They are colorful, were successful in the 1990s and have been making a big comeback in popular culture since 2016. Who are you? The Trolls, and thanks to the voices of Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake, are back in a third animated feature film that promises to have moviegoers singing and dancing… just in time for the holidays!
PHOTO PROVIDED BY DREAMWORKS ANIMATION
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Although troll dolls have been around since 1959 (they were created by Thomas Dam, a Danish fisherman!), they only became popular in the 1990s before falling into relative obscurity. When DreamWorks Animation acquired the rights to Trolls in 2013, no one knew they would be the subject of a film three years later. The $125 million animated film was a hit, grossing $346 million at the worldwide box office. In April 2020, the pandemic and lockdown forced studios to innovate and Trolls 2: World Tour became the first film to be presented on digital platforms instead of in cinemas. “Film fans needed something that would allow them to escape, feel good and have fun. The cast and crew of this new Troll were fully aware of this,” said Walt Dohrn, director of the second feature film and Trolls 3: New Tour.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY DREAMWORKS ANIMATION
The history
Since it is a sequel, in “Trolls 3: New Tour” the friendship between Poppy (voice of Anna Kendrick in the original version and Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse in ours) and Branche (voice of Justin Timberlake) turns into love, where the two trolls now take the form of a couple. And Poppy discovers that Branch has a secret past. He was part of the “boy band” BroZone (!) with his four brothers Floyd (voice of Troye Sivan), John Dory (voice of Eric André), Bruce (voice of Daveed Diggs) and Clay (voice of Kid Cudi). . But Branche hasn’t seen his brothers since the group disbanded. And when Floyd is kidnapped by villains Velvet (voice of Amy Schumer) and Veneer (voice of Andrew Rannells), Branch and Poppy must act.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY DREAMWORKS ANIMATION
The inspiration
Visually, some sequences were created in 2D animation, which, according to Walt Dohrn, are reminiscent of animated films such as the Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine” and even Fantasia, the Disney studio classic. For the script, Elizabeth Tippet had fun developing the characters. “Anna looks a lot more like Branch in real life, while Justin looks more like Poppy,” says the filmmaker. Producer Gina Shay noted, “Justin has really embraced his past as a boy band singer and also brings a self-deprecating comedy that only someone who’s been through that can pull off.”
The new characters
PHOTO PROVIDED BY DREAMWORKS ANIMATION
Velvet and Veneer “want to become famous without lifting a finger. “Amy Schumer and Andrew Rannells use their dark humor to serve these two characters,” explains Gina Shay. Another new addition is Viva (voice of Camila Cabello), Poppy’s sister. “It’s a character that’s very close to my heart,” the producer said. I have siblings that I didn’t know and that I met about 15 years ago. It was a total shock how similar we were in our behavior and physical appearance. It turned my life upside down.” RuPaul also lends his voice to Miss Maxine, a newcomer about whom nothing is currently known.
The music
Due to the “boy band” theme, “the film is a tribute to family groups like the Bee Gees and The Jackson 5. Justin Timberlake and the music team also wanted to celebrate pop music across the decades.” And as the film progresses, we hear music from the 1970s to the early 2000s,” the producer said.
Trolls 3: New Tour hits theaters across the province on November 17th.