Western Animation / Trolls Band Together

Spoilers for all previous entries of the Trolls franchise are unmarked here. You Have Been Warned!

There are some new trolls on the block.

Trolls Band Together is a 2023 animated musical film from DreamWorks Animation and is the third film in the Trolls series.

The film picks up a month after the events of the second film with trolls Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and Branch (Justin Timberlake) as they prepare for the wedding of King Gristle (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and Queen Bridget (Zooey Deschanel), as Branch himself contemplates popping the question to Poppy herself. But just as the Bergens say their vows, Poppy discovers that Branch has a secret past. He was once part of her favorite boy band phenomenon, BroZone, with his four brothers: Floyd (Troye Sivan), John Dory (Eric André), Spruce (Daveed Diggs) and Clay (Kid Cudi). When Floyd gets kidnapped by the nefarious Velvet (Amy Schumer) and Veener (Andrew Rannells), it's up to Poppy and Branch to set off and reunite the band and rescue Floyd from a dangerous fate.

Once again, some new members are joining the all-star cast. This includes the likes of Camila Cabello as Poppy's sister Viva, Zosia Mamet as Crimp, and RuPaul as Miss Maxine as well as new music from *NSYNC, featuring their first song in over 20 years, with the band appearing in the film as trolls.

The film was released on November 17, 2023, making the franchise's return to theaters after the last film was sent straight-to-digital in several markets due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. An early screening of the film was held on November 4.

Previews: Official Trailer 1, Official Trailer 2

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Trolls Band Together contains examples of the following:

• Actor Allusion: The film's major revelation that Branch was once a member of a popular boy band is an obvious reference to his actor Justin Timberlake's time as a member of *NSYNC. As such, the film is littered with a number of nods to Timberlake's band days:
  • Branch is revealed to be the youngest of his siblings, and was the literal Baby Of The Bunch during the band's heyday. While not to this same extent, Timberlake is also the youngest member of *NSYNC.
  • When reuniting with John Dory in the opening, an embittered Branch remarks that it's been "over twenty years" since he's seen any of his brothers. In real life, *NSYNC originally dissolved in 2002, just over twenty years before the film's release.
  • Among John Dory’s belongings is a picture of a younger Branch with curly hair, similar to Timberlake's hairstyle during his *NSYNC days.
  • When Branch finally joins in John Dory and Spruce's "Brozone's Back" medley, they sing the chorus of *NSYNC's "I Want You Back".
  • Just before the Dance Party Ending, Branch introduces his brothers and Poppy to some "old buddies" that he invited to perform with them. It turns out to be another troll boy band, all voiced by Timberlake's fellow *NSYNC members, officially reuniting the real-life band for the first time since their separation.
  Branch: You didn't think BroZone was the only band I've ever been in, did you?
  • Though unnamed in the film itself, merchandise and other materials outside of film reveal that Branch's second boy band is called Kismet, one of the names that *NSYNC considered calling themselves before taking on their final name.
• Ambiguously Christian: While the two holiday specials were heavily Christmas-themed, it was never explicity referred to as such. In this film, Floyd makes an offhand remark about a Christmas album when lamenting his stolen talent, seemingly implying that the Trolls do indeed celebrate that holiday.
• Ambiguous Time Period: The flashback to Branch's childhood takes place at least two decades before the present narrative. It appears to be the in-universe equivalent to The '90s or early 2000's, though the exact year is not specified. Even the opening card only refers to this setting as "back in the day..."'.
• Animal-Vehicle Hybrid: John Dory's method of transportation is Rhonda, a creature that is described by Tiny Diamond as part "armadillo", part tour bus.
• Arc Words: "Perfect" is given heavy emphasis on the film, from the constant mention of the Perfect Family Harmony to John Dory's constant stressing that their performances need to be perfect. This word ends up driving much of the sibling conflict in the movie, not just between the brothers either.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: When Crimp arrests Velvet and Veneer for their crimes, the former assistant explains why they are deemed guilty for what they did, with Clay adding in tax evasion as one of their crimes.
  Veneer: I was just saying I had a change of heart!
  Crimp: You also engaged in troll-napping, troll torture, fraud… (snickers with a shrug)
  Clay: And tax evasion! I’m gonna have to repossess your yacht.
• Art Evolution: Compared to the last film, water and some other liquids in this installment are depicted as looking like expandable water beads such as orbeez.
• Aspect Ratio Switch: Velvet and Veneer's music video and interview after Bridget and Gristle's wedding is depicted in a ratio of 4:3 fullscreen in the style of 90's music videos and interviews as opposed to the 2.35:1 widescreen ratio for the rest of the film.
• Badass Adorable: In a flashback to the night the Trolls escaped Bergentown, not all the trolls made it out before the tunnels collapsed, but Viva was able to save the trolls that were trapped by personally fighting off the Bergens, even though they were several times her size.
• Bad "Bad Acting": When the Mount Rageous interviewer asks Velvet and Veneer what their secret to being an overnight sensation is, Veneer panics and says, "What secret? Who says we have a secret?" while hyperventilating and gesticulating wildly.
• Bait-and-Switch: At the end of the movie, Branch has a "small proposal" for Poppy, and gets down on one knee to deliver the proposal. It looks like he's about to propose marriage, and he asks Poppy—to join the band, but Poppy still joyfully accepts along with her long-lost sister Viva.
