By John Corrado

The third film in DreamWorks Animation’s popular Trolls franchise, Trolls Band Together explores more of this vibrant animated world, while adding a slew of boyband jokes into the mix.

The story revolves around Poppy (Anna Kendrick) discovering that her boyfriend Branch (Justin Timberlake) used to be a member of the boyband BroZone, made up of his brothers John Dory (Eric André), Floyd (Troye Sivan), Spruce (Daveed Diggs) and Clay (Kid Cudi).

The band broke up when they all went their separate ways, leaving the brothers estranged. Until John Dory suddenly returns with news that Floyd has been taken (Trollnapped?) by the two evil siblings Velvet (Amy Schumer) and Veneer (Andrew Rannells).

Velvet and Veneer are conniving teenagers who are stealing the Troll’s power to make themselves better singers and turn into pop stars. This sends Poppy and Branch set off on an adventure to reunite with his siblings and rescue their brother, with Poppy discovering her own long-lost sister Viva (Camila Cabello) along the way, who is like an even more extreme version of herself.

Directed by Walt Dohrn (Trolls World Tour), Trolls Band Together pretty much offers more of the same, which is actually kind of exactly what you want from the series at this point. The Trolls movies have never really been about going deep, and are instead designed to offer undemanding entertainment through trippy visuals and upbeat songs. In this regard, Trolls Band Together is honestly fine for what it is, and has some fun tunes.

Like its predecessors, this is another jukebox musical, with a number of familiar pop songs performed by the cast alongside some new tunes. Kendrick and Timberlake can both obviously sing, with several other singers populating the all-star voice cast. The film even brings back Timberlake’s former *NSYNC bandmates (Joey Fatone, Lance Bass, JC Chasez and Chris Kirkpatrick) for an animated reunion of sorts, including the boyband’s first new song in two decades (“Better Place”).

The animation gives a very tactile feel to this world, with elements that appear to be made out of felt, yarn and pool noodles. The film plays around with different character designs (Velvet and Veneer are spindly, humanoid characters with round heads and bendy, hose-like bodies) and animation styles, including a 2D sequence animated by Titmouse done in the style of Yellow Submarine, one of several psychedelic moments in the film. The story is pretty basic, but Trolls Band Together is a colourful animated musical that is cute and weird enough to be mildly enjoyable if you liked the first two.

Film Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)

Bonus Features (Blu-ray):

The Blu-ray includes both the regular and sing-along versions of the film. It comes with a number of bonus features, including a new short film, deleted scenes, and several featurettes. A regular DVD is also included in the package, which ships with a shiny, embossed slipcover.

• It Takes Three (3 minutes, 55 seconds): Poppy, Viva and Tiny Diamond (Kenan Thompson) find themselves transported to the 2D-animated Hustle-Verse and must use music to get out in this brief short.

• Deleted Scenes With Intro by Head of Story Colin Jack (Play All – 4 minutes, 52 seconds)

• Wall Climb – Broken Tooth (1 minute, 5 seconds)

• Bridget Gristle Honeymoon (1 minute, 30 seconds)

• Crimp and Tiny Romance (1 minute, 27 seconds)

• Fun in the Recording Booth (3 minutes, 49 seconds): Footage of the different actors reading lines and goofing off behind the microphone.

• Hi, Hi, Hi (3 minutes, 27 seconds): The members of *NSYNC talk about reuniting for the film.

• Building the Band (Play All – 12 minutes, 36 seconds): A selection of introductions to the different characters in the film, and the actors who voice them.

• #Broppy (3 minutes, 16 seconds)

• BroZone (3 minutes, 31 seconds)

• Viva (1 minute, 19 seconds)

• Velvet and Veneer (1 minute, 36 seconds)

• Bridget and King Gristle (1 minute, 26 seconds)

• Tiny Diamond (1 minute, 28 seconds)

• Together Again (2 minutes, 38 seconds): Another look at the *NSYNC reunion, this time focusing on the designs of their animated counterparts.

• Animating Trolls (4 minutes, 22 seconds): A look at the different animation styles and character designs in the film.

• How to Draw (Play All – 23 minutes, 9 seconds): Story artist Wendy Sullivan teaches us how to draw several of the characters.

• Baby Branch (3 minutes, 20 seconds)

• John Dory (3 minutes, 18 seconds)

• Spruce (3 minutes, 41 seconds)

• Clay (3 minutes, 22 seconds)

• Floyd (3 minutes, 36 seconds)

• Viva (5 minutes, 50 seconds)

• How To: Hug Time Bracelets (2 minutes, 34 seconds): A short craft tutorial on how to make a hug time bracelet like Poppy wears in the film.

• Feature Commentary with Producer Gina Shay, Co-Director Tim Heitz, Head of Story Colin Jack, Producer Designer Ruben Perez Reynoso and Visual Effects Supervisor Marc J. Scott

Trolls Band Together is a Universal Pictures Home Entertainment release. It’s 91 minutes and rated G.

Street Date: January 16th, 2024