led by their insanely bubbly and joyous leader, Poppy (voiced by Anna Kendrick), who shares her love with all of the other Trolls by hugging every hour and throwing outrageously fun parties. Her polar opposite, Branch (voiced by Justin Timberlake), however, isn't very fond of the always-happy leader. He prefers to stay alone in his heavily-fortified, highly-camoflauged, Bergen-proof survial bunker, prevented from all of the loud joy Poppy and the rest of the Trolls spunk out. But one day, while the Trolls are throwing the biggest, the loudest, the craziest party ever, a busy Chef spots them. The maniacal Bergen invades Troll Village, taking with her the Zen-loving Creek (voiced by Russell Brand), glittery Guy Diamond (voiced by Kunal Nayyar), music-busting DJ Suki (voiced by Gwen Stefani), fashion twins Satin (voiced by Aino Jawo) and Chenille (voiced by Caroline Hjelt), the lovable blue Biggie (voiced by James Corden) and his tiny sidekick, Mr. Dinkles (voiced by Walt Dohrn), cupcake-pooping giraffe-like Troll Cooper (voiced by Ron Funches), and the "OMG" screaming Smidge (also voiced by Walt Dohrn). Now with their loyal friends at the stake of becoming a Troll Brulee or any other kind of Troll entree, Poppy and Branch must join forces and set their opposite moods aside to save their friends from being put in the crooked-teethed mouths of Bergens, and show to everyone that true happiness can be found inside all of us, even the most stalwart of people.
Immediately from frame one of Trolls, it's right-off-the-bat obvious that a whole lot of care and heart went into making the film. The film's character design is bubbly, irresistible, and downright inspired, something that's a bit of a rarity in today's day and age of simply bleh cinema, particuarly from animated mehs like Igor or Gnomeo and Juliet. It entertains its viewers not only by its terrific character delivery but also by the uniqueness that is the film's art style and animation. Few other [animated] movies feel this colorful and alive, and Trolls simply nails the process of making the perfect animated film in terms of technical power and powress. Even with somewhat blander looking scenes like the one-on-ones with the grumpy Bergens, there's not a single scene that disappoints when it comes to the film's computer generated imagery or the way it makes the absolute best of its imaginary environments that simply transport the viewer from the viewing environment to the imaginative world of the Trolls.
Trolls never fails from a writing perspective. Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger do a fantastic job with brimming out the balance between its characters, between the happy, ever-so-positive Trolls and the upset, pessimistic Bergens. The movie never once feels uneven or forced. Every joke and/or gag feels timely and clever, whether refrences to famous songs (the film features a great nod to Gorillaz' Clint Eastwood in a Bergen Town scene) or sillier, more light gags for the kiddies in the audience. Much like the fantastic The Secret Life of Pets, Trolls is another contender on the list of films that kids and adults alike can equally enjoy, thanks to the exceptional collection of remixed and original songs that will likely leave some saving up some money to buy the soundtrack.
Above all, though, Trolls is a wonderful movie not just in a technical sense but also in its heartfelt message of happiness and embracing it. The film never leaves the audience purposely depressed or unsatisfied with the film's outcome. The film takes all of the animated film cliches and sets them aside for a refreshingly unique, beautifully animated, and on-the-whole joyful little surprise of an animated feature sure to overjoy kids and even leave a smile on adults' faces as well. It's infectiously irresistible though never reverts to that annoyingly generic or stale state where it has feeling of "we've all seen this before" or have audiences compare it to other films non-respectfully. Add all of that to great voice performances and one heck of a tearjerking final act sure to earn a tear in possibly even the most reluctant of viewers, Trolls is without a doubt one of the better movies of 2016 and an absolute surprise in a year of mostly unoriginal and uninspired junk cinema.
TROLLS Blu-ray - Video Quality
Trolls' 1080p/2.39:1-framed digital-to-digital transfer unfortunately comes up a little short of perfection. Don't get me wrong, the film is extremely colorful, and details are wonderfully abundant on various surfaces, but the presentation is, more often than not, a little prone to aliasing. It's noticable but not overly bothersome, likely to catch the eyes of very ardent videophiles but likely to be shrugged off by fans of the film. Aside from that, everything looks really great. Trolls is, arguably, one of the most colorful films of 2016, and the Blu-ray just proves it right away with a fantastically vibrant color pallette that never once has an ounce of disappointment. Poppy pinks. Branch grays. Biggie blues. Mr. Dinkles yellows. The film's excellently wide array of colors are presented extraordinarily well on the Blu-ray, showcasing all of the blood, sweat, and tears, the DreamWorks Animation animators put into bringing the world of the Trolls to life. Details are terrific as well. Arguably one of the best examples is DJ Suki's wool headphones (visible in this screenshot to the left). They're a fabulously detailed white wooly texture that makes for a highlight in what is already a largely detailed world of Trolls, Bergens, and greenery around Troll Village and Bergen Town (well, maybe we can call it grayery, judging on the intentional gloominess of the place). Black levels hold up fairly well, and besides that aliasing mentioned earlier, there are no compression anomalies like banding interfering with what is another terrific encode from DreamWorks and another example of how digital animation can look so great on Blu-ray even this far into the format's lifespan.