• Be Careful What You Wish For:
  • Poppy wants Branch and his brothers to get along again because Poppy has always wanted a sibling, fantasizing about a sister who's just like her and has all the same interests. When Viva turns out to be Poppy's long-lost sister, she's exactly the kind of sibling Poppy always wanted, with similar personalities, hobbies, and interests, except for the small detail that Viva doesn't want Poppy to ever leave.
  • Tiny Diamond spends the movie wanting to be treated like an adult instead of a child. But late in the movie, as Branch, Poppy, and Tiny Diamond are scaling walls, Tiny Diamond complains that he's tired, his feet hurt, and he wants to be carried, but Poppy responds that he has to walk on his own and be a big boy now (thus demonstrating to him that being a grown-up involves responsibilities).
• Beleaguered Assistant: Velvet and Veneer don't treat their assistant, Crimp, very well at all. Velvet goes so far as to lock Crimp in a closet and tell Veneer to hire a new assistant, which he orders Crimp to do.
• Big Bad Duumvirate: Velvet and Veneer, two pop stars from Mount Rageous who kidnap trolls and steal talent from them (which also drains the life out of them), since they're not actually talented themselves.
• Big Beautiful Man: In BroZone's heyday, Spruce was regarded as the Hearthrob of the group, and frequently wore open vests that showed off his chiselled abs. In the present day, he's stopped working out and has a noticeable gut, but judging by Poppy's reaction, this hasn't made him any less attractive.
• Big Brother Instinct: Despite the constant conflicts that the BroZone's members have among themselves, with each of the brothers he shows his concern for Floyd's well-being at different moments.
• Big Damn Kiss: After the climactic song, Branch and Poppy finally kiss in front of their siblings and broadcast to a swooning audience.
• Big "WHAT?!": Poppy says this after realizing Branch was in another band.
• Birds of a Feather: When Viva turns out to be Poppy's long-lost sister, she's exactly the sort of sibling Poppy was fantasizing about earlier in the movie; they have the same personalities, the same hobbies, the same interests, they have lots of fun together, etc. The only difference is that unlike Poppy, Viva, who has had no knowledge of the outside world since the night the Trolls escaped Bergen Town, is still afraid of the Bergens, and tries to prevent Poppy from ever leaving again.
• Breaking the Fellowship: BroZone went their separate ways after a disastrous concert gone wrong. The film revolves around them having to reunite to save one of their own.
• Breaking Old Trends: The film deviates from its two predecessors in several ways. This is mainly the result of the movie focused on Branch rather than Poppy.
  • Instead of the prologue being narrated (with Poppy narrating the first film, and Cloud Guy narrating the second) this film opens with an extended flashback to Branch's childhood.
  • Though the wedding at the beginning returns to Bergen Town, the Pop Trolls' village - which is usually the franchise's main setting - is not shown at all.
  • There is no Darkest Hour moment where the trolls lose their happiness and turn grey. A similar effect is employed when Floyd is being drained of his talent, as his colours are shown gradually fading until he eventually turns completely white during his Disney Death, though he soon recovers. This would have changed the Darkest Hour moment into You Are Too Late.
• Broken Pedestal: Played for Laughs. Bruce is listening to Velvet and Veneer's latest hit and reveals he and his kids love their music. But when John Dory tells him they're the ones holding Floyd captive, he notes "It's gonna be hard to separate the art from the artists".
• The Bus Came Back: After making only a brief appearance at the end of the last movie, Bridget and Gristle return to prominence, with their wedding being part of the movie's opening.
• The Cameo: Just before the final song, Timberlake’s fellow *NSYNC members arrive at the venue in troll form, with Branch telling his brothers that BroZone wasn’t the only band he was a part of. The final performance is performed by both the *NSYNC trolls and BroZone together.
• Central Theme: Family. The complications, the difficulties of being in one, but ultimately the best parts of them. The movie easily separates the characters into each family dynamic to show different aspects of it and that while it's not always easy, it's still worth it. There's also an aspect of found family as the movie frequently shows Poppy and Viva being as integral to each other as they are to the brothers with the ones connecting both families being Branch and Poppy who are dating. This even extends to Poppy and Bridget who often regard each other as sisters.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Bridget and Gristle get married at the start of the movie and ride off on their honeymoon. On their way home, they meet up with Viva (not before getting into a misunderstanding) and along with her, travel to Mount Rageons to help the heroes win the day.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome:
  • A number of members of the Snack Pack are noticeably missing from this movie, with the most obvious examples being Smidge, Legsly, and Fuzzbert.
  • With the exception of Cooper's brother Prince D, who attends the wedding at the beginning, the other Troll tribes introduced in World Tour are absent.
• Continuity Nod:
  • When BroZone split up, Floyd leaves Branch with their grandmother, explaining how Branch ended up in her care before her death shown in the first film.
  • John Dory explains that he was able to track down Branch after hearing how he and Poppy stopped Queen Barb's "Rock-pocalypse" in the previous film.
