a caterpillar ride in the land of trolls

TROLLS 3 – THE “WORLD”’S OPINION – MUST SEE

Inspired by local folklore, the Danish Thomas Dam (1915-1989), a lumberjack, began by carving a wooden troll doll for his daughter, before conquering the world market. The United States became infatuated with it, Barbie felt the wind, then counterfeits proliferated and their memory faded over time. The DreamWorks studio is relaunching them in cinemas in 2016, in the form of an animated, psychedelic and zany trilogy, aimed at little ones. The first part attracted 2.7 million spectators in France, the second, 1 million in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Here is the third part, which offers the same nice combination: pop atmosphere, wacky logic, discreet parody of the world of show biz, characters as tall as three apples with baroque hairstyles, colorful settings, list of danceable hits concocted and arranged by Justin Timberlake, quietly minimalist plot. The whole thing looks like a sour candy that you would enjoy without thinking about anything specific.

It is therefore a question of finding familiar characters in a new adventure. Poppy and Branche, two trolls who have just become a couple, attend the wedding of Brigitte and Graillon Jr, two creatures called Bergens who ate the trolls in the first part, but who have since mended their ways, both having become friends like pigs.

A fraternal boy band

In the meantime, a troll named John Dory shows up and reveals himself to be Branche’s older brother, who had kept his past as a child star of a fraternal boy band named Brozone a secret from Poppy. The group had broken up on bad terms, but John now calls on Branch to rescue Floyd, their brother, who has been kidnapped by Velvet and Veneer, a duo of green-haired, self-centered and uninteresting pop stars, who steals their talent from singing trolls by locking them in a diamond and draining them of their energy.

Everyone therefore embarks in a giant caterpillar which has a turbo mode – a creature brazenly stolen from the master Hayao Miyazaki – to the lair of the two famous sour-fins, for a muscular explanation, and with the hope of subsequently reforming their group, once found “perfect family harmony”. Who would oppose such a program?