‘Trolls' is a colorful, animated delight

Like the hit single on its soundtrack, “Can't Stop the Feeling,” the movie “Trolls” is irresistibly charming because of a simple but catchy hook.

This colorful animated confection introduces viewers to the happiest creatures living in the happiest tree growing in the happiest forest there is: a community of sparkly Trolls so renowned for their inner jubilance that the miserable ogre-like creatures - called Bergens - who are their neighbors eat Trolls once a year, just to experience happiness.

During one such attack by the Bergens, the Troll king Peppy (voice of Jeffrey Tambor) leads his daughter Princess Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and his subjects to safety.

But by saving his people from being eaten, Peppy denies the Bergens their happiness fix, plunging them into decades of abject misery.

Twenty years later, Poppy hosts an elaborate party commemorating their flight from terror. But Poppy's fireworks show inadvertently alerts the Bergen Chef (Christine Baranski) to the Troll's hiding spot.

After Chef kidnaps a handful of Poppy's friends, Poppy attempts a rescue mission with a Troll named Branch (Justin Timberlake), a gray survivalist who shares neither the rainbow hue nor the persistent happiness of the other Trolls.

Kendrick and Timberlake are wonderfully cast. When the opposites-attract duo sneaks into Bergen territory to free their fellows, Poppy's infectious joy convinces one Bergen, a scullery maid named Bridget (Zooey Deschanel), that she doesn't need to eat a Troll to be happy. She can, as Poppy explains, simply choose to be happy.

The make-your-own-happiness theme is driven home with evocative musical numbers, including covers of such beloved hits as Earth, Wind and Fire's “September,” Lionel Richie's “Hello” and Cyndi Lauper's “True Colors” - along with such inspired original songs as Timberlake's dance anthem “Can't Stop the Feeling” and Kendrick's empowering “Get Back Up Again.”

Each song-and-dance number conveys a specific emotion that even the youngest of viewers will understand, whether it's excitement and joy or longing and loneliness. And no matter what you think about the story line, you'll definitely keep humming the soundtrack, long after the credits roll.

Visually, the animation captures the colorful, pliable texture of troll-doll hair and their adorable felt outfits. In one touching moment that echoes a similarly gut-wrenching scene in “Inside Out,” the Trolls slowly change colors to illustrate how the joy has been drained out of them.

Although there are several moments in the film that pack an emotional punch, others are just silly. Recurring gags include Trolls breaking wind in glitter and singing in Auto-Tune.

Those puerile details will certainly elicit laughs, particularly from the younger-than-10 set.

All that humor, color and happiness is an undeniable delight, making you tap your feet and, as Timberlake sings, feel as if you've got sunshine in your pocket.