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Velvet and Veneer contrast both Chef and Barb, the respective Big Bads of the two previous movies. Whereas Chef and Barb were individual villains who sought to conquer a place (Bergen Town for Chef, the non-Rock major Troll Tribes' settlements for Barb) for different reasons, Velvet and Veneer are a Big Bad Duumvirate and Brother–Sister Team of aspiring pop musicians aiming to achieve fame and fortune by abducting and stealing the talent of Floyd to fake their way to the top. In contrast to Chef and Barb, who were in some way connected to royalty (Chef being a servant to Bergen Town's rulers and Barb being the Queen of the Rock Trolls), Velvet and Veneer are a duo of spoiled rich kids from a cushy background whose pampered upbringing made them feel entitled to whatever they wanted despite doing nothing to earn it. They juxtapose Chef's goal to kill and feed the Pop trolls to the Bergens to achieve power by depending on a single troll (though they later manage to imprison all but one member of BroZone) to siphon his talent in order to compensate for their utter lack of natural singing ability, which also contrasts Barb's genuine talent as a rock musician. Additionally, upon getting their comeuppance, Velvet remains irredeamable much like Chef did, while Veneer has a Heel–Face Turn similar to Barb's (though not without accepting a more proper punishment).
• Control Freak: John Dory's excessive perfectionism and overbearing demands toward his brothers was a big part of why BroZone split up.
• A Day in the Limelight: While Poppy was the clear protagonist of the first two films, Branch takes the central focus in this one.
• Demoted to Extra: Other than Poppy, Branch and Tiny Diamond, most of the supporting cast from the first two films, particularly the Snack Pack, only appear at the wedding near the beginning of the film, and don't go along on the main adventure, nor do they return for the Dance Party Ending. Biggie in particular only has a single line that is difficult to hear while Mr. Dinkles appears without him in two scenes.
• Department of Redundancy Department: Many of Brozone's songs have similar titles; in the opening sequence, John Dory wants to open with "Girl Baby Baby" and then close with "Baby Baby Girl", but then changes his mind and decides to open with "Baby Baby Girl" and then close with "Baby Baby Girl Woman". Later in the film, when Poppy is asking John Dory who wrote each of Brozone's songs, one song she brings up is "Girl, I Love Your Love, Girl, You Break My Heart, Girl, I Still Love You, but I Seriously Think We Should Have a Talk About Our Relationship, Girl".
• Disappointing Older Sibling: After his brother shows up at the wedding warning the Trolls and the Bergens to stop it, Branch protests that he has no brothers due to the band breaking up and his brothers abandoning him.
• Disaster Dominoes: The performance in the prologue is a disaster because John Dory goes off-script so he can attempt a "stacking" maneuver with his brothers, which throws off their harmony, and then Baby Branch accidentally steps on Clay's face which exacerbates the stack's collapse, and when Floyd falls off the stage he accidentally grabs a vine and gets John Dory tangled in it, then JD gets Spruce tangled in it, then Spruce gets Clay tangled in it. Only Baby Branch is spared being tangled in vines, because coincidentally he's not standing in anyone's paths.
• Disowned Sibling: Branch feels bitter about his brothers abandoning him and when John Dory comes back to ask for his help, considers him his former brother. Poppy misunderstands what that means stating, "That's not how DNA works."
• Distressed Dude: Floyd was captured by Velvet and Veener, and spends most of the movie as their prisoner, being slowly drained of both his talent and his life. After Poppy and Branch split off from the rest of Branch's brothers, they end up being captured by the spoiled siblings in what is implied to be them just charging right into Mount Rageous.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?:
  • Velvet and Veneer's plot to forcefully "steal talent" from other performers parallels various real-life cases of dishonesty within the music industry, such as plagiarising song lyrics, lip-syncing and even pretending to sing with other people's vocals.
  • Tiny offering Branch to suck on a pacifier after being annoyed by John Dory and Poppy, with Branch saying "I can't get back on that train", is like someone offering you a cigar or drug to deal with a stressful situation and a former addict doesn't wanna relapse into that old habit.
• Do I Really Sound Like That?: When the Trolls meet Viva, she's extremely enthusiastic and friendly, but the Trolls find her sheer energy to be "a lot". Poppy, aware that her own personality is similar to Viva's, even asks in an aside, "Is this how people feel when they meet me?"
• The Dog Bites Back: In the climax, Crimp switches off Velvet and Veener's microphones, allowing Branch and his brothers to perform the perfect harmony needed to shatter the diamonds keeping most of them imprisoned. She also quickly performs a citizen's arrest on them when Veneer confesses their crimes, likely as payback for her mistreatment by them.
  Crimp: (after Velvet and Veneer are arrested) Wow, this is liberating!
• Drama-Preserving Handicap: The movie's climax features Gristle and Bridget helping the Trolls chase down Velvet and Veneer. But the villainous duo start gaining ground, the Bergen couple throw their Troll friends over to Velvet and Veneer's boat, thereby ensuring they can't assist during the direct confrontation.
• Dramatic Irony: Velvet and Veneer are introduced performing their Breakout Hit, "Watch Me Work", which is all about how talent and fame takes years of effort and hard work. In the scene right after this, it's revealed that the pair are actually tone-deaf hacks who are literally stealing their talent from Floyd to make themselves famous overnight.
• Embarrassing Old Photo: John Dory shows Poppy an old picture of Branch as a baby with a perm hairstyle, which Branch finds embarrassing, and Poppy finds the picture hilarious and bursts into laughter over it. However, Poppy also thinks the picture is cute, and likes it so much that she wants John Dory to make wallet-sized copies of it.