...and the curmudgeonly Branch!
Trolls never fails from a writing perspective. Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger do a fantastic job with brimming out the balance between its characters, between the happy, ever-so-positive Trolls and the upset, pessimistic Bergens. The movie never once feels uneven or forced. Every joke and/or gag feels timely and clever, whether refrences to famous songs (the film features a great nod to Gorillaz' Clint Eastwood in a Bergen Town scene) or sillier, more light gags for the kiddies in the audience. Much like the fantastic The Secret Life of Pets, Trolls is another contender on the list of films that kids and adults alike can equally enjoy, thanks to the exceptional collection of remixed and original songs that will likely leave some saving up some money to buy the soundtrack.
Above all, though, Trolls is a wonderful movie not just in a technical sense but also in its heartfelt message of happiness and embracing it. The film never leaves the audience purposely depressed or unsatisfied with the film's outcome. The film takes all of the animated film cliches and sets them aside for a refreshingly unique, beautifully animated, and on-the-whole joyful little surprise of an animated feature sure to overjoy kids and even leave a smile on adults' faces as well. It's infectiously irresistible though never reverts to that annoyingly generic or stale state where it has feeling of "we've all seen this before" or have audiences compare it to other films non-respectfully. Add all of that to great voice performances and one heck of a tearjerking final act sure to earn a tear in possibly even the most reluctant of viewers, Trolls is without a doubt one of the better movies of 2016 and an absolute surprise in a year of mostly unoriginal and uninspired junk cinema.
TROLLS Blu-ray - Video Quality
Trolls' 1080p/2.39:1-framed digital-to-digital transfer unfortunately comes up a little short of perfection. Don't get me wrong, the film is extremely colorful, and details are wonderfully abundant on various surfaces, but the presentation is, more often than not, a little prone to aliasing. It's noticable but not overly bothersome, likely to catch the eyes of very ardent videophiles but likely to be shrugged off by fans of the film. Aside from that, everything looks really great. Trolls is, arguably, one of the most colorful films of 2016, and the Blu-ray just proves it right away with a fantastically vibrant color pallette that never once has an ounce of disappointment. Poppy pinks. Branch grays. Biggie blues. Mr. Dinkles yellows. The film's excellently wide array of colors are presented extraordinarily well on the Blu-ray, showcasing all of the blood, sweat, and tears, the DreamWorks Animation animators put into bringing the world of the Trolls to life. Details are terrific as well. Arguably one of the best examples is DJ Suki's wool headphones (visible in this screenshot to the left). They're a fabulously detailed white wooly texture that makes for a highlight in what is already a largely detailed world of Trolls, Bergens, and greenery around Troll Village and Bergen Town (well, maybe we can call it grayery, judging on the intentional gloominess of the place). Black levels hold up fairly well, and besides that aliasing mentioned earlier, there are no compression anomalies like banding interfering with what is another terrific encode from DreamWorks and another example of how digital animation can look so great on Blu-ray even this far into the format's lifespan.
TROLLS Blu-ray - Audio Quality
Trolls begins with a In the Hall of the Mountain King-like rendition entitled Hair Up that blends a variety of pop beats and orchestral/choral bits thrown into the mix. That presentation alone sets a high amount of standards for the film's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack, which presents the film's wide array of music with startling fidelity and wonderfully deep bass extension. Whether Poppy's catchy tunes like Get Back Up Again or groovy beats with the Snack Pack like I'm Coming Out/'Mo Money 'Mo Problems, the track does a phenomenal job with taking every single note, beat, and measure and manuevering it onto the track with a seamless front-end spacing and completely immersive surround elements that really does the film's excellent soundtrack justice. The listen is more than just music, though. Net components are fantastic. Chef's attack on Troll Village is a highlight, meshing together several flawless-sounding effects, like Trolls scampering away, party decorations breaking, and - noticably the most potent - the evil Bergen's throaty footsteps, which pack an impressive wallop of bass. Ambient background effects are nicely filling, too - birds chirping, chatter and clatter around Bergen Town, nighttime crickets - all of which fully saturate the stage in a 360-degree environment for the utmost immersion. Dialogue is never once buried or flattened in the mix, always obtaining a spot-on clarity and a faultess front-center prioritization focus. Nothing to complain about here. Crank the reciever up and enjoy the experience.
