Trolls

Princess Poppy (voiced by Anna Kendrick) is the happiest troll lady ever. Her world is made up of singing, dancing, and (preferably) hugs. In addition, she is a master of scrapbooks and thus guides her family through colorful everyday life. One day this will be her undoing, according to Curmudgeon Branch (voice of Justin Timberlake), because the people of the trolls have had to hide from the evil “mountains” for twenty years, who only find happiness when they eat a troll. Since the great escape from back then, the trolls have been able to hide so well that none of the mountains could snag a little lucky charm.

But now Poppy has thrown the best, biggest, and, above all, the loudest party of all time and thus caught the attention of the Bergen cook (Christine Baransky’s voice). She shows up, grabs a handful of trolls, and wants to bring happiness back to her people. Poppy now has to team up with Branch of all people to save her friends, for which they not only have to sneak into the middle of the mountains but also want to help a kitchen hand find love there. But is all this even possible as a small, singing troll?

Anyone who has seen the trailer for Trolls knows what to expect in the final film. Nevertheless, he does a lot of things right to be considered entertaining and undemanding. A little more courage in terms of the implied sarcasm and a somewhat more sophisticated story would certainly have done the film well. For a first appearance, the Trolls are surprisingly entertaining.

• Trolls