Trolls

Trolls is a cute, harmless and effervescent confection of a movie. It’s aimed squarely at little kids (ages 10 and below), and peppered with peppy pop tunes and bright colors in flashy animation for 92 minutes. Importantly, it also references older songs parents and grandparents would know, notably Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence,” so there truly is something for everyone here.

Trolls are the happiest bunch of diminutive creatures on the planet. Their existence consists of singing, dancing and hugging. Led by Princess Poppy (Anna Kendrick), their lives are a hedonistic party of life’s pleasures. The only sullen troll is Branch (Justin Timberlake), who had a terrible thing happen when he was younger and is still feeling the effects. How none of the other trolls have ever had something bad happen to them is never explained.

Trolls do live in constant fear, however. The bigger and dangerous Bergens are a miserable bunch save for one day a year, “Trollstice,” in which they dine on tasty trolls. At the start of the film “Trollstice” goes awry as King Peppy (Jeffrey Tambor) leads an escape from the Bergens, which embarrasses Chef (Christine Baranski), the Bergen responsible for providing the trolls.

Twenty years pass and the trolls have successfully remained hidden, but they’re getting cocky about it; when Branch warns that loud singing and dancing will attract unwanted attention, you know he’s right. And of course it does, which leads to kidnappings, rescues, expected love, unexpected love, inspired mash-ups of pop hits, and enough laughs to keep us – especially the kids – amused throughout.

There’s something simple and nostalgic about seeing an animated movie based on the troll dolls many adults remember from their childhoods. (The original troll doll was created in 1958 by Thomas Dam from Gjøl, Denmark, who filled the originals with wood shavings.)

But directors Walt Dohrn and Mike Mitchell’s movie is aimed directly at kids, so it feels tedious at times. You can see the formulaic plot wheels churning in Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger’s script. (This is the third collaboration for this writer-director team, after Chipmunks: Chipwrecked in 2011 and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water in 2015.) There are some surprises here, including a Bergen named Bridget (Zooey Deschanel) getting a makeover and a troll other than Branch who turns out to be quite selfish.

The visuals from Dreamworks Animation are serviceable but unimpressive. The studio’s products (Shrek, How To Train Your Dragon) have looked better in the past; inTrolls, the color palettes are so vibrant that the lack of variety and vivid detail create a washed-out effect. In other words, much of it looks blandly similar, and precious little of it pops in 3-D the way it should. (On that note, there’s no need to pay the 3-D upcharge on this one; the visual effects suffice just fine without it.)

The voice cast is impressive, and also features Russell Brand, Gwen Stefani, James Corden, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and John Cleese. And with talent such as Kendrick, Timberlake, Stefani and Corden leading the singing, it’s a given that the songs – which include “True Colors,” “Hello,” “Move Your Feet,” “Get Back Up Again” and more – would be handled wonderfully. (Timberlake is the executive producer of the film’s music; his song “Can’t Stop The Feeling,” first released in May, was created for the Trollssoundtrack.)

Indeed, the music and the message of finding your own happiness are the heart of Trolls, and those are the parts of the movie that win you over. Flaws aside, you can expect to leave the theater smiling and feeling like you just had a good time, and darn it, that’s the point.

TROLLS (3) Directed by Walt Dohrn and Mike Mitchell • Starring Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Zooey Deschanel • Rated PG • 92 min. • At Century Cinemas Del Monte, Century Marina, Maya Cinemas, Northridge Cinemas, Lighthouse Cinemas