Mr. Movie review: ‘Trolls’ is cute, but not all that clever

Most of us first noticed Troll dolls in the 1970s. The ugly little things were really popular. Unlike The Smurfs, we were spared a Trolls Saturday morning cartoon show, and Trolls quickly faded from popularity only to rise again in the 1990s and again in 2016.

This movie says Trolls are the happiest of nature’s creatures. All that song and harmony gets them eaten by Bergens, who find munching on Trolls is all that makes them happy. Naturally, that sort of thing doesn’t sit well with the Trolls and they escape and hide.

Too much singing at Poppy’s birthday party brings the Bergens back into the picture.

The movie is directed by Mike Mitchell, who directed Shreck Forever After, and by Walt Dohrn, who did a bunch of SpongeBob TV shows. They pack their film with wonderfully redone music and new music courtesy of Justin Timberlake, who also voices Branch. Anna Kendrick voices Poppy, and a list of equally excellent actors do the rest of the characters.

Two more animated films dot the landscape of the 15 major releases scheduled for 2016. I like animated features just about as much as I like superhero movies, and think that’s 12 too many. Trolls is the perfect example of why. It’s totally predictable, has OK art, yawner effects and the 3-D is so-so.

This is so bland I can only recommended it for kids and adults that like animated fare.

This story was originally published November 3, 2016 at 1:13 PM with the headline "Mr. Movie review: ‘Trolls’ is cute, but not all that clever."