Mar 28, 2023

Watch the psychedelic first trailer for DreamWorks' "Trolls Band Together," opening November 17.

NBCUniversal has released the first trailer for Trolls Band Together, which will be released on November 17, 2023.

In the latest installment of the DreamWorks franchise, a follow-up to "Trolls 2: World Tour," protagonists Poppy and Branch are finally an official couple. As their relationship progresses, Poppy learns of Branch's secret past as a member of the boy band Blazon. When Blanche's brother Floyd is kidnapped by a villainous duo of pop stars, Blanche and Poppy reunite the band and set off on a road trip to save Floyd from an undesirable fate.

"Trolls" has always featured a stellar voice cast, and this is no different. Joining stars Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick are Camila Cabello, Eric Andre, Amy Schumer, Andrew Rannells, Troye Sivan, David Diggs, Kid Cudi, Zosia Mamet, and Zooey Deschanel, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, RuPaul Charles, Aino Yawo, Caroline Hjelt, Kenan Thompson, Anderson . Park, Kunal Nayyar, and Ron Funches.

Like the first two films, Trolls Band Together was directed by Walt Doan and produced by Gina Shay. DreamWorks handled most of the animation for the film, but teamed up with Titmouse to create the psychedelic "hustle" sequence previewed at the end of the trailer. [Following "Shrek," "Madagascar," "Kung Fu Panda," and "How to Train Your Dragon," this is the fifth film in the DreamWorks franchise since "Trolls" to produce a trilogy. The first "Trolls" film grossed $350 million worldwide, and the sequel grossed over $100 million on PVOD during the pandemic when theaters were closed. Given the box office success of DreamWorks' 2022 holiday release Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, expectations are high for the Trolls/Trolls: The Last Wish series to return to theaters in November.

In an interview with Cartoon Brew, Dorn was pleased with the freedom the "Trolls" films have given him as a creator and outlined how he and his team pushed the envelope with the latest film.

"We created a world where anything can happen. We've always incorporated psychedelic visuals as part of the Trolls worldview. As we gained more credibility with the studios, they became more supportive of our wild ideas." On the psychedelic scene, I think we got closer to some of our influences, such as Fantasia, Pink Elephant, Yellow Submarine, and the work of R. Crumb."

The Trolls' work has also been influenced by the work of other artists, such as the Trolls' own "The Trolls" and the Trolls' "The Trolls".

Shay added, "That scene was like the child of many different and diverse artists like Dave Cooper and Milton Glaser."

The visual innovation of Trolls Band Together goes beyond the psychedelic hustle scenes. According to Dawn, the film has shadow puppet sequences, and according to Shay, the aesthetic of the new villains is an homage to 1940s animation.

Aside from the stylistic additions to the "Trolls" universe, the DreamWorks team was able to improve the overall look of the film through innovations within the studio that improved the overall texture.

"We were able to take the textured felt surface that we used in the previous film and push it further in this film to give it the feel of a real doll," Dawn explains. 'We also have new software to handle the glitter. The computer knows how to defeat the AI, even if it's taken over by it."[20

Shay added, "The environment always starts out very DIY and spirals out from there to create an entire world. This time around, we get to explore a whole new world of new surfaces and textures. It's great to be able to explore a little outside of the 'Trolls' world."