• Engineered Public Confession: Subverted in the climax. Rather than being tricked into it, due to the entire city's cameras already being on them after the car chase and Brozone's perfomance, Veneer himself takes the opportunity to publicly confess to his and his sister's crimes, having finally decided to have a change of heart.
  Veneer: Listen up, Mount Rageons. We are...FRAUDS!
• Entitled Bastard: Velvet and Veneer are a female and male example; Veneer even admits that they believe "we deserve to be famous just because we want to." Later on, Velvet and Veneer even tell Floyd and the rest of Brozone that they should be thankful that Velvet and Veneer want to steal their talent, because at least then their talents "won't go to waste".
• Evil Plan: Velvet and Veneer are planning to win an award called the "Lifer Award", which celebrates a lifetime of achievements. This would be a mundane plan, except that since Velvet and Veneer plan to do this by kidnapping trolls and draining the talent (and life) out of them.
• Face Death with Dignity: When Bridget and King Gristle Jr. are captured by the Putt-Putt trolls and sentenced to be executed by the teeth of the park's mechanical clown, Bridget asks if it would be weird if they made out. King Gristle Jr. replies that it would be weird if they didn't, and they decide to spend their last moments alive smooching. This contributes to saving their lives, along with Viva recognizing Bridget from Poppy's scrapbook, as it demonstrates to the trolls that the Bergens are now capable of happiness by themselves and are no longer a troll-eating threat.
• Failed a Spot Check: When capturing the rest of BroZone, neither Velvet or Veneer seem concerned by or have even noticed the fact that the fifth member of the band - Branch - isn't there with them^note Judging by the fact that they only have four diamond cages - and Branch himself was the literal Baby Of The Bunch in the band's heyday - it's implied that the pair have simply forgotten that BroZone even had a fifth member. As a result, they're completely blindsided when Branch - along with Poppy and Tiny - crashes their award ceremony to rescue his brothers.
• Five-Second Foreshadowing
  • The letter John Dory receives from "Floyd" becomes questionable when we find out Floyd is trapped in a diamond container with no way to mail a letter from there. Turns out it was Velvet who forged the letter to lure him and his brothers into a trap.
  • Additionally, the letter is signed "Floyd the Sensitive One". But when Floyd left in the prologue, he specifically said he was pursuing a solo career. So, why would he sign a letter using his former "Sensitive One" sobriquet that Brozone gave him, when he doesn't want to be a part of Brozone anymore? Because he didn't sign the letter or even write it; Velvet forged the letter, and she signed it using Floyd's Brozone stage name because that's what she's familiar with.
  • Also, the letter says that Floyd is being held against his will by "superstars Velvet and Veneer". But "superstars" sounds like a strangely complimentary nickname to give to people who are sucking the life out of Floyd...because Floyd didn't give them that nickname at all; Velvet forged the letter and called herself and her brother "superstars" to boost her own ego.
• Forbidden Fruit: Discussed when John Dory asks Tiny Diamond to press the Hustle button on the bus.
  John Dory: Tiny. You see that button?
  Tiny Diamond: Uh, yeah!
  John Dory: The beautiful, shiny button?!
  Tiny Diamond: Oh, you mean the button that's taking every fiber of my being not to press?
  John Dory: Press it!
• Foreshadowing: Even if you weren't spoiled by the trailers, King Peppy's suspicious behavior when questioned by Poppy about "secret family members" and his face when Poppy mentions if she had a sister really would've hinted at Viva's existence.
• Forgotten Fallen Friend: Subverted. Branch's brothers leave him with their grandmother when they break up in the opening flashback, with this being set a few years before she was eaten by the Bergens before the events of the first film. When Branch reunites with his brothers as an adult, none of them are ever shown questioning their grandmother's whereabouts and are not concerned at all about her absence. Branch later mentions during an argument that she was eaten, but the brothers only seem mildly surprised.
• Formerly Fit: Spruce was once the "heartthrob" of BroZone, with the abs to match. But after settling down and starting a family, he has gained a noticeable gut (though Poppy still believes he lives up to the "heartthrob" title).
• Freudian Slip: When ushering Poppy out the door to Gristle and Bridget's wedding, Branch excitedly says "Let's go get married!", inadvertently revealing his secret intentions to propose to her. When Poppy questions this, he hurriedly backpedals and clarifies that he meant "Let's go get Bridget and Gristle married."
• From the Mouths of Babes: Most of Bruce's children have ordinary childhood concerns like wanting a cookie, one sibling biting the other, etc. But one child worries that "I don't think any government stands a chance!" Bruce replies, "you're not wrong, kid."
• Funny Background Event: At the end of the movie during the Dance Party Ending, just after Branch invites Poppy and Viva to join the band, Viva can be seen in the background awkwardly moving from group to group while singing and dancing, unsure of which to join, until finally she joins the main singing group of Branch, Poppy, and Brozone just before the credits.
• Gilded Cage: The Putt-Putt Trolls' hideout used to be an abandoned Bergen minature golf course, which Viva and Clay converted into a bright, fun carnival converted filled with rides and treats, and Viva seems very welcoming to any trolls that pass by, especially when one turns out to be her long-lost sister, Poppy. The moment that Poppy and the brothers try to leave, Viva suddenly slams the front gates shut and refuses to let them go because of her fear of what's outside, forcing Clay to let them out instead.
• Glass-Shattering Sound: The "Perfect Family Harmony" is said to be the only thing capable of shattering Floyd's diamond prison.
