Trolls Band Together

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details of classification and consumer advice lines for Trolls Band Together
• a review of Trolls Band Together completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 28 November 2023.

Overall comments and recommendations

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• themes
• use of violence
• material that may scare or disturb children
• product placement
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie’s message

A synopsis of the story

When Branch (voice of Justin Timberlake) was still a baby, BroZone, the band he and his four brothers had formed, fell apart when they couldn’t reach the perfect family harmony. Frustrated by oldest brother John Dory’s (voice of Eric Andre) perfectionism, the siblings – ‘Heartthrob’ Spruce (voice of Daveed Diggs), ‘Fun One’ Clay (voice of Kid Cudi) and Branch’s favourite brother Floyd (voice of Troy Sivan) – all went their own way. Left behind with the important task of caring for their elderly grandmother, Branch waited for them all to return but when his grandmother was killed he was left on his own and his heart slowly froze until he truly began to believe that his brothers had forgotten him and, ultimately, that he had no brothers at all. Meanwhile, Poppy (voice of Anna Kendrick) and Branch are now in a relationship and Poppy’s best friend Bridget (Zooey Deschanel) is finally getting married to King Gristle (voice of Christopher Mintz-Plasse). John Dory crashes the wedding ceremony and returns with the news that Floyd has been kidnapped and is being held prisoner by singing sensations Velvet (voice of Amy Schumer) and Veneer (voice of Andrew Rannells), a brother and sister who are impersonating pop stars and stealing Floyd’s vocal talents while they slowly suck his life away. Branch and Poppy set off with John Dory to find Clay and Spruce in the hopes of creating the elusive family harmony that will shatter the diamond prison Floyd is held in and finally set their brother free.

Perfectionism; Family breakdown; Entitlement; Greed; Fear; Self-preservation.

There is some violence in this movie, including:

• The BroZone brothers trip up during a performance, get tangled above the stage and then crash down to the ground.
• A character slams a bottle.
• Floyd repeatedly begs for his life as Velvet and Veneer suck his talent and steal his voice.
• Branch tells the brothers that their grandmother was killed by the Bergen.
• There are flashbacks to the time when the Bergen were killing the trolls and how some characters were presumed to be dead in the attacks.
• Bridget and King Gristle are attacked and tied up by trolls who don’t trust them. They are put on a conveyor belt, moving toward a huge clown mouth with chomping teeth that is meant to come down and kill them, but the conveyor belt stops just in time.
• A car crashes into a sign as Velvet and Veneer try to out-race Branch who is trying to free his brothers, all of whom have been captured. The pair continue to dance and sing despite what they are doing to the trolls.
• Characters are punched and kicked as they try to free each other or escape capture.
• The brothers sing the perfect harmony and set themselves free but it looks like they are too late to save Floyd, whose lifeless and nearly invisible form falls down to the stage. Shortly thereafter, the music seems to bring him back to life.

Material that may scare or disturb children

• Nothing further noted.

• Nothing further noted.

Product placement

• None noted.

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

• Bridget says that she didn’t think they would, “both find themselves tied up on this honeymoon”.
• A character says, “Let’s go autograph some butts”.
• Bridget tells King Gristle that they are going to have the most romantic honeymoon.
• Bridget and the King are about to be killed and while they are slowly sliding towards their death, she asks him if it would be weird if they made out. They then proceed to kiss passionately, oblivious to everything else, including their impending deaths.
• Poppy and Branch kiss.
• Spruce and his gigantic wife joke about not knowing how ‘it’ works between them, despite the fact that they have so many kids.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:

• One of the brothers is encouraged to work on and show off his chiselled abs. He flashes his bare, oiled chest while on stage, causing some of the female audience members to pass out.
• One of the brothers throws his tight, lightning bolt underpants, that he was forced to wear for a performance, into another brother’s face. Prior to this, there was a quick close-up of his crotch.
• One character slaps another character’s bottom.
• Bridget and the King kiss passionately, rolling around on the ground.
• A quick glimpse of a bare backside is shown as it squeezes into a diaper.
• A character describes how a waterslide ripped off his swim trunks.

Use of substances

There is some use of substances in this movie, including:

• Poppy drinks something that looks like a fruit cocktail.
• Characters occasionally travel in “hustle” mode, and it seems to have hallucinogenic effects on some of them.

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

• Hell (repeatedly heard in a song)
• A swear word is bleeped out when a child is shown with horrific pink eye
• Heck
• Idiot
• Junk in the trunk
• Phonies.

In a nutshell

Trolls Band Together is an animated musical and the third instalment in the Trolls movie franchise. The film contains lots of bright characters, musical numbers and a sparkly, fast-paced (albeit predictable) plot. At first glance, it appears to be a film for younger children but there is a surprising amount of sexual innuendo that seems out of place in a children’s movie. While the film is still likely to appeal more to young kids, some of the content is questionable enough that it lends itself to slightly older audiences who likely won’t be that interested.

The main messages from this movie are that things don’t need to be perfect in order to be worthwhile; that we should not succumb to stereotypes or allow ourselves to be governed by fear; and that family is “always worth it”.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

• Empathy
• Courage
• Communication
• Teamwork
• Loyalty.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

• Using or harming others to get what you want.
• The notion of entitlement and how, rather than just taking what you want, hard work is the best way to build talent and character.
• Failing to communicate and abandoning your family.
• Excessive greed and vanity.