"New Anthem" is the second segment of the 3rd episode of the fifth season of Trolls: The Beat Goes On!, and the 57th overall episode in the series. It premiered on January 18, 2019.
Synopsis[]
A song contest is held to find a new Troll anthem, as the one in use is an artifact from before the alliance with the Bergens. Poppy, Branch and the Snack Pack must create a song contest to see who can write the Bergen-free new Troll anthem.
Plot[]
Several kids run through a bush screaming "it" and knock over Branch, who is standing next to Poppy. She calms them down and asks what their up to. Priscilla tells them the monster is after them, which turns out to be Keith. He is pretending to be a Bergen, grabbing Priscilla and swallowing her foot while Poppy fails to understand why they are playing this game, as the Bergens are their friends now. It turns out they were quoting things from the Troll National Anthem. Poppy realizes one of the things they never tackled when they befriended the Bergens is the Troll Anthem, and Trolls are still singing its lyrics.
At her pod, Poppy states she can't believe she has been singing these lyrics her entire life; King Peppy states the Anthem is a reflection on the community. Poppy feels it's time to change it, but Branch protests. Being Queen, Poppy has the right to change the anthem and is going to. Branch begs her not to change it as he likes it and reminds everyone to always watch their back. He grovels to her and says he'll be her best friend if she doesn't change it. Poppy believes he'll like the new one because it'll be a beacon of hope that will stand the test of time. Branch thinks she'll write a song about hugs and scrapbooking, but Poppy states that the village will be allowed to write it.
Guy Diamond introduces the Village-wide song contest to find the anthem. Guy has self-appointed himself as host with Nova Swift, Mr. Dinkles and Cooper as the judges. Cooper states their position is ceremonial, and Guy backs him up saying that their words have little sway. The new anthem will be determined with the Fun Meter. Excited, Poppy tries to get Branch to hold her hand, but Branch states he won't as he's there to protest for the old anthem.
First up is DJ Suki, who disappoints Poppy as while the song is good, it's repetitive and its lyrics are simply "Put your hair up yeah". It ends with a firework, but the song is too lacking. Next is Satin and Chenille, who sing about their fashion, which Branch mocks. Biggie is up next, but only sings about Mr. Dinkles. Guy Diamond has a synthesized orchestra with no lyrics, and includes him farting Glitter.
Poppy is mocked by Branch when she says none of these songs are what she wanted. As Guy Diamond is about to announce the winner, Poppy drops a late entry and sings a song about love and diversity she wanted from the start. Just as it looks like Poppy may have pulled it off, Branch also enters his own song last minute. Poppy doesn't want Branch's song to win because of what the lyrics are, but Smidge states that she can't resist to the beat.
Despite winning the contest, Poppy refuses to accept Branch's song as the lyrics are inappropriate. When Poppy reveals none of the other songs were either, the other Trolls are disgruntled. Branch asks her why she started a contest if she knew what she wanted. Poppy answers that everyone just sung about themselves, but the contest was to give everyone a voice. She's cut off by Biggie, who claims that's exactly what everyone did. Poppy pulls all the contestants back on stage, and the new Troll anthem becomes a mixture of all the songs. Poppy and the Trolls sings their new Troll anthem as a love letter and signature song to all Trolls in Troll Village. As the song comes to an end, the episode ends with fireworks displaying the word "Trolls", and all of the Trolls cheering.
Cast[]
- Amanda Leighton as Queen Poppy
- Skylar Astin as Branch
- Sean T. Krishnan as Guy Diamond
- Fryda Wolff as DJ Suki, Satin & Chenille
- David Fynn as Biggie
- Kevin Michael Richardson as Smidge
- Ron Funches as Cooper
- David Kaye as King Peppy and Referee Troll
- Sainty Nelsen as Nova Swift
- Abby Ryder Fortson as Priscilla
- Declan Churchill Carter as Keith
- Matt Lowe as Creek (non-speaking)
- Other
- David Fynn as Mr. Dinkles
- Cloud Guy (non-speaking)
Songs[]
- Main article: New Anthem/Songs
- "Original Troll Anthem"
- "Put Your Hair Up"
- "Closet Rap"
- "Singing to Mr. Dinkles"
- "Glitter Farture"
- "Spreading The Love"
- "Watch Your Back"
- "We're The Trolls (New Troll Anthem)"
Physical distribution[]
This episode is available on the "Trolls: The Beat Goes On! - Complete Seasons 5-8" DVD.
Trivia[]
- The working title of the episode was "Lyrics TBD".[1]
- "TBD" means "To Be Determined".
- Jim Mortensen had mentioned that this episode had originally 19 minutes in the storyboard animatic version with 3 additional songs that were cut in the final version of the episode.[2]
- The Trolls singing the original anthem have golden hair, which is shaped to roughly resemble a brass instrument such as the french horn or tuba. These are popular instruments used for marching bands, which are often used to perform a country's national anthem.
- While Poppy is Branch's best friend, he's not hers. This is why the grovel "I'll be your best friend" has any merit; it's because Poppy having so many friends, many of which are her "best friends", she doesn't have a single one who's her "best-est" friend. In Branch's case, it's not the same as he has far fewer friends, with The Snack Pack being pretty much his circle of friends. This is why Poppy is his "best friend" only.
- In one scene, the pink stripe on Poppy's jacket and the purple stripe on Poppy's headband is missing.
- This is the second and last time the Fun Meter was seen, after the Season 2 episode "The Party Games".
- Some of the songs performed in the "Search for the New Troll Anthem" had some song references:
- DJ Suki's song performance is a reference to the series' opening theme Hair In The Air, which was in turn based on the Trolls song Hair Up.
- Biggie's song performance is a parody of Meat Loaf.
- Guy Diamond's song is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.
- All the members of The Snack Pack membership (with the exception of Fuzzbert and former member Creek) are present at the end of this episode together. Most episodes in the series feature the group, but leave out some certain members.