Finding her happy place
Anna Kendrick thrilled by role in animated ‘Trolls’
LOS ANGELES — In “Trolls,” Anna Kendrick sings and voices the happiest little animated troll one might imagine.
“When they asked me to do it, I was thrilled and happy to say yes. It looked like a lot of fun,” said Kendrick, 31, during a one-on-one interview at the Four Seasons.
“Then I was continually surprised by the quality they were putting into it.”
She can “totally understand” why people might be skeptical, as they were for “The Lego Movie.”
“I knew people could go and say, `Oh, they're basing an animated film off of a toy' and `It's going to skew really young' and `It's mostly about the marketing of it.'
“Luckily, DreamWorks Animation wants to preserve their stellar reputation and they went above and beyond. The humor and the music” — executive produced by Justin Timberlake and including his worldwide hit “Can't Stop the Feeling!” — “is so much fun.
“On top of that, the animation is genuinely so exquisite. Just when you think you've seen everything animation can do, they did things — I've never seen anything like this!”
This was a notable year for Kendrick, who had six films released (“Trolls,” “The Accountant,” “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates,” “The Hollars,” “Mr. Right” and “Get a Job”).
But her life-changing experience was — staying at home.
“I'm a workaholic. And it's weird this year. Because of `Pitch Perfect 3,' I've just been on hold for a year” — the start date moved from April to May to this coming January — “which has made me a little bit crazy.
“I was worried I was going to be crawling up the walls without … work! But I've actually enjoyed it, which has been making me more nervous,” she admitted with a laugh.
“I've also been buying plants. This is how I know my life is different this year. I got really into my little plants, and then I went away for a threeweek press tour and realized, `I'm going to have to get someone to water my plants.'
“And this is why I've never had plants before. Because I was like, `Why have I never had plants? They're so great, makes the house so homey.' Then I realized it's because I don't really live in my house,” she said, then laughed again.