— by Kirsten Hawkes
PARENT PREVIEWS –
Making Media Entertainment An Easier Choice For Families
Trolls
World Tour
PG
OVERALL RATING:
B+
UNIVERSAL PICTURES
Released on DVD:
July 7, 2020
VIOLENCE: (B) A character uses sonic blasts to destroy troll lands. A troll gets bitten on the backside.
A troll is dragged off. A character kidnaps and cages other trolls. Main characters are locked up in a
cell. A fanged guitar growls when a string is put on it. A rock concert is held in a stadium that could
look scary to some children. A main character is blasted by an electric charge.
SEXUAL CONTENT: (A ) None noted.
LANGUAGE: (A) None noted.
ALCOHOL / DRUG USE: (A) None noted.
For additional
information on this
film’s content, visit
www.parentpreviews.com
Trolls World Tour is a
day-glo musical fantasy
for kids. Eye-poppingly
colorful, relentlessly cheerful,
and filled with music-video-style
montages, it will have young viewers
happily bopping along to the tunes. Is
it a great movie? No. But it could be
a useful one.
The story, such as it is, is based on
a piece of Troll history. All of the six Troll
tribes used to live in harmony until conflict
over music led to a sundering of the groups.
But now, Queen Barb (voiced by Rachel
Bloom) of the Hard Rock Trolls is determined
to seize all the magical music strings,
play one power chord on her guitar, and forcibly
unite all trolls under rock. As the kingdoms
fall before her sonic blasts, only Queen
Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and her faithful
friend, Branch (Justin Timberlake) are willing
to resist.
Trolls World Tour holds no surprises for
adults but there’s a lot here for kids to enjoy.
The movie is beautifully animated, with a
crafty, hand-sewn aesthetic that’s fun to look
at. The music, although oddly homogeneous
despite its varied genres, is pleasantly rhythmic
and gives young viewers something to
dance to or clap along with. And aside from
brief moments of peril, there’s virtually nothing
here to give youngsters nightmares.
The real reason to watch this film is for
the messages it repeatedly imparts to children.
As she begins her quest to save music,
Poppy is filled with sunny optimism — she
will find Barb, convince her that trolls are all
the same, and become her best friend. But
as Poppy travels through the troll lands and
meets country trolls, and funk trolls and K-
pop trolls, she realizes that trolls aren’t all the
same — they have different musical tastes
and believe different versions of their shared
history. A funk troll finally admonishes her,
“Denying our differences is denying the truth
of who we are.” Poppy learns that “real harmony
takes lots of voices… different voices.”
If you’re trying to teach your children to truly
value diversity instead of papering over differences,
this is the movie for you.
Poppy also learns a critical lesson about
the importance of listening to others. After repeatedly
ignoring the advice of her friends, to
the detriment of her mission, she realizes that
she can’t be a good queen unless she makes
an effort to understand the opinions of others.
“You have to be able to listen to other
voices even if they don’t agree with you,” she
finally says. Parents dealing with squabbling
children might find this message alone worth
the price of the movie.
Decades ago, Mary Poppins sang that
“a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go
down.” There’s certainly a fair bit of medicine/messaging
in this film, not to mention
the product placement that will doubtless annoy
parents more than their offspring. But it’s
all mixed in with so much bright, sweet candy
coating that it’s unlikely any kids are going to
object. If they internalize any of these messages,
their parents will enjoy the resulting
harmony.
TALK ABOUT THE MOVIE
WITH YOUR FAMILY…
Do you have a favorite type
of music? What do you like about
it? How does it make you feel?
Poppy has a hard time listening
to what Branch is trying to
tell her. Why can it be hard to listen to other
people? What can you do to focus on what
they are trying to say and how they feel?
WATCH AT HOME…
For the first installment of Poppy and
Branch’s adventures, check out Trolls.
If you’re looking for more feel-good
movies with commercial tie-ins, you can
watch UglyDolls. Its advertorial nature is
somewhat balanced by its positive messages
of self-acceptance.
Music takes center stage in Sing, an
animated movie in which various critters
compete in a talent competition to find the
best vocalist. Jim Henson’s beloved Muppets
sing and dance their way through The
Muppet Movie and its many sequels.
Disney’s Fantasia and Fantasia 2000
offer highly imaginative animated interpretations
of musical pieces.
LOVED THE MOVIE?
TRY THESE BOOKS…
Young fans of the movie will be happy
to dive into the many book tie-ins that are
available. Poppy’s Big Day provides preschoolers
with an introduction to the characters
and plot of the film. They can also
try Trolls World Tour Little Golden Book.
Slightly older readers will want to show off
their reading skills with Trolls World Tour:
the Junior Novelization by David Lewman.
July 2020 WNY Family 35