• Happily Married: After Brozone breaks up in the prologue, in the present we see that Bruce, formerly Spruce, is happily married to a resident of Vacay Island named Brandy, and they have several children together. They co-own and operate a business and clearly love each other, and Brandy has no problem with Bruce temporarily leaving her in charge of the children so he can help save Floyd because "You'd never forgive yourself if you didn't help save your brother!" Besides, Bruce can return the favor next month by covering for her while she's on a girls' yoga retreat.
• History Repeats: Just like in the first film, King Gristle Jr. and Bridget's romance becomes more important to the plot than it first seems. In the first film, Gristle and Bridget finding happiness with each other convinces the Bergens that they don't need to eat trolls to be happy. In this film, Gristle and Bridget being romantic and kind convinces Viva that the Bergens really have changed their ways and there's no longer a reason to be afraid, which inspires Viva to go to Mount Rageous after all to help her sister Poppy.
• Hollywood Tone-Deaf: Without troll magic, Velvet and Veneer are comically unable to carry a tune. (Which is strange for Veneer in particular because his actor is actually a very talented singer)
• Horrible Honeymoon: Subverted. The newlyweds Gristle and Bridget have a fun offscreen honeymoon, but it takes a turn for the worse when they visit Viva's golf course to get some fries. Since the Trolls there don't trust Bergens, they tie the two up and send them to be mashed up in the giant mouth of the clown. However, Viva recognizes Bridget from Poppy's scrapbook and spares the two.
• Hot Skitty-on-Wailord Action: Spruce (or as he now prefers to be called, Bruce) is married to Brandy, a being several times his size, with whom he had many children. When asked how this could be possible, he replies "Don't overthink it".
• Hurricane of Puns: When Branch finally agrees to join the mission to rescue Floyd, Poppy excitedly starts thinking of punny names for the reunion tour, saying "Brozone 2.0! Brozone Reunion! Bro Here We Bro Again! Brozone Where'd They Bro, I don't know, we're gonna find them!"
• Hypocrite: Velvet and Veneer's debut song is called "Watch Me Work", but they have never actually worked to earn their fame and are just stealing talent from Floyd.
• Immediate Sequel: Tiny Diamond is stated to be one month old, establishing how much time has passed since Trolls World Tour, when he was shown being born.
• Instantly Proven Wrong:
  • Poppy and Branch's argument over John Dory.
    Poppy: Branch, what's going on with you?
    Branch: The question we should be asking is "What's going on with him"?! I bet you he's only here because he needs something.
    Poppy: That's not true. He's your brother!
    John Dory: Branch. I'm gonna be straight with you, I need something.
    Branch: And there it is.
    Poppy: Come on, man. I'm trying here.
  • Branch dismisses the postcard John Dory got from Spruce as enough to track him down, since he thinks the island and sunset on the card doesn't exist, until he sees it just 3 seconds later. It even has the exact message on the postcard "Wish you were here!" floating in the sky.
• Interspecies Romance: Spruce settled down with a vaguely felt puppet-like being named Brandy.
• Ironic Juxtaposition: Veneer and Velvet's relationship is this to the Trolls. While the Trolls help their siblings with love and care despite their previous separations to lift one another up in the end, Veneer gets metaphorically and literally dragged down by his sister who makes him overdependent on her, even if her influence is terrible on him, which got him arrested with Velvet in the end despite atoning.
• Irony: Vacay Island is a place where every day is a vacation...except for Bruce and his family, who work the only apparent Local Hangout there.
• It's All About Me: Velvet and Veneer both think the world revolves around them, though Velvet is much more selfish than her brother. After Veneer says his sister's his biggest inspiration, Velvet says her biggest inspiration is "also me", she treats Crimp like a doormat and then accuses Crimp of draining the life from her, she reacts to Floyd's demand to leave his brothers alone by saying she's "tired of all this drama", and in a flashback to when she and her brother were children, their parents ask Velvet how her day was, and Velvet responds by shouting "Stop attacking me!" and banging the table.
• It's the Best Whatever, Ever!: During the climax, when Bridget and King Gristle Jr. need to make a motorcycle jump to bring Poppy and Branch closer to Velvet and Veneer, Bridget shouts that this is the "best...honeymoon...ever!"
• I Was Quite a Fashion Victim: In one scene, Poppy sees an old photo of Branch as a baby with frosted tips, which she laughs about. John Dory also shows Poppy a picture of Baby Branch with a perm.
  Branch: It was an era!
• Literal-Minded:
  • After John Dory reveals himself to be Branch's brother, Poppy asks Branch why he never told her he had brothers. Branch says that John Dory is his "former brother". Branch means that he no longer considers John Dory his brother after he walked out on him, but Poppy thinks Branch literally means he and John Dory are no longer related, so she shouts, "That's not how DNA works!"
  • Late in the movie, as Poppy and Branch are using the "Hustle Dimension" to get closer to Velvet and Veneer, they ask the Hustle man to drop them off near Velvet and Veneer. He agrees, but then literally drops them so they're free-falling and have to be caught by Gristle and Bridget, with Branch shouting, "Not literally!"
• Locked into Strangeness: Floyd's vibrant reddish-pink hair gradually loses its colour as Velvet and Veneer keep draining the talent and life out of him. Even when his brothers eventually save and revive him, the tips of Floyd's hair are still permanently bleached white in the ending.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Viva and the rest of her tribe still live in fear of the Bergens, unaware that Bergens no longer want to eat Trolls.
