On Trolls And Family
Trolls Band Together is definitely about more than boy bands
We went to see Trolls Band Together Saturday, which will come as a surprise to absolutely no one. Of all the movies that have come out since my son was born, the Trolls franchise is my favorite (Frozen comes a close second). As a music enthusiast, I love that music is the root of all the Trolls movies. As a maximalist, I love the aesthetic of the movies: they’re brightly colored, a little chaotic and balls to the wall with glitter. But I also love the heart of the stories. They’re all about the ties that bind us together, how music can deepen relationships, and how nothing is more important than connection, whether it’s with family or friends. Trolls Band Together is no different, in fact it brings the theme of family to the forefront.
The major plot of Trolls Band Together is that Branch was once a member of the boy band BroZone with his older brothers. Unable to complete the perfect family harmony, the band breaks up, leaving Branch to fend for himself. Now, Branch’s favorite brother has been taken hostage, and the only way they can save him is to get BroZone back together. Along the way, Poppy finds out that she has a long-lost sister.
I’m sure everyone expects me to gush about the boy band storyline and trust me, I fucking loved every second of it. It was done so well, and I LOVED the appearance of *NSYNC as Branch’s other boy band, Kismet. My face hurt from smiling so much. But the things I loved the most about the movie was how it handled family, both the one we’re born into, and the ones we create for ourselves.
I never know who knows this, but I have four older half siblings. My dad is 15 years older than my mom (he turns 79 this week!) and had my oldest brother when he was 20. There’s 11 years difference between me and the sister right before me. I grew up as an only child because they’re all so much older than me and grew up with their own mothers. My oldest brother was married and had a child of his own when I was born. I have eight niblings; I was an aunt four times over before I left elementary school.
When I was a kid, I had a passing relationship with my siblings. What did we have in common? They were living their lives, and I was learning how to do multiplication and tie my shoes. According to my parents, I wanted a baby brother, but when they told me that we had to take whatever baby we got, I told them to forget it. I was largely content being an “only” child, even if it did get lonely sometimes. My friends would come over to play and I would be relieved when they left and my stuff was back where I liked it. Because it was just me, I wanted for very little. I would see my siblings, usually my sisters, because they would bring the babies over to play or whatever. My oldest brother lives in Illinois, and we went to visit him for the first time when I was in 5th grade. The summer between 6th and 7th grade, I went to visit for like a month by myself, which made me feel very grown up and cool.
When I was in high school, my dad dropped a shock on us. I had another sister. Even my mom didn’t know about her. Apparently, her mom had told her that someone else was her father, but eventually decided to tell her the truth. She had googled my dad and found the paper he worked for and then called them and got our phone number. It seemed like she didn’t want anything from him other than to get to know him and have some sort of relationship. I think my mom was pissed for a while, but I was kind of indifferent to the whole thing. My dad asked me if I wanted to have any sort of relationship with her and I declined. I liked my family the way I knew it, and I wasn’t interested in getting to know someone new.
My family of origin is complicated to people who aren’t me. I have good relationships with my siblings; we may not talk or see each other often, but if I need them, I know I can call them. My oldest brother has bailed me out of several tough spots over the years. My sisters took me out for dinner when I was 18 and getting ready to go off to college in an effort for us to cultivate relationships as adult women. Everytime we go to NYC, we see my brother and his daughter. For people who didn’t grow up together, and considering each of my siblings has a complicated relationship with my dad, I think we’re doing great.
Trolls Band Together shows the ways that we show up for our bio family, but also how our chosen family shows up for us. Branch was orphaned as a kid, but in the first movie, he creates a new family with Poppy and her friends, showing that the ties that bind are deeper than blood. Even though they eventually become a couple, they continue to show up for each other and more importantly, their friends and community, who are like family. Obviously we need different friends for different adventures, but it was nice to see Satin and Chenille, Guy Diamond and of course, my favorite, Tiny Diamond, who is a very important part of the story.
At the beginning of the movie, Poppy and Branch’s friends Bridget and Gristle, are getting married. Bridget and Gristle are Bergens who used to eat trolls but Bridg and Poppy became besties, and then they stopped eating trolls. Poppy and Bridget remind me of me and my besties; I’d do anything for them, including making them a wedding dress out of balloons so they could fly into their wedding. Later in the movie, Bridget and Grissie interrupt their honeymoon to help Poppy and Branch save his brothers. That’s how you show up for your besties when they need you.
After Poppy meets her long-lost sister Viva, she explains that the Bergens don’t eat trolls anymore, and that Bridget is her best friend, describing her as the sister Poppy didn’t know she had. Poppy has a whole scrapbook of her friendship with Bridget, which she leaves behind with Viva. Viva, who was agoraphobic because of the Bergen attacks when she was a kid, asked Poppy to stay behind, but Poppy’s loyalty to her friends superseded her connection to her sister. Eventually, Viva realizes that family is more important than fear, and joins Poppy to save BroZone.
I will say, I hope that if there is another Trolls movie (and I hope there is), they don’t diminish the friendship between Poppy and Bridget because she has a “real” sister now. My besties are the sisters of my heart because they’re the sisters I chose to have. Our relationships aren’t less valid because we’re not related. I’d date to see that lesson be taught to kids.
The relationship between Branch and his brothers felt so real too. His four older brothers, John dory, Clay, Spruce and Floyd, left him behind to go out and do their own thing, and he didn’t see them for like 20 years or something. But once they’re back together, they fall right back into that sibling dynamic. Now, we know I don’t have that kind of relationship with my own siblings, but Beth is very close to her sisters, and I’ve seen this trope play out right in front of me. It’s hard to grow out of the relationship dynamics you create when you’re young — it evolves, but it never really goes away.
One of the things I loved most about Trolls Band Together is how they played around with the boy band trope and stereotypes. They call the stereotypes out right in the beginning, but then you see the members of the group trying to rebel against it in the background. John Dory can’t seem to separate his role as the oldest brother from his role as the leader of the group, which creates much of the tension. Clay doesn’t want to be the fun one, he’s in a sad book club for crying out loud. Spruce, tired of being the “hot” one, lets his six pack abs become a keg in middle age, and is much happier for it. Branch has to fight against their belief that he’s still the baby they left behind and have them see him as a man who has taken control of his life. (The bit with him in a diaper as an adult is hilarious)
When *NSYNC did their PR blitz for “Better Place”, it was so great to see that their personalities and dynamics hadn’t changed in 20 years, they’re just able to swear now. During Hot Ones, Chris calls JC a “pussy” because he wimped out on the last dab. JC, ever the serious one, is like “whoa!” and truly horrified. Joey releases a litany of fucks directly into the camera, and Justin, Lance and Chris join in. You can tell that they have nothing to lose, so it doesn’t feel reserved or fake or forced. The stereotypes didn’t exist for them in the same way it did for some of their peers, which has given them the space to buck against the convention. But you can see the familial bond they have as chosen brothers through the way they interact with each other.
We’re coming into the holiday season, which often puts people in their feelings about family. I think, and this was what I took away from Trolls Band Together, is that at the end of the day. Your family, no matter what that looks like, will show up for you when you need them.