Trolls World Tour: A Colorful Musical Adventure
Poppy, the queen of the Pop Trolls, receives a mysterious note from a certain Rox. Soon after, her father reveals a shocking secret: their tribe of Trolls isn’t the only one. There are others, each with their own unique musical styles and vastly different tastes. Rox, it turns out, is the queen of the Rock Trolls, and she’s on a mission to unite all the Trolls under her musical banner, forcing them into the confines of her own preferences. Poppy, Branch, and their friends embark on a journey to stop her.
It’s hard to genuinely criticize movies like the new “Trolls” film. It’s clearly a calculated production, and its potentially irritating qualities are evident from the trailer: glossy pop, relentless slapstick, and a candy-coated aesthetic of colorful strobe lights designed to captivate hyperactive children for an hour or so. “World Tour” is one of those animated films that deflects any criticism with a resounding “but it’s for kids!” and it becomes increasingly difficult to argue with this questionable statement.
A Film for Kids, With a Message
Indeed, it is for kids. And while it’s disappointing that Dreamworks, the creators of the far from infantile “Shrek” and “Kung Fu Panda,” have recently leaned towards more childish films, the new “Trolls” – unlike, say, “The Boss Baby” – uses the language of hyperactive animation to teach its young audience genuinely important and age-appropriate lessons. Yes, such direct didacticism isn’t ideal from an artistic standpoint, but “Trolls” isn’t particularly concerned with artistry.
Embracing Diversity Through Music
The film’s central message is simple: there are people in the world who don’t like the same music – or movies, TV shows, games, cartoons – as you, and that’s perfectly okay. You shouldn’t try to convert them or impose your own tastes, as the local villain Rox does. In reality, Rox isn’t a villain at all, but a sympathetic outcast who, due to a lack of human (or Troll) warmth, wants to eliminate all disagreements under the dictatorship of heavy metal. It’s nice to think that this simple idea will resonate with at least some of the audience and prevent some of the silliest kindergarten arguments about who’s cooler.
A Homogenous Musical Landscape
However, for a film about accepting different tastes, the musical landscape of “Trolls” is surprisingly homogenous. The range of styles and genres is largely superficial. In reality, funk, country, and pop all sound like, well, mainstream pop. Even the yodeling example is taken from the relatively mainstream song “Bellbottoms.” And the hard rock examples are drawn from the most overplayed hits of the last century.
Of course, it would be strange if a children’s movie suddenly featured Burzum or Xiu Xiu with Aphex Twin (and even those aren’t exactly underground names), but a little more diversity would have certainly helped. As it stands, “Trolls” teaches children about the diverse and rich world of music, but risks turning them into average normies with a playlist consisting entirely of top-50 hits.