Trollz is an American animated television series created by Dic Entertainment in 2005, loosely based on the popular Troll dolls from the 1950s. Very loosely. The show revolves around five young Troll girls, each with different personalities—Amethyst, Ruby, Sapphire, Topaz, and Onyx. While they're different, the "BFFL", AKA Best Friends For Life, are friends til the end.Together, they fight evil with The Power of Friendship, try to impress cute boys, and get their homework done, all while learning about the magic in the world they live in.Trollz first ran in 2005, and occasionally reran until DIC was bought out by Cookie Jar Entertainment. The show returned as part of Cookie Jar TV on February 5, 2011. However, the show left CBS on September 10, 2011, due to Cookie Jar Entertainment wanting to rebrand the block to Team Toon, as it will be replaced with Danger Rangers.
This show provides examples of:
All There On The Website: The Trollz' pets, aside from Amethyst's dog, Wa-Wa, are only seen on the website. (Ruby has a cat named Za-Za, Topaz has a bunny named La-La, Sapphire has a chipmunk named Ya-Ya, and Onyx has a lizard named Na-Na.) Some of the backstory involving Simon is only found there, too.
And I Must Scream: Zirconia was turned into a tree for 3,000 years. She was conscious the whole time. When Simon tries to turn Onyx into a tree, he at first simply imprisons her within one. Eventually she'd become part of the tree, like what happened with Zirconia.
Spinell got this too, being turned into a dragon for 3,000 years. A dragon that couldn't talk.
Anime Hair: Everyone but Simon, Jasper, and Snarf.
And Jasper did originally sport anime hair as well.
Broken Aesop: In the story arc where the girls turn evil, Ruby worries that her meanness has influenced them into becoming mean. Obsidian tells her that if she sets a bad example, she can change it by setting a good one. It seems okay until Ruby cleans up her act and it fails because Simon's magic was too strong.
Brought Down to Normal: Done in the arc where the Trollz break the Sacred Altar, causing the magic to disappear. The next episode has them working to fix things.
Coincidental Broadcast: In the episode "Onyx's Gem". Justified that it was most likely magically assisted.
Compressed Hair: The trolls manage to fit all of that hair underneath their helmets.
Convection Schmonvection: Zig Zagged. Amethyst is close to the center of an active volcano and comes out fine...though Ruby's hair doesn't, being frizzed and burnt from being near it.
Curb-Stomp Battle: More like curb stomp football match between the Ogreville Dandelions and the Trollzopolis Trolls. The Trolls got stomped, somewhat literally.
Curse Cut Short: In one of the Valli Girls' background songs for the series, "The Power of Five", the lyrics go:
It doesn't matter if you scream or what spell you cast/ We're five strong girls and we're gonna kick your—
Cute Clumsy Girl: Amethyst to an extent, and Topaz. Coal is a male example.
Cute Witch: The majority of Trolls, especially the main group.
Dangerously Genre Savvy: Simon has at least one instance of this, though it doesn't work. When his dragon betrays him and frees Onyx, the two fly away. Simon's response is to change the dragon back into his true form, the troll Spinell. While he and Onyx are still in the air.
The Dark Side: One of Simon's plans had Sapphire fall prey to this. Coaxed by a magic mirror, she grew narcissistic and power-hungry, deciding she didn't need her friends anymore. Though she did have regrets about it, and apologized once things were set right.
Egopolis: Pretty much every time Simon manages to take over Trollzopolis, he renames it after him. In fact, he has quite a few names on hand to choose from.
Evil Costume Switch: Unlike most female examples, they're actually less revealing, more like MIB suits. Given Simon's fashion sense it may be justified.
Eyes of Gold: A few of the other characters have this but Simon fits the rest of the trope to a tee.
Famous Ancestor: Apparently Ruby is a direct descendant of King Trollemagne the First. Although this doesn't have much effect on the story.
There's a nice Continuity Nod with her last name, Trollman, being a watered-down version of Trollemange.
Fangs Are Evil: Simon, they tend to become more prominent when he's showing just why he was locked away in the first place. Although they do come across as Cute Little Fangs at times.
Fashion Show: Topaz tries one of these after seeing Jasper looking at models; however, he thought they looked silly.
Foreshadowing: A surprisingly subtle example, in "The Tree and the Dragon". Obsidian saves the Trollz from the dragon by summoning musical instruments. Both the dragon and Onyx cover their ears, clearly disliking the music. This makes sense, as the girls and their Ancients have similar traits.
