It’s a challenging time, living in self-isolation with offices and schools closed, especially if you are parents working from home with a little munchkin constantly running around with the caged spirit of a little beast that has barely been out of its home for months.

Children need routine and structure, and Covid-19 has left them with little. This has made things a little chaotic. As a parent, watching DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls World Tour has been an interesting experience during the coronavirus pandemic. This CGI musical film has all the anarchic energy of a toddler whose parents have lost control and, are now rocking back and forth in fetal positions, who is high on chocolate and who just doesn’t give a damn anymore.

This sequel to the surprise 2016 hit Trolls is oddly paced, somewhat nonsensical, yet is strangely cute, endearing and entertaining. You also can’t be too critical of it because it’s one of the few new films out during the crisis. The film has broken many streaming records, and is Universal Pictures’ most successful first-day rental. It’s testament to the fact that people are bored out of their minds.

Of course, the animation is high quality. Over the years, DreamWorks Animation has produced some beautiful-looking films, such as the Shrek and Kung Fu Panda movies. Trolls World Tour is no different. It looks especially stunning on a 4K screen with Dolby HDR. However, the aesthetics may be too much for some. It’s so colourful, with its barrage of reds, blues, pinks, yellows and more, that it sometimes feels like a rainbow took some hallucinogens and vomited on your screen. But I’m sure it probably looks perfectly legit to a toddler.

Trolls World Tour is bizarre, but it’s energy and hallucinogenic visuals are almost perfect for these bizarre times

The film begins with a recap of the first film, which is great, because I never saw it. Here, Queen Poppy (Anna Kendrick) is invited to a party for all trolls by Queen Barb (Rachel Bloom), where her father King Peppy (Walt Dohrn) shares his wisdom about the troll tribes. There are six tribes. Each tribe embraces a different type of music. There is Pop, Funk, Classical, Techno, Country and Rock. Unfortunately, there is no qawwali tribe.

The tribes separated long ago because they couldn’t decide which style was best. Clearly, it wasn’t Country. What’s more, the leader of every tribe has a magical string that powers their music.

Queen Barb, the queen of rock music, wants to unite the trolls under her music. But Poppy has other plans. Alongside her love interest, Branch (Justin Timberlake), she plans to unite the trolls under her genre. Along the way we meet other characters voiced by popular musicians such as the Queen of Funk (Mary J. Blige), the Queen of Country (Kelly Clarkson), the ex-King of Hard Rock (Ozzy Osbourne) and others.

The storytelling is essentially a throwaway vehicle for covers of great hit songs, psychedelic dance numbers, and crazy dance-offs. The music is entertaining and there is plenty of offbeat humour for parents and kids alike. Trolls World Tour is certainly bizarre, but it’s almost perfect for these bizarre times.

Rated PG for some mild, rude humour

Published in Dawn, ICON, May 3rd, 2020