• Logo Joke: After the DreamWorks logo is formed, it turns into a scrapbook version of it similar to the variant used in the first film. Also, the logo's theme is in low pitch.
• Make-Out Kids: After the wedding, Bridget and King Gristle Jr. start smooching whenever they can. It even becomes a plot point; they're captured and almost executed by the Putt-Putt trolls, but they choose to spend their last minutes smooching, and this, along with Viva recognizing Bridget from Poppy's scrapbook, proves to the Putt-Putt trolls that the Bergens have changed their ways, and Bridget and King Gristle Jr.'s lives are spared.
• Meaningful Echo:
  • In the prologue:
  Baby Branch: And when you come back, we'll build our hideout.
  Floyd: Whoa, is that a ten-story waterslide?
  Baby Branch: Yeah, that's how we shower!
  • In the end:
  Branch: I built the hideout, Floyd. Except the ten-story waterslide.
  Floyd (waking up): But... how will we shower?
• Medium-Shift Gag:
  • At the tour bus, when Tiny Diamond presses the Hustle button, the bus warps into light speed, causing Tiny and the other passengers to be depicted in trippy 2D animation.
  Poppy: Wow! Too much Hustle is a thing!
  • During the "Brozone's Back" impromptu performance by John Dory, Bruce, and Branch, when Branch invites Poppy to dance along with them onstage and the song transitions to Stayin' Alive, the screen briefly shifts to being made entirely of dots, like the surface of a disco ball.
• Mouth Screen: Coming Soon
• Never Trust a Trailer: Most of the marketing made Branch's brothers seem more callous towards him than they are in the actual film.
  • Branch's grandmother is not shown in the trailer, and the flashback is edited to imply the brothers simply abandoned Branch by himself when they broke up. In the film, Floyd makes sure to leave Branch in the care of their grandmother before he leaves, tying back into Branch's backstory shown in the first film.
  • The trailers gave the impression that Baby Branch screwed up a performance due to pre-show jitters, causing the brothers to leave him. In the opening scene of the movie, while the performance is indeed a disaster, the band breaks up because the brothers are mad at each other, not at Branch (and Floyd even takes time to reassure Branch that it's not his fault they're leaving).
  • Branch claims that his brothers never came back for him, but John Dory claims that he did eventually come back for Branch, but Branch wasn't there (because by then, the last Trollstice had happened and everyone had moved out of the tree to Pop Village), and John Dory didn't even know Branch was still alive until he heard about him saving the world from Queen Barb in the last film.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: The fact that Velvet and Veneer kidnapped Floyd, out of everyone in BroZone, is what brings our heroes into conflict with them to begin with, because Branch initially refused to come along on John Dory's rescue mission, and only gave in because it was Floyd specifically that was kidnapped.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: Velvet and Veneer's plan to "steal talent" from BroZone as an easy route to fame has many direct parallels to the infamous real-life R&B duo Milli Vanilli. After becoming famous overnight in The '80s, Milli Vanilli became the subject of a massive scandal after it was revealed that they never actually sang any of their songs, and had in fact been lip-syncing to another singer's vocals while passing it off as their own work.
• Noodle Incident: Gristle and Bridget's honeymoon. It appearently involved Gristle of all people getting both of them kicked out of a water park. We never get the full story, but according to Gristle, it involved Gristle losing his swimming trunks because of a water slide malfunction.
  • Also, Bridget (who spent her whole life as a poor maid in the Bergen's castle) apparently knows how to drive a motorcycle.
• "Not So Different" Remark: When attempting to persuade Viva to lift the lockdown and allow Poppy, Branch, and the Brozone trolls to leave, Branch explains to Viva that he used to be just like her, living in a bunker. The bunker did keep him alive, and he didn't even have to wear pants—but it meant he was living without pants (the analogy is that he missed out on daily life due to his paranoia).
• Not Using the "Z" Word: Or in this case, B word. In the Mini Golf Hole of Fun, the citizens try not to say the word "burgers", because it reminds them too much of "Bergens". Clay explains that they call burgers "meat circles" instead.
• Obnoxious In-Laws: During Bridget and King Gristle Jr.'s wedding, an elderly Bergen in the audience, who is apparently the groom's aunt, shouts, "Hey Bridget, you still have time to run for it!" King Gristle Jr., trying to remain civil, says to her, "Very funny, Aunt Smeed, so glad you could make it!"
• Official Couple: After two movies and two series of Ship Tease, Branch and Poppy are openly referring to each other as boyfriend and girlfriend.
• Pass the Popcorn: Tiny Diamond, excited about the drama of Branch's long-lost brother, asking Mr. Dinkles to "Corn me" and Dinkles spits out a bag of popcorn.
• Party Scattering: After their last performance and argument, Brozone separated halfway around the world. Spruce headed off to Vacay Island, Clay moved in with the Putt-putt Trolls, It’s unknown where John was, but he came to rescue Floyd who was captured by Velvet and Veneer on Mount Rageous.
• Perfectly Cromulent Word: As Viva is introducing herself to the trolls, she says it's "fantastamazing" to meet all of them, and then explains that "fantastamazing" is a word she made up by combining "fantastic" and "amazing". She used to say "amastic", but that didn't sound as good. Poppy tries this as well and comes up with "fantastamawesome", which Viva says is different but works too, congratulating Poppy for making it her own.