Forgotten Superweapon: Villainous example with Snarf. He went One-Winged Angel a grand total of four times in a 27-episode series, and two of those times were in the first two episodes he appeared in. The third time was in episode 11—for about 2 SECONDS of screen time. The fourth time was the last episode he appeared in, without even a Transformation Sequence.
Simon's staff was used in Episode 6 and never seen again, despite the fact that it amplified his magic.
Funny Afro: Jasper had one... until Amethyst's spell made it disappear.
Gender Restricted Ability: Only girl Trollz can use magic. Originally boys could too, until Simon got his hands on it.
Getting Crap Past the Radar: In one episode, Coal distracts Snarf by telling him that his fly's undone. After being tricked, Snarf realizes that he doesn't wear pants.
In the same episode, the girls used this subverted rhyme when fighting Simon:
"Simon is crude and Simon is crass, turn this loser into a DONKEY!"
On the website, Ruby asks in a Q&A "What the spell are braces?"
Girliness Upgrade: Compare these to the Troll dolls they were based off of.
Glamour Failure: Throughout the series it appears that magically disguised people can be revealed by their reflections.
Good Hair, Evil Hair: Normally, the girls' hair is curved. When they are upset or turn evil, it's all spiky.
Grand Finale: The final story arc had the BFFL sealing Simon and Snarf away for 1,000 years, reaffirming their friendship, and ending with a Farewell Luau.
Grandma, What Massive Hotness You Have: Mr. Trollheimer is quite good-looking compared to the rest of the Ancients. Sapphire even commented that he was cute.
Griping About Gremlins: Simon plays this straight and averts this; he's skilled at building magical machines, but has no aptitude for modern-day technology.
Actually, Amethyst is the Sabrina from Sabrina's Secret Life, the sequel series!
Ironic Echo: In the episode where Sapphire becomes proud and power-hungry, a Magic Mirror is egging her on by telling her she's special. Later, when it's revealed to be Simon, he captures her. When she protests that he told her she was special, he says "You ARE special—the Blue Plate Special!" and calls in orcs to eat her.
Magic A is Magic A: Spells vary depending on how you word them; Sapphire wanted to dance and be 'light on her feet', but made her feet glow when she rhymed with 'my feet feel light'.
Girl trolls need spell beads to cast magic. This was averted when they cast a beadless transformation spell that required five to be used effectively, and when they were under Simon's control.
Magitek: Trollzopolis is like this now. Originally it was totally magic-based, with boy Trollz as well as girls being able to use magic. Then Simon came along...
During the arc where the Sacred Altar is broken and magic disappears it's shown that most of the Troll technology uses magic as a power source at some level. The results include mass blackouts and more.
Mentor Occupational Hazard: Being an Ancient means you get to either save the day or be captured. Or, in Zirconia and Spinell's case, turned into a tree and dragon.
Mind-Control Eyes: When the girls turn evil, the shines disappear from their eyes.
Shale also has noticeably different eyes than the other girls, though it's revealed that they're contact lenses. When she takes them off her eyes are normal.
The Mirror Shows Your True Self: Reflections show the true forms behind magical disguises. This also includes reflections in water.
Muggles Do It Better: The male Trollz' technical skills are greater than those of the females, on a whole. This became useful in the arc when magic disappeared.
My Significance Sense Is Tingling: The school principal, Mr. Trollercromby is allergic to goldenrod and beasts from the realm of darkness which cause him to sneeze. Needless to say, when he starts sneezing you know something is going down.
Also averted with the football team, the Ogreville Dandelions.
Never Mess with Granny: Amethyst's Grandma is normally doing things like baking cookies, but mess with her granddaughter or her friends and she'll come to the rescue. Obsidian and Zirconia, while not literal grandmothers, fit this trope as well.
Amethyst: Ruby was going to tell the boys that she's sorr—
Ruby: I thought we weren't going to say the s-word. Besides, I'm just apologizing to Rock!
Amethyst: But Rock almost died when—
Ruby: We weren't going to say the d-word either.
In another episode, when the girls are brainwashed into becoming evil, Ruby comments that her best friends tried to kill her.
Still another instance comes when the Trollz break the magic altar, endangering the Ancients' lives, and an angry Sapphire says "You don't want them to DIE, do you!?"
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The girls let Simon and Snarf out of their prison, and spend much of the series trying to put them back there for good.
In another episode, the girls and boys manage to break the Sacred Altar in the Amber Cavez, causing magic to disappear and endangering the Ancients' lives.
Not So Harmless Villain: Simon has his moments of this, particularly in the arc where he turned the girls evil.
