Trolls World Tour 3D Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Trolls World Tour 3D Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 8, 2020

What was supposed to be one of DreamWorks/Universal's big smash hit theatrical releases for 2020 become in many ways an emblem of the entertainment landscape in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. With theaters shuttering and everyone essentially with no choice but to stay home at just about the time the film was originally due to debut in theaters on April 10, the film shifted to an on-demand at home release where it generated a substantial revenue, anyway, despite the quickly changing release plans, constantly evolving world scene, and the general novelty of the entire process. But the Trolls World Tour story does not stop there on its way to traditional home video releases. Universal's decision to bypass theaters, and hints that the studio may very well follow a similar model with other films going forward, drew the fire of the large theater chains, notably AMC, which promised to never project a Universal film simultaneously releasing at home. As it is, the story behind the film's release is ultimately more interesting than the film itself, which is a perfectly fine multi-stranded modern musical, abundantly colorful and agreeable yet fairly generic in the aggregate.

Pop Queen Poppy (voiced by Anna Kendrick) receives a cryptic invitation from a mysterious troll named Barb (voiced by Rachel Bloom) to bring the Troll Pop Kingdom together with hers under one Rock-and-Roll banner. Poppy's father, King Peppy (voiced by Walt Dohrn), tells her the truth of her people, which were once united in music but that have since become distinct entities, each living amongst their own kind and within the comforts of their own musical tastes. He believes Barb's invitation to be a ploy to seize power over the entire Troll kingdom, but Poppy nevertheless sets out to find Barb and discover the truth for herself. Accompanying her is Biggie (voiced by James Corden) and her best friend Branch (voiced by Justin Timberlake), who is secretly in love with her. As the journey begins, Poppy and her crew meet a diverse selection of Trolls and gradually come to realize that there is indeed danger to Barb's plans after all.

It's time to get the band back together. That's the story behind Trolls World Tour, in a nutshell. But it's about why the band should get back together rather than how. For Barb, it's about consolidating power and eliminating competing voices. For Poppy, it's about returning equality and harmony to every distinct voice. The film is not just a colorful marriage of musical styles but also a very pointed commentary on social equality. Most of the rest of the story is rooted in musically catchy irreverence, but its only a framework for hammering home the message, anyway. The message is certainly timely, but it's also narratively stale and delivered like a blunt-force instrument. Some adults may find it off-putting, not for what it says but in how obviously it defines the movie's larger fabric. Younger ones will likely be too enthralled in song and color to take notice.

The film is aesthetically pleasing and the digital workmanship challenges even the best from Pixar for intricacy and fluidity. The various musical tribes take on rather generic cues but there are plenty of fun little touches along the way. The Rock Trolls are of particular note. Black, gray, and red are the primary colors, and there’s a certain dystopian, dark edge about them. Rather than sparkly colorful like their Pop counterparts, they’re more like something out of Mad Max. In fact, the end concert is very dark and hellish in a very literal sense of the common perception of what hell night look like. It might be a bit much for younger viewers; there’s a potential for it to play more scary than fun. The rest of the movie, though, is classic Trolls for design and color intensity.

Trolls World Tour 3D Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from the 1080p 2-D Blu-ray disc.

Depth is found in abundance as the content stretches well into the background, practically in every shot. Even tight-in character shots manage to offer spacial distinction and separation from one body part to another, such as nose to forehead to hair, but it's in the larger, more expansive locales -- which are plentiful throughout the film -- that offer the most exciting feelings of openness and expansiveness. A few elements here and there don't have much spacial distinction to offer -- Poppy and Branch peering out from behind a couple of big rocks in chapter eight -- but for the most part the picture enjoys impressive depth and natural stretch in abundance. Pop-out effects are more carefully integrated, presented in such a way so as to compliment a key moment or add some dazzle -- literally in a couple of cases -- and keep that end of the spectrum feeling fresh rather than overwhelming. This is a very well rounded 3-D presentation; there's little here that doesn't impress in some form or fashion in the 3-D realm.

