As film franchises based on toys go, Trolls has been pretty successful – not Barbie, successful, but still profitable; this third entry for instance has become by far the most successful in the series, making over $200 dollars at the box office. And it’s easy to see why.

This entry then, that once again features the voices of Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake, digs a little deeper into the narrative that Timberlake himself knows something about, the boy band.

Despite being girlfriend and boyfriend for some time now, Branch (Timberlake) has been holding something back from Poppy (Kendrick) about his past. It’s something that has caused him a fair amount of trauma processing, that he just hasn’t found the strength to tell her.

It seems that Branch comes from a family of brothers, which of course there’s no shame in. The thing is, they all worked together, singing in a band called Bros Zone, with Branch the baby member, and they were huge.

But when one of them became obsessed with performing the “Perfect family harmony”, it caused the band to split, which meant that the family did too, with all of them going their separate ways.

It’s not something Branch has ever had the courage to talk to Poppy about, but when John Dory (Eric André) – his eldest brother – comes to find him, it’s not with great news; someone has kidnapped their brother Floyd (Troye Sivan), and there’s only one way to rescue him, a band and family re-union.

So Branch agrees to find his other brothers, with Poppy by his side, and finally see Bros Zone back together again.

The Trolls franchise should be one treated with disgust, as it exists purely off existing merchandise, and yet it’s been made with a lot of love.

This instalment explores the theme of family and siblings throughout, and not just the members of the band. It feels a little overkill in places, but it shouldn’t be an issue for its primary younger audience.

What might be however, is it’s soundtrack; it’s eclectic to say the least, with its mix of classic Salt-N-Pepper, Dolly Parton, The Eurythmics and the Bee Gees, amounting to a number of old hits that are unlikely to be recognised by its target audience, which is a little curious. Still, it will no doubt be a bonus for those who may have been forced to sit through this with their delightful offspring.

Not that it’s much of a chore, luckily. Sure the colour palette is overwhelming at times, as if a rainbow has violently vomited all over the screen, but the DreamWorks animation team involved have created such a colourful and creative world, it’s difficult not to fall for its charms.

Certainly Kendrick and Timberlake have built a warm and cute relationship over the franchise, making them hugely entertaining.

As with all films, the world of animation can be unpredictable, you only have to seen the last couple of disappointing Pixar releases to appreciate that. This then is a relatively safe option, as you know exactly what you’re getting, but there’s nothing wrong with that, especially when these particular trolls put on a pretty darn good show.