Trolls is a 2016 American animated musical comedy adventure film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Twentieth Century Fox. The film is based on the Troll Dolls created by Thomas Dam. The film is directed by Mike Mitchell with a screenplay by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger from a story by Erica Rivinoja.
The Trolls film follows the story of Princess Poppy (Voiced by Anna Kendrick), the happiest Troll ever born, and the overly cautious, curmudgeonly Branch (Voiced by Justin Timberlake) as they set off on a journey to rescue her friends after the film's villains, The Bergens, invade Troll Village. Their mission is full of adventure and mishaps, as this mismatched duo try to tolerate each other long enough to get the job done.
The film was first released on November 4th, 2016, receiving mixed reviews and grossing $346 million worldwide. A sequel to the film, titled Trolls World Tour, was released on April 10th, 2020. Justin Timberlake has since stated that there are seven Trolls films set to be made.
History with the Macy's Parade[]
The Trolls made their Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade debut in the 90th Anniversary Parade in 2016, in the form of a giant helium balloon. The balloon was created to promote the release of the first Trolls film, and additionally for the Trolls campaign which took place at various Macy's stores nationwide throughout fall 2016, with in-store events, specialty jewelry and merchandise.
The Trolls balloon features Poppy, Branch and Guy Diamond hitching a ride through the streets of New York City on the 18-legged Caterbus. The balloon measures 38-feet tall, 38-feet wide and 57-feet long, with each of the Trolls' iconic hair measuring over two stories tall. The width of the balloon made it the widest in the 2016 Parade and was only bet out the following year by Super Wings' Jett, who measured 39 feet wide. Following the retirement of the Jett balloon after the 2019 Parade, the Trolls balloon once again became the widest balloon currently in the Parade.
The balloon reprised appearances throughout the 2010s, promoting various Trolls media releases such as the 2017 Christmas special, Trolls Holiday, the 2020 sequel Trolls World Tour and the television series, TrollsTopia on NBC's Peacock streaming service and Hulu. During all of these appearances however, the antennae of the Caterbus were bent as a cause of the balloon's overnight inflation net.
The Trolls were originally set to make their fifth Parade appearance in the reimagined 2020 Macy's Parade, being flown down the streets by a framework of five utility vehicles; a method that was put in place following the COVID-19 pandemic. However, rising cases of the virus in New York City throughout November 2020 caused the balloon to be scrapped from the live procession just days before the filming of the Parade began. In lieu of their originally scheduled live appearance, the Trolls balloon used archival footage from the 2017, 2018 and 2019 Parade telecasts.
The Trolls balloon was retired after their virtual appearance in 2020, making a total of five fun-filled appearances.