Last week’s post was a little heavy, so forgive me for my lightheartedness. I could use a little diversion from this mess, and for our family, that was in the form of the new Trolls movie.
Last week, Trolls World Tour came out on Amazon Video. I was reluctant to spend $20 to see the film, but since we were planning on seeing it in the theater at $7 a kid (we get the early bird price since we usually – that is, before COVID – went to the movies on a random weekday at 10 am), I figured the splurge was worth it.
So is it worth it? Well, yes and no.
I have to be honest – I’m a soundtrack girl. I love the music in movies. The Greatest Showman, Aladdin, and Newsies and the original Trolls soundtrack are regularly blasting in our house. From up-tempo hits like Get Back Up Again to soulful remakes of old favorites like True Colors, the first Trolls movie did not dissapoint.
Though Trolls World Tour was fun to watch (think Baskin Robbins explosion on your TV screen), it was a little bit of a letdown in the song department. It was fun watching the writers’ take on how different types of music would manifest as different types of trolls, but some of their notes fell flat. Like why did the country trolls only know how to sing super sad ballads? And why were the classical trolls stuck with one measure of Beethoven’s 5th symphony? As an adult, I would have really enjoyed if those genres would have been more developed, though maybe the writers’ felt it just didn’t fit in a 90-minute kids’ movie.
Throughout the movie, each troll’s kind of music is at risk of being snuffed out by Barb, queen of the rock trolls, who wants to turn every troll into a rock troll (united under rock, as she puts it). The movie follows the attempts of Poppy, the queen of the Pop trolls, and her cohorts, trying to thwart Barb’s nefarious plan.
Spoiler alert: At the end of the movie, Poppy prevails and each kind of troll is not only allowed, but encouraged to play their own kind of music. When so many kids movies these days have a watered-down message thrown in at the end of the movie, or don’t have one at all, this one rang true for me as a simple, clear message that all of us can stand to hear: We have to appreciate everyone as they are.
“We can agree to disagree” is a message that I tell my kids all the time. Living in the same house with others means that we will often disagree with people – after all, we’re all very different people with different tastes, likes, and views. But what’s important is hearing everyone out. And that doesn’t necessarily mean that someone has to give in.
As one my favorite parenting experts Ross Greene puts it: Both sides coming to the table doesn’t mean compromising, it means truly hearing everyone’s needs and getting those needs met. Collaboration over compromise. Both sides bringing their points to the table without one acceding to the other, finding a solution that meets everyone’s needs, and both parties feeling validated and heard. It’s hard, but it’s a small distinction that makes a big difference in how we all feel about each other walking away from the table.
As Poppy so eloquently puts it at the end of the movie, “We can’t harmonize alone.” No we can’t, Poppy. No we can’t.