TROLLS – Rated PG

TROLLS – Rated PG – 1 hr. 32 mins.

Starring the voices of ANNA KENDRICK, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, ZOE DESCHANEL, CHRISTINE BARANSKI, CHRISTOPHER MINTZ-PLASSE, RUSSELL BRAND, GWEN STEFANI, JEFFREY TAMBOR and JOHN CLEESE

As we venture into the sad, sad world of the Bergens, we find that the only way these creatures can be happy, is to eat one of the always happy, loving and song filled TROLLS for lunch or dinner…EEK!

Since being someone’s meal isn’t all that appealing, our trolls find a new and happy home, away from all these horrible creatures.

When the extremely happy and joyous Princess Poppy (Anna Kendrick) insists upon having a rather loud and boisterous party, the glum and doom Troll named Branch (Justin Timberlake) suggests that “she not do that” as making too much noise will bring the Bergens back to attack!!!

When Poppy’s party gets out to control, allowing the terribly mean and nasty Bergen named Chef (Christine Baranski) to find them, she seizes a few of our TROLLS for King Gristle’s (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) next meal…leaving Poppy with no recourse than to set out to save her hear friends from this terrible end!!

Even though he “told her so”, and he’s not really amused, Branch can’t allow Poppy to go out into the scary world alone, as they try to find their fellow TROLLS in Bergen town…before they all meet with their ultimate, terrible fate!

I give TROLLS a rating between MUST SEE ON THE BIG SCREEN and WAIT AND CATCH THIS ONE ON DVD: Well, as expected, these NEW TROLLS are just as cute and cuddly as I had hoped ~ and Kendrick and Timberlake’s performances are absolutely fab too throughout each and every frame of this film. With it’s mostly feel good message, and a few dramatic moments thrown in for good measure as well, the 3D version of TROLLS was truly enjoyable FOR ME to view the whole way through. So why the in-between rating you ask? Even though my 6-year-old niece Kennadie and I had a splendid afternoon viewing the advanced screening of this film, parts of it were rather slow and drawn out for her, and wearing her 3D glasses the whole time wasn’t suiting her either. As I viewed the families around us, it seemed the 3D effect wasn’t working for many of their children either, as their “natives were growing restless” throughout much of this film too. Is the music fabulous? YES! Is the casting good? MOST DEFINITELY! But for those of you wanting to take your little ones under the age of 6-or 7 to view this film, you may want to think again, and wait and catch TROLLS in the comfort of your own home. And I also suggest taking your younger viewers to a regular version of this film, seeing in NOT IN 3D too. If you have been waiting in anticipation for months to catch this film with whole family in tow, then please, by all means, head out to a theater near you this weekend to catch TROLLS. But, head my warning too, if you are taking your 3-5 year old in hopes they will be glued to the screen, I’m guessing they won’t be, so you might want to rethink that thought, and wait and pick up TROLLS on DVD for them to view in about 8 weeks J

Kathy Kaiser