Trolls Band Together (2023)

Dir Walt Dohrn

Written by Elizabeth Tippet

At the wedding of Bridget to King Gristle, Branch’s long lost brother John Dory arrives, revealing that he, Branch and their three other brothers used to be in a boy band when Branch was a baby. He needs Branch’s help because one of the brothers Floyd, has been kidnapped by the wannabe pop-stars Vaneer and Velvet – who have Floyd trapped and are using his ‘essence’ to make themselves better singers.

Colourful, and engaging for kids, this third main film has quite a bit of heart. The characters are now a bit more mature, and have grown themselves as their audience would have.

The back story for Branch, while cliché works well – and the voice cast who join each do a decent job with their characters. There is even some foreshadowing early in the film for a similar back story for Poppy too.

There are plenty of cover songs of well known songs for the grownups to follow along to, as well as some humorous homage to some classics (the 2D animation is a direct reference to Beatles Yellow Submarine). The soundtrack is engaging too, so the kids will love it. There are also some humour at lead star JT’s hair styles over the years which I had a chuckle over.

It is less silly than its predecessors with less ‘toilet humour’, but I found that the previously, more mature Gristle and Bridget were written a little poorer this time, and they were the weakest points of the film. Also Velvet and Vaneer were a little forgettable as the villains – especially following after characters like Chef.

Mostly for kids, my daughter gives it a 5/5, but my rating is