• Please, Don't Leave Me: After Viva tries to trap Poppy and her friends so she won't lose her sister, Clay opens the door anyway, since he doesn't want to lose his brother either. As Poppy and her friends are leaving, Viva is unable to follow since she's too afraid to step outside, so she begs Poppy, "Please! I want you to stay!"
• Psychological Projection: Poppy spends the first half of the movie really hoping Branch can make up with his brothers, because she always wanted to have a sibling herself. Branch says sibling relationships are complicated, but Poppy disagrees since if she had a sister, they would never fight, always have each other's backs, think the same things and be practically twins, etc. So, she wants Branch to reunite with his brothers because she's projecting her own desire for a sibling onto him; Bridget even asks Poppy at the beginning, "Poppy, could we maybe unpack the sister thing ''after'' the vows?" Poppy learns her lesson later about how complicated sibling relationships can be when her long-lost sister Viva, despite being exactly the sort of sibling Poppy fantasized about, tries to prevent her from ever leaving again.
• Putting the Band Back Together: Having learned of Branch’s boy band past, Poppy joins their mission to reassemble the band.
• Rainbow Puke: After reacting to King Gristle's outfit, Cloud Guy upchucks rainbow-colored glitter.
• Really Gets Around: A G-rated example. During King Gristle Jr. and Bridget's wedding, the officiant remarks that "Falling in love is easy. We've all done it. I've done it a hundred times, thousands even if you count the semester I spent abroad."
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: When his brothers plan on going their separate ways after they rescue Floyd, Branch gives an angry and heartbreaking one to them for their selfishness, always treating him like a baby, and never thought about taking his feelings into consideration.
  Branch: You're mad at him, but you guys do the exact same thing to me! You all still treat me like the baby of the family, but guess what, I stopped being a baby the day you guys walked out on me. 'Cause I had too. Then Grandma got eaten and there was no one else to take care of me. This time, I'm walking out on you.
• Remember the New Guy?:
  • Apparently Branch has four older brothers that were apart of a famous boy band known as BroZone when he was a baby, despite that Branch was primarily raised by his grandmother before she was eaten.
  • Poppy has an older sister, Viva who was lost in the escape from Bergen Town. Even trolls who might've been around by the time Viva was even an infant and then know as the first born princess, like Branch and his brothers, are surprised to learn of her existence.
• Reverse Psychology: When John Dory and Bruce are about to do a practice song to prove that Bruce was in a band, Branch at first refuses to participate. Poppy tells him that he's probably right that he can't do it; singing with his brothers after all these years would probably overwhelm him with emotions too powerful to handle, so Branch shouldn't do it. Branch scoffs, "I think I can handle singing a song" and agrees to perform.
• Rhetorical Question Blunder: As Velvet and Veneer are driving on the roads to get away from Branch and Poppy, Velvet rhetorically asks the citizens of Mount Rageous, "You didn't think we were just going to give you a boring old stage show, did you?" But one citizen replies, "That's explicitly what I bought tickets for!" So, Velvet has to cover with "We're taking this show on the road!"
• Rhymes on a Dime: When Brozone breaks up and the brothers are going their separate ways, John Dory uses a lot of words with the "o" sound, "I'm going to hike the Never-glade Trail, by myself, bro-lone! Yeah, that's right! Bro, bro, going solo, YOLO!"
• Rich Bitch: Velvet and Veneer are a female and male example; they want to be famous, but don't want to actually work for it (despite their breakout song being about hard work), so they kidnap Trolls and magically drain the talent out of them, which also drains the life out of them as well.
• Road Trip Plot: John Dory, Branch, and Poppy have to drive to different locations picking up Spruce and Clay to use the Perfect Family Harmony to save Floyd.
• Self-Serving Memory: Played for Laughs. During a Motive Rant, Velvet implies that she and Veneer had a Dark and Troubled Past before their rise to fame, leading to a flashback where they're shown as dirty street urchins begging for more food. Veneer then corrects her, pointing out that their parents were dentists and they grew up rich with everything they ever wanted, leading to a more accurate flashback where they're shown pigging out on sweets.
• Sequel Escalation: Inverted. The first Trolls film was about saving the entire village of Pop Trolls from being captured and eaten by the Bergens, and World Tour upped the ante by introducing other troll tribes and a villainous Rock Troll trying to take over the entire world. In contrast, Band Together has comparatively smaller stakes, and mainly revolves around Poppy and Branch going on a road trip to reunite his family and save his brother from an egotistical pop duo.
• Shout-Out:
  • In the opening flashback, Floyd explains to Branch why BroZone is breaking up, while name-dropping several other boy bands in the process.
    Floyd: We're not in sync. We've gone from boys to men, and now there's only one direction for us to go: the back streets.
  • This happens again at the very end of the film, after the brothers have reunited and are about to perform together for the Dance Party Ending.
    Floyd: We may not be the New Kids on the Block anymore, but I'm loving this new edition of us.
    Clay: You know, I'm really glad those ninety-eight degrees of separation are behind us.
    John Dory: Just as long as we're together.
    Spruce: (while eating) Hey, you guys gotta try this menudo.
  • Of course once a certain other boy band arrives on the scene:
  Clay: "Now these guys know how to flex the drip!"
