Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Trolls World Tour Blu-ray Movie Review

Trolls Just Wanna Have Fun!

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 27, 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 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Few are the Blu-rays which one would feel comfortable writing a draft for the video review prior to even watching the movie. One of those few is Trolls World Tour, a movie that, for its 1080p presentation, brings with it certain lofty visual expectations that it unsurprisingly meets without fuss or challenge. The picture is expectedly gorgeous, boasting impeccable texturing and abundantly rich and vivid color. It's Blu-ray perfection. But in the interest of fleshing the review out just a little more, the clarity allows viewers to spot every piece of glitter and troll body texture with striking ease and efficiency. Close-ups are dazzling displays of fine-point digital renderings that reveal the painstaking artistry and display with full command just how far digital animation has come and how much access even 1080p can grant to the material. Broader environments hold the same level of clarity, but it is of course in world detail close-up where such structural appointments truly shine. Colors? There's an explosion of hues the likes of which haven't been seen on Blu-ray since, well, Trolls. Every tone imaginable is represented with striking vitality and vividness. Bold pushes dazzle, nuanced tones likewise prove capable for smooth gradations and fine point spectrum display, and there's a universal harmony to the palette that's practically unmatched in the world of standard dynamic range colors. Add perfectly executed black levels and a complete absence of any source or encode anomalies, like banding and aliasing, and find here a reference quality Blu-ray through-and-through.

Trolls World Tour Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Trolls World Tour rocks out on Blu-ray 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 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Trolls World Tour contains a commentary track, deleted scenes, and other assorted fluff. A DVD copy of the film and a Movies Anywhere digital copy code are included with purchase. This release ships with a glittery and colorfully embossed 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 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 video presentation is reference, the audio is very strong in the aggregate, and a good selection of bonus content is included. Recommended.