A TROLL-ER
Animated sequel takes us on kaleidoscopic
IF your stockpile of hallucinogens is low, don’t panic.
From tomorrow you can mainline this bizarre animated sequel through your smart TV and digital devices.
The frenetic first 15 minutes may be enough to leave you slavering face down into your living room carpet, with eyes swirling like a cartoon hypnotist.
After an opening song and dance routine where neon “techno trolls” rave underwater to Daft Punk, the film switches into full psychotropic mode. Returning trolls Branch and Poppy (Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick) lead their multi-coloured troops in a kaleidoscopic pop medley that begins with Cyndi Lauper, ends with DeeLite and pauses briefly for a tiny rapper in sunglasses to pop out of a pregnant male troll’s head.
If two weeks of lockdown has left you feeling a little unusual, things are going to get a whole lot weirder. DreamWorks’ Trolls: World Tour, which was supposed to be the big Easter release at the cinemas, follows the standard sequel template.
The fantasy world has been expanded, there are more star voices, a lot more songs and a brand new villain.
But, as with Disney’s Frozen 2, bigger doesn’t mean better.
While there are some decent original tunes, none of them has that “sunshine in your pocket” catchiness of Timberlake’s last earworm.
Early on, we learn that our tiny heroes aren’t the only flame-haired music fans on the block.
There are now five tribes, separated by region and genre – funk, country, techno, classical and rock. When Barb (Rachel Bloom), queen of