TROLLS Blu-ray - Special Features
Of special note is that Trolls contains a unique Party Mode feature which involves interactive activity via the viewer's remote. Viewers can, during the movie when enabled in Party Mode via the Blu-ray's main menu at certain points in the film, press the YELLOW button for a burst of glitter, the BLUE button to make cupcakes appear, the GREEN button to make Mr. Dinkles say "Oh Snap!", and the RED button to bring a high-fiving Cloud Guy. Note that this feature can only be enabled via Party Mode accessible by pressing "Play" on the film's main menu and navigating through there.
- Travel Through Troll Village is a very entertaining little piece that is narrated by the high-fiving Cloud Guy, as he narrates our way through Troll Village and the Trolls that make it the positive place it is. This piece also includes some early designs for the Trolls.
- The Potion for Stop Motion is another interesting look which focuses on the stop-motion vignettes that take place in Poppy's wonderfully designed scrapbook.
- Creating Troll Magic looks at the film's exceptionally unique art design and the world that the Trolls live in.
- Inside the Bunker features Cloud Guy returning to narrate about Branch's hugely-protective survival bunker that protects him from the Bergens.
- Deleted Scenes Unfortunately, these scenes cannot be selected individually via the film's special features menu; however, they are skippable when the compliation plays. The deleted scenes include the following: Story Time With Poppy, Bringing Back Happy, and So Many Dresses.
- Troll 2 Troll Poppy and Branch debate some of today's most burning topics; Cat or Dog, Early Bird or Night Owl, Mousse or Gel, Rectangular or Triangular Sandwiches, Stay In or Go Out, and Vanilla or Chocolate Ice Cream.
- Theatrical Trailer
- The World of DreamWorks Animation (Shrek, Madagascar, How to Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda, The Croods, Turbo, and Home.
Of special note is that Trolls contains a unique Party Mode feature which involves interactive activity via the viewer's remote. Viewers can, during the movie when enabled in Party Mode via the Blu-ray's main menu at certain points in the film, press the YELLOW button for a burst of glitter, the BLUE button to make cupcakes appear, the GREEN button to make Mr. Dinkles say "Oh Snap!", and the RED button to bring a high-fiving Cloud Guy. Note that this feature can only be enabled via Party Mode accessible by pressing "Play" on the film's main menu and navigating through there.
- Travel Through Troll Village is a very entertaining little piece that is narrated by the high-fiving Cloud Guy, as he narrates our way through Troll Village and the Trolls that make it the positive place it is. This piece also includes some early designs for the Trolls.
- The Potion for Stop Motion is another interesting look which focuses on the stop-motion vignettes that take place in Poppy's wonderfully designed scrapbook.
- Creating Troll Magic looks at the film's exceptionally unique art design and the world that the Trolls live in.
- Inside the Bunker features Cloud Guy returning to narrate about Branch's hugely-protective survival bunker that protects him from the Bergens.
- Deleted Scenes Unfortunately, these scenes cannot be selected individually via the film's special features menu; however, they are skippable when the compliation plays. The deleted scenes include the following: Story Time With Poppy, Bringing Back Happy, and So Many Dresses.
- Troll 2 Troll Poppy and Branch debate some of today's most burning topics; Cat or Dog, Early Bird or Night Owl, Mousse or Gel, Rectangular or Triangular Sandwiches, Stay In or Go Out, and Vanilla or Chocolate Ice Cream.
- Theatrical Trailer
- The World of DreamWorks Animation (Shrek, Madagascar, How to Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda, The Croods, Turbo, and Home.
TROLLS Blu-ray - Overall Recommendation
Trolls is just an irresistible little jewel of a film. It never once falls boringly flat or irritating derivative, instead rewarding viewers of all ages with an inspired message and a heartfelt story guaranteed to win the hearts of even the most fatalistic of viewers. It also delves into deeper themes not neccesairly in an Inside Out sense but in the way it explores how depression and other negativities can all be solved with a sparkle of happiness and knowing that we have people who are there to take care of us even through the most rigorous of times. It's an exceptional film not just in a technical sense in the way its art style is uniformly fantastic but also diving into its wonderful messages that can be appreiated by viewers of age 5 or age 105. DreamWorks' Blu-ray could stand to be a little less aliasing-prone in the video department, but there's no mistaking the colorful picture and startlingly beautiful details the film's digitally animated pride has to offer. Audio is practically flawless and compliments the film's terrific soundtrack extraordinarily well. Some of the Blu-ray's extras may not scream mature, fully-complex content, but what is here is a blast for kids and maybe even adults to enioy. Trolls no doubt earns my highest recommendation for a film and Blu-ray that are both fantastic in their own right.
EXTRA SCREENSHOTS (Right-click and select 'Open image in new tab' to see full size)
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