Trolls Band Together (PG)
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Caution: spoilers.

This is the third movie in the "Trolls" franchise. I was a bit worried it might contain some characters or plot points introduced in the web series "TrollsTopia", of which I had only seen the first episode, but it didn't. In fact, I think it's set only a month after the second movie. Anyway, I found it rather amusing, and I enjoyed the overall plot.

It starts out "back in the day" (20 years ago), where we meet a boy band called BroZone, consisting of five brothers. The oldest, John Dory (Eric André), is the leader of the group. The other members include Spruce (Daveed Diggs), Clay (Kid Cudi), Floyd (Troye Sivan), and Baby Branch. John Dory is insistent that they achieve the "Perfect Family Harmony", but while their performance starts off pretty well, it goes quite badly in the end. After that, the group breaks up, and everyone goes their separate ways. Of course, Branch is just a baby at that point, so he stays with his grandmother. But Floyd promises to come back someday. Incidentally, I need to mention that I find it weird that there would be, like, actual musical artists in Troll society, considering every Troll sings pretty much all the time, anyway. But whatever.

In the present, Branch and Poppy attend the wedding of King Gristle and Bridget. However, the ceremony is interrupted by the arrival of John Dory, who informs them that he had received a letter from Floyd, asking him to get the band back together and come rescue him. He had been kidnapped by sister and brother singers named Velvet (Amy Schumer) and Veneer. I want to say I have no idea what species they and their fans are supposed to be, but they live in a place called Mount Rageous, I guess. (They're much bigger than Trolls, but I was a bit disappointed we never really got to see them next to Bergens, to compare their sizes.) John Dory had tried to rescue Floyd by himself, but it turned out he was kept sealed in a perfume bottle made of diamond, which can only be broken by the Perfect Family Harmony. So John Dory had gone to seek out his other brothers, starting with Branch. Branch wants nothing to do with his brothers, because they had abandoned him. But Poppy is insistent that they join John Dory in his mission, and Branch reluctantly agrees, because he does still care about Floyd, the only one who was really nice to him as a baby. We also learn that Poppy wishes she had a sister, and her father, the former king of the Pop Trolls, acts rather suspiciously about this, saying he doesn't know anything about secret siblings. So I assumed Poppy must have a sibling she doesn't know about. (Actually, I guess I had heard about that before I watched the movie, so it's not really a surprise.)

So, Poppy and Branch go off with John Dory, also accompanied by Tiny Diamond, who is still a baby himself, but wants to be treated like a man. They soon find Spruce, who has changed his name to Bruce, and is now married to someone named Brandy, with whom he has a bunch of kids. (Brandy is much bigger than Bruce, though I have no idea what species she's supposed to be.) Later, they find Clay at an abandoned Bergen miniature golf course, which is used as a refuge by a bunch of Pop Trolls who had fled from the Bergens years ago. Clay is one of two leaders of these Trolls, the other being Viva (Camila Cabello), who turns out to be Poppy's sister. They have very similar personalities, and enjoy getting to know each other. (Which reminded me of Tinker Bell and Periwinkle in Secret of the Wings.) Viva doesn't want to let Poppy leave, but Clay helps her and his brothers escape. Meanwhile, we learn that Velvet had forged the letter from Floyd, hoping to lure the rest of BroZone to them, to be captured so they could extract their singing talent, as they had none of their own, and had only risen to fame by draining Floyd's talent. And he was running out of his vital essence, which could leave him dead, apparently, if they keep taking his talent.

Well, of course the good guys win in the end, and Floyd is saved. I'm leaving out lots of details, but I think I've explained enough of the plot. Except I should mention that Velvet and Veneer have an small assistant named Crimp, whom they treat badly. (Again, I have no idea what species she's supposed to be, but she kind of reminded me of Cousin Itt from The Addams Family.) I'll also mention that Gristle and Bridget go on a honeymoon, but eventually end up helping the Trolls, along with Viva, who is reunited with Poppy once again. And the movie ends with a performance by another boy band called Kismet (which is voiced by the members of *NSYNC, including Branch, who of course is voiced by Justin Timberlake). I suppose I could also mention that Veneer isn't quite as bad as his domineering sister. He doesn't like what they've been doing to Floyd and his brothers, but he did still go along with it all, so he's just as guilty as Velvet. Other than that, I guess I don't really know what to say. I just found it to be a really fun movie in a lot of ways. (I especially liked the jokes that used the names of a bunch of real world boy bands in clever ways.) Oh, and there was a trippy sequence done in traditional animation instead of CGI, where the Trolls are traveling through a sort of hyperspace on John Dory's bus, or whatever it is. That was cool. Yep, lots of cool stuff, in this movie. Including, as always, good music.