  John Dory: "You are so in sync!"
  Boom: "I don't get it"
  • Velvet's Imagine Spot of her and Veneer as children parodies Oliver Twist.
    Young Veneer: Please, sir, I want some more.
• Skewed Priorities:
  • During John Dory's crashing of Bridget and Gristle's wedding, Gristle tries to have defuse the situation, because it's holding things up and they have a venue he doesn't wanna miss. Bridget, however, shushes her soon-to-be husband since she enjoys "very hot gossip."
  • Veneer has second thoughts about the plan to drain the talent (and life) out of Floyd, but still won't go against the plan until the end of the movie because he's scared of his sister Velvet, and because he still enjoys all the fame, money, and things he was able to buy. Floyd scoffs that "dying sucks", but he's glad his death will at least serve the cause of Boho-chic home decorations for Veneer.
• Smile of Approval: Floyd gives one to Veneer when he finally got the courage to stand up to Velvet and confess their crimes to everyone.
• Soup of Poverty: Parodied - when Veneer is expressing reservations about draining the talent out of trolls to fuel their popstar careers, Velvet asks, "Do you wanna lose all this and go back to the dark place where we had nothing?", followed by a flashback of Velvet and Veneer as small orphan children holding empty soup bowls and begging for more food. Then Veneer reminds his sister that they actually had a normal middle-class upbringing and their parents were dentists.
• Stag Party: Gristle had quite the bachelor party, as he and Cloud Guy are both exhausted and nauseous (likely hungover) the morning of the wedding.
• Stage Parent: Stage-siblings to be more precise
  • Velvet uses mental and emotional abuse to control her brother and changed him to be just like her in order to become famous and keep Veneer from betraying her.
  • John Dory had his brothers act the way he wants them and to push them to perfection in order to achieve the Perfect Harmony. Problem was he had no idea how much he was hurting his brothers.
• Strange Minds Think Alike: After Viva is revealed to be Poppy's long-lost sister, Viva offers to make candy necklaces with Poppy "that we never finish because we eat all the candy." At the end of the movie, after Viva is reunited with her father Peppy, Peppy asks Viva if she wants to make candy necklaces with him "that we never finish because we eat all the candy.
• The Stinger: In a post-credits scene, Tiny tells Mr. Dinkles about the journey he had and would rather stick to being a child for a while. When he asks Dinkles how much money he owes him, the worm simply says he's out of network, much to Tiny's confusion.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: In the climax, Veneer has a Heel–Face Turn and publicly exposes his and Velvet's schemes. To his surprise, he's still arrested along with his sister, since having a change of heart doesn't change the fact that he still knowingly committed all those crimes. Thankfully, he's willing to acknowledge this point and is still a very good sport about being arrested.
• Swapped Roles: While they are both the main characters, the last two movies were focused on Poppy with Branch supporting her. Because of the context of saving Floyd and bringing Brozone back together, Branch takes the lead while Poppy plays his support.
• Take That!:
  • When he learns what Velvet and Veneer are doing - magically stealing Floyd's talent for themselves and slowly draining the life out of him - a horrified John Dory remarks that it's even more evil than lip-syncing.
  • Floyd begs Velvet and Veneer to stop using his talent, he claims he only barely has enough left to do "a desperate Christmas album" or a one-off performance of the National Anthem.
• Tragic Keepsake:
  • Branch's vest is revealed to be a gift given to him by Floyd when the band broke up.
  • Turns out Poppy's hug-time bracelet was this as it belonged to her sister Viva, who was lost in the tunnels and Peppy found the bracelet soon after.
• Trailers Always Spoil:
  • Poppy having a long-lost sister was spoiled by most of the movie's trailers.
  • This promo for the film ended up spoiling the appearance of the *NSYNC trolls, and Branch being a member of the band.
• Two Scenes, One Dialogue: Or in this case, Three Scenes, One Dialogue. While Poppy and Viva are getting to bond as sisters for the first time, Clay is also shown catching up with his brothers about how he and Viva created the carnival hideout. Meanwhile, back in Trolls Village, King Peppy is relaying his side of the story of how Viva and the others were separated to his therapist (Mr. Dinkles.) Clay tells them that they need to get Poppy and go before Viva finds out, right before Viva is shown telling Poppy that she isn't going to let her leave.
• Understanding Girlfriend: Poppy to Branch. She joins him in his quest to reunite his brothers and supports him. Even at his lowest point, Poppy still chooses to be with Branch because of her Undying Loyalty towards him.
• Vertigo Effect: Played 4 times during the movie.
• Visual Pun: There is a marker drawing of a hot dog on Gristle's cheek following his bachelor party. In other words, someone drew a wiener on his face.
• Wham Line: When Poppy meets Viva, she's ecstatic at having a long-lost sister, especially since they think so much alike, have similar personalities, and have many of the same hobbies. However, when Poppy asks Viva to come along on the journey to Mount Rageous to rescue Branch's brother Floyd, Viva not only refuses, but:
  Viva: Whoa, I am not going to Mount Rageous. And neither are you, silly! You're never going to leave again!
• You Never Asked: Poppy said this word for word when John Dory pointed out that he didn't realize that Branch cared about his brothers so much when he had a picture of his bunker.
  Poppy: This is Branch's bunker. He built it for you guys.
  John Dory: I didn't know.
  Poppy: I guessed you never asked.

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