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Trolls Holiday, on NBC
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This 2017 special is set sometime after the 2016 movie Trolls. I definitely don't think you should watch it until you've seen that movie, because the whole premise of the special totally spoils the end of the movie. (Ergo, if you haven't seen the movie, you shouldn't read any further in this review, either.)

It's not really a Christmas special, per se, but it did air the day after Thanksgiving (immediately following a rerun of How the Grinch Stole Christmas), and at the same time there were other old Christmas specials on other networks. And while most of this special is not at all Christmasy, the end has a very Christmasy look to it, at least. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Um... so, as you know (because you've definitely seen the movie if you're still reading this), there are some creatures called Bergens, who used to eat much smaller creatures called Trolls, on a holiday they called Trollstice. However, at the end of the movie, the Trolls (mainly Princess Poppy and another Troll named Branch, who was like the only unhappy Troll, like, ever) befriended the Bergens (mainly a scullery maid named Bridget and King Gristle). So of course the Bergens would no longer eat Trolls, and that means there's no more Trollstice.

The problem is, that was their only holiday. The Trolls, meanwhile, have like a gajillion holidays of their own. Literally, they celebrate so many things that probably the "Everything is Awesome" singers would think maybe the Trolls should dial it back a little. (I'm guessing.) So anyway, Poppy (who is now Queen of the Trolls) is sad for the Bergens, and decides to give them one of the Trolls' holidays. So she comes up with a big pitch that uses song (and lots of glitter and other props) to explain a whole bunch of silly holidays to Bridget (who is now Queen of the Bergens) and Gristle, and let them choose one for themselves. And of course she gets help from Branch and all their other Troll friends from the movie. Unfortunately, what's fun for Trolls is not necessarily fun for Bergens, and the pitch doesn't go over well at all.

Well... I don't want to spoil exactly how it ends, but of course the ending is happy, and the Bergens do get a new holiday (the nature of which I won't spoil... but it's still not Christmas, no matter how Christmasy it looks). Other than that, all I can say is that the special is really fun and funny and has some very clever gags. (Like the Trolls traveling via "Caterbus," which is like the Catbus from My Neighbor Totoro, except it's a caterpillar. Also there's a literal worm hole that nevertheless behaves something like you would expect a sci-fi wormhole to do. If the sci-fi movie were also an absurd comedy.) And um... you know, there are fun songs, and some rhyming narration (which itself has a twist ending), and... yeah, I don't know what else to tell you. But after you've seen the movie, you definitely have to check out this special sometime. (It doesn't even have to be around Christmas, you can watch it any time of year. You know, be like a Troll, celebrate any day you want.)


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