The general content holds up just as well as the regular Blu-ray. Any color loss isn't readily obvious. Tones are explosive out of the screen, all but searing the display with a beautifully diverse selection of colors that each find resplendent saturation and picture-perfect punch. Popping pinks, bold blues, gorgeous greens, sparkling silvers, anything and everything imaginable presents with unmatched saturation and brilliance. Textural qualities are excellent, too, boasting perfect digital workmanship on both characters and environments alike. There are no obvious encode deficiencies or source faults to be found; 3-D fans are not just going to be thrilled to have a new title, but also to have one as wonderfully well-rounded as this one.

Trolls World Tour 3D Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Trolls World Tour rocks out on Blu-ray 3-D with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack. The track is surprisingly front-heavy through many of the musical performances. Every tune is delightfully big, endlessly energetic, and perfectly clear, but music is mostly front-end dominant with the surrounds often relegated to carrying more cursory information rather than make use of them for prominent engagement. Even in the big Rock concert towards film's end in chapter 17, music remains distinctly up front but does finally offer more balanced surround content in the very last musical piece in chapter 19. In these sequences, the surrounds mostly carry moderately volumed crowd ambience as well as some action effects and dialogue reverb in chapter 18 through a large, cavernous locale. In this big final outburst, the subwoofer does chime in to add some critical depth to the proceedings, creating a firm foundation on which to build the additional elements. A large explosion that saps color from the world in chapter 18 delivers the most substantial low end element in the film, and the final musical exercise produces a good low end weight, too. It's only in the final act that the track really finds its life, which is perhaps a stylistic choice to reinforce the togetherness of musical diversity. Regardless, clarity is exceptional and volume is potent at reference levels. Atmospherics throughout the film are fine but don't often engage the top end with discrete detail. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized from its natural front-center home, save for those few moments of natural reverb.

Trolls World Tour 3D Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Trolls World Tour contains a commentary track, deleted scenes, and other assorted fluff on the 2-D Blu-ray. The 3-D disc contains no extras. No DVD copy is included, but Universal has bundled in a digital copy voucher. This release does not appear to ship with a slipcover.

• Dance Party Mode (1080p): Following an intro (1:03) is the film with singalong lyrics and various prompts to get up and dance, with the moves available in a separate supplement. It also includes various other prompts that require some remote control interaction.
• Tiny Diamond Goes Back to School (1080p, 3:46): Tiny's first day of school sees him concerned with having a fresh new look to wow his classmates.
• Trolls Dance Academy (1080p, 7:08 total runtime): Included are instructions to dance to various types of music: Pop, Waltz, Country, Funk, Kpop, and Reggaeton.
• Trolls World Tourist Map (1080p): An interactive tour of the various musical kingdoms introduced in the film.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 19:24 total runtime): Included are Cooper's Destiny, Let's Go Save the World, Bicycle Built for Two, Breaktime, Meet the Bounty Hunters, Making New Friends, and Cloud 9. Includes intros with Director Walt Dohrn, Producer Gina Shay, and Co-Director David P. Smith.
• Trolls Perfect Harmony (1080p, 4:29): A closer look at music's place in the film and the musical artists who contributed to the film's soundtrack.
• Trolls World Tour Backstage (1080p, 9:07 total runtime): A three-piece supplement that quickly dissects the film's story, construction, characters, music, and more. Included are Opening Act, Headliners, and Encore!
• Audio Commentary: Co-Director David Smith, Director Walt Dohrn, and Producer Gina Shay break down the film in detail.

Trolls World Tour 3D Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Trolls World Tour is a fun and colorful and musically gifted film. Its message is a little heavy-handed but it is timely to today's world. Little ones will certainly be enthralled by the characters, colors, and music, but there are certain parts that drift a bit too dark for the youngest viewers. The Blu-ray is of excellent quality. The 3-D video is a treat, the audio is very strong in the aggregate, and a good selection of bonus content is included. Recommended.