Old Master: Of the Ancients, Obsidian and Mr. Trollheimer fit this the most, teaching the girls and preparing them to fight Simon.
Older than They Look: Most of the Ancients look suitably old, except for Mr. Trollheimer who looks like he's in his thirties. Why this is so is never brought up.
One-Winged Angel: Snarf can turn from a cute puppy into a snarling ogre-demon.
Our Dragons Are Different: Only one is seen, though it hates certain kinds of music, is afraid of cats, has painful fire-breathing sneezes, and is really a transformed Troll.
Parental Abandonment: Of the girls, we only see Amethyst's mom and grandma, Sapphire's mom, and Ruby's dad; the latter only appeared in one episode. Where Onyx and Topaz's parents are is never addressed, and we never see the boys' parents at all.
Pet the Dog: In the arc where the town was sent back to the Middle Ages, Amethyst stood up for Coral, the Alpha Bitch, when Simon threatened her. When things went back to the present Coral thanked her, even if she couldn't remember why.
Really 700 Years Old: Simon is over 3,000 years old. He looks and acts like a 9-year old.
Ridiculously Cute Critter: Amethyst's dog Wa-Wa. It even has her hairstyle. The other girls have pets too, but aside from Ruby mentioning a cat a couple times, they were never brought up or seen on the show.
The Trollzopolis school mascot, Puff. It's a cute kitty!
A popular one is Emerald, as green isn't represented in the color spectrum the girls have.
Secret Legacy: Amethyst's Grandma is an Ancient. Once, her Mom helped out too by giving her a magical, powerful necklace that her grandma used to wear.
Sealed Evil in a Can: Simon and Snarf are this. The girls accidentally let them out.
Taken for Granite: In the second episode, the girls turn Coal into ice by mistake. Obsidian said that the spell would only wear off when he melted, so they had to reverse things quickly.
Theme Naming: All the girls are named after gemstones. The boys are named after rocks and minerals.
Trail of Bread Crumbs: When Onyx and Topaz head into the Haunted Woodz, Onyx leaves a trail of wild jellybeans to find their way back. Unfortunately, Topaz ate most of them.
Training Montage: The girls put Onyx through one to help her win the Skoot race.
Uh-Oh Eyes: When Simon's disguised as a Troll, his pupils are larger than real Trolls' are.
Uncatty Resemblance: All the Trollz' pets look like them to a degree, sharing hairstyles and presumably personalities.
Use Your Head: Rock defeats Simon this way by smashing his trophy talisman against his head.
Villainous Crossdresser: Simon when possessing Topaz and pretending to be Garnet. Snarf when he pretended to be Miss Tourmaline and a cute female poodle.
The Voiceless: Coral's friends, Opal and Jade, never had speaking lines until the first episode of the very last story arc.
We Can Rule Together: The first time the BFFL and Simon face off, he offers this and even gives them a chance to discuss it among themselves. Naturally, they turn down the offer.
We Could Have Avoided All This: Amethyst remarks in "Onyx's Gem" that if they had just talked to each other about their gems fading, they could've gone to Obsidian instead of falling into a trap.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Zirconia and Spinell, despite having been introduced before the Brought Down to Normal arc, are not mentioned among the possible Ancient casualties. It's almost as if these episodes were meant to be broadcast first. Either that or the writers forgot.
Their absence in the arc where the girls turn evil was Hand Waved away by saying they were safely out of reach, but too weak to help.
To make up for this, the Beach Episode arc revolved around them a lot.
Xanatos Gambit /Batman Gambit: Simon pulls off one of these in the Story Arc where the girls turn evil. It relies on the likely outcome, but he also plans for the initial plan to fail. He poses as a new girl in school and befriends them, at the same time ostracizing Fiery Redhead Ruby. He and Snarf feed the other four girls cookies, which makes them brainwashed. However, that episode he's defeated, so that would be the end of it, right? Wrong. In the next episode it's revealed that the cookies were time-delayed, and slowly turning the girls evil. He uses Ruby's fondness for pranks and occasional jerkish tendencies to make her think it's her fault they're acting rowdy, and Ruby doesn't realize his involvement until it's too late.
Xtreme Kool Letterz: Lots of things that end in 's' end with 'z', including the title of the show.
Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: Done in the arc where Simon turned back time to the Middle Ages. Instances of stuff ending in '-eth' abounded.
You Gotta Have Blue Hair: And green, and purple, and pink... Funnily enough, Ruby's fire-engine red color is dyed. Her natural color is brown.
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