'Trolls' Is a Joyful Movie Worth Seeing With Your Kids

— -- Starring Justin Timberlake, Anna Kendrick

Rated - PG

Four out of five stars

Aggressive marketing campaigns for movies can be more annoying than clickbait headlines, promising what they often don’t deliver. For example, Dreamworks releasing Justin Timberlake’s single “Can’t Stop the Feeling” six months before the release of "Trolls," the movie in which the song’s featured, seemed a bit overzealous. Some might take it as a sign the studio had confidence in the movie. I saw it as a sign the studio wasn’t confident enough to sell the film any other way than to rely on the infectious tune, and the video of the film’s A-list voiceover talent dancing in the recording studio, to drum up enthusiasm. It may have charmed the general public but I remained skeptical.

So, here we are, six months later. And as it turns out, "Trolls" is a somewhat magical experience.

The trolls are a happy species, always singing and dancing and never sad. They are so happy, the Bergens, a human-sized and slovenly-looking lot, use the trolls as “happy meals” (of course, seizing the marketing opportunity, McDonalds features Trolls Happy Meals), believing the only way they can be happy is by eating a troll. But led by King Peppy (Jeffrey Tambor), the trolls finally wise up to the Bergens’ ways.

Some 20 years later, Peppy’s daughter, Poppy (Anna Kendrick), has become the perpetually positive princess and spiritual leader of the trolls -- always singing, dancing, laughing and doling out positive advice and mantras. Poppy is also planning a troll rave, which doesn’t sit well with the lone grumpy troll, Branch (Justin Timberlake), who believes Poppy’s ostentatious presentations of mirth and merriment will call attention to the trolls, making it easier for the Bergens to find them. Branch seems like a paranoid loon, but he’s right.

In an effort to make amends for bad judgment, Poppy decides to take on the Bergens, and enlists Branch’s help. What follows is a trippy adventure, including a talking cloud, a hilarious cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s "Sounds of Silence," and an excellent original song and vocal performance by Kendrick called “Get Back Up Again.” The latter isn’t exactly "Let It Go," from "Frozen," but it’s good enough to be part of childhoods for generations to come.

While kids will find Timberlake and Kendrick enchanting, adults may find the Bergens’ King Gristle (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and his lowly castle maid, Bridget (Zooey Deschanel), a bit more relatable and entertaining.

"Trolls" is one of the most pleasant surprises of the year. A movie that seemed to be a formulaic, star-driven device with a cornball message is filled with terrific, positive metaphors, including an evocative moment or two that might just leave you crying alongside your 6-year-old daughter. Not that I would know anything about that.

Kendrick and Timberlake provide excellent voiceover performances, but it’s the variety of colorful and nuanced characters, along with well-placed songs both familiar and new, that provides "Trolls" with enough intelligence and emotion to make it a well-above-average children’s film. "Trolls" is simply a joyful movie.