Barbie isn't the only film this year about a trendy doll. No, we're also getting a new Trolls movie. Trolls Bands Together, by Walt Dohrn (and co-directed by Tim Heitz), is based on the highly colourful fads from the 1960s. The feature is the third one from the Trolls franchise and is again a movie for people who love glitter, vibrancy and music.
FILMHOUNDS spoke to Dohrn (Trolls World Tour) about this new colourful movie, casting for an animation film and what kind of music he would make if he were in a band.
Hi Walt, first of all, congratulations on the wonderful film. How did you come across the screenplay?
We have been working on Trolls for a decade, like the last ten years. Back in 2016, when the first Trolls movie came out, we started talking about “What if the film is a success and people are into it, where could the story go? What is it about these characters that people like?” We talked about the vastness of the world and the many layers of the characters. So, pretty early on, my producer, Gina Shay, and I started talking about where the story could go. We started collecting ideas and talking about the characters, things we wanted to see, and the music we wanted to hear.
It started with us, and then it branched out. We hired multiple writers and had a great writer working with us at the top. Then the movie just kept evolving in a very kind of organic way, very much like workshopping a play. The actors, the crew, and the animators brought a lot of ideas to it. Just all of them.
And how is directing an animated film? Is it similar or different than directing a live-action movie?
It takes a lot longer. It takes three to four years to make a film, but apart from that, it's very similar. We still work with the actors. I'm in a room with them. They're not on a set, but we imagine the set around us. I show them pictures of what the place is like. We're in a room together, doing the scene back and forth. Then, it goes to the animators. I work with the animators and talk about the actors' performance and what we need from the characters for the story. We build sets, but they're just inside the computer. They're not tangible sets.
And is the casting process also similar as well? Or do you have to pay more attention to personality and the tone of voice than when casting for live-action?
Well, we have an idea of who the character is, their role in the film, their relationship with each character, and what they need to do. But that's just a start. We start designing the character a little bit. And when we cast the film, we look for actors that feel like they match who we think these characters can be. Then, once we work with them, they also start to define the characters. The character doesn't even exist until we get the actor in there. We hired Kid Cudi, who came in for Clay. However, we didn't record him until about six months later. He had devised this whole voice he wanted to try for the film. We were like, “It sounds great. We love that.”
What kind of music would you play if you were in a band?
That is such a good question. I haven't heard that one. I would play pop music because I love pop music and the history of pop music. From the Beatles up to now. Pop music just feels good. I love all genres, but particularly pop music.
Is that also why there's a lot of pop music in this film? We also hear a little dance, but it's mainly pop music.
Yes, it was intentional. We wanted the score to go through all the decades and to focus a lot on the 90s pop. We haven't explored it in the other films as rich as we have here. It was also intentional because, in the last film, we got to play with all different genres, which was so joyful. We thought this time, “Let's focus on this kind of pop spectacle.”
And which song was the hardest to get?
Well, the song Better Place was challenging. It had to do so much for the movie. We got together with Justin Timberlake and explained where this original song would go and that it had two different tonalities. You need to be able to dance to it, but it also has to be emotional. It plays during a very touching moment in this movie. There was a huge list of ingredients for that song. And at first, he was like, “Okay, that's all”? It was the same thing with Can't Stop the Feeling. It's got to do a lot story-wise. I think Better Place was one of the hardest songs.
And what did you feel when you heard that song when it was finally out?
Oh, it was perfect. It was so good. Our jaws were just on the floor. Justin said, “Okay, this is the demo, and we'll play it over the phone. You can hear it, but we don't have a copy of it.” It was just such a special moment when Justin played that first demo with his vocals on it. We just knew this would fit perfectly.
Were you already able to experience this movie on the big screen or just behind the computer? It's one of those movies that just becomes better when it's being played in cinemas.
We did. We watch it a lot, and we have a theatre at DreamWorks. And we put it in there, watch it and see how it's playing. That's important to this film. The excitement of being able to go back to the theatre since the last one, and we designed it as a theatre experience. It feels like a concert. And the visuals are so dense, complex, and beautiful that we have to see it on the big screen. We do spend a lot of time on our computers; we even see how it plays on our phones. It's about the characters in the story. But if you can get to the theatre, it is a special experience.
How does it feel to finally get the movie out there cause it has been a long process?
Yeah, it's been four years since Gina Shay and I had the concept of the movie. It is an incredible feeling. It never gets old. I've been making movies for almost 30 years, and it just never ceases to amaze me. It blows my mind that we still can make films. Three years of production is a long time and very challenging, although it's also fun and playful. So it's a great feeling. We make these movies to share with everybody, and that's a good feeling. It goes out and connects with all these people worldwide, which is unparalleled.
It certainly connected with the audience I was part of when watching this movie. Trolls Band Together certainly makes people dance, sing and cry.
That's exactly what it does!
Are there any plans for a possible next Trolls film?
Yes, there could be a fourth one. We have another one ready to go. We've got lots of ideas to go further. We always say that the Trolls universe is unlimited. There are no boundaries or barriers. It is an incredible world. It's fun to see these characters kind of evolve and become more complex. We dig into our own human experience and apply it to these characters.
We've got a few ways we could go with the characters. We got some great new worlds and more music we like to play with. So if the audience likes this movie, we're ready to go once more.
Apart from this film, do you already have other projects you're working on?
First, I'm going to enjoy the release of this feature for sure. Share the movie with everybody and talk about it with people like you. That's always fun. At the same time, I'm always working. I love animation. I love making movies. So I've always got some stuff going on. We'll just see what comes to the forefront.
Trolls Band Together is out in UK cinemas on October 20.
