“Trolls Band Together” continues the colorful, playful theme of the series with a new twist: boybands. Bringing back the jukebox musical feel the past two movies created, this movie tops its predecessors in all things wacky.
The third installment of the series, Band Together, recaptures the silly style and vibe the second movie was lacking and continues the charm the characters have always had. As with the last two movies, Trolls Band Together continues the musical genre themed plot; this one being boybands. With Justin Timberlake headlining the cast, that’s right, NSYNC is back. Their reunion track marks the first song the group has put out in almost two decades.
This is where the movie falls short, and the plot is thrown out the window. The story and message take a backseat to the various boyband gags thrown in for laughs. It felt like the plot was interrupting one huge boyband reunion. It might be a children’s movie, but a definitive start and finish is part of every movie. Having a loud color pallet and NSYNC is not an excuse for a muddled plot. There must be structure, especially in a movie with an hour and a half runtime.
While the movie might fall short in story, the music is always a strength of the series. The franchise has always featured fun covers of popular songs. Being an 80’s themed movie, the covers ranged from “Push It,” “9 to 5,” one of the better ones, and “We Are Family. “The renditions were fun to watch and reinforced that ‘family movie identity.’
The visuals and animation are very well done. The colors pop, and the trolls are all extremely animated, bringing bubbly personalities to the screen. Visual overstimulation takes center stage. Lots of glitter, sparkles and clashing colors make for some sugar rush inspired imagery, adding to the silly atmosphere the movie creates.
One surprise was the number of innuendos littered throughout the movie. Every animated film has them, but the jokes in the movie felt forced. While some were done in good taste, the majority felt unnecessary.
This is the most enjoyable Trolls film so far, from the enthusiastic voice acting to the color pallet. Although it lacks a plot, the endless jokes and musical numbers make up for it and create a fun, fast-paced 80-minute journey anyone can enjoy.
