"The Buddy System" is the first segment of the 2nd episode of the first season of Trolls: TrollsTopia, and the 2nd overall episode in the series. It premiered on November 19, 2020.
Synopsis[]
In order to quickly integrate all the Trolls into TrollsTopia, Poppy decides to have every new Troll live with a Pop Troll. But when personalities and customs clash, Poppy realizes that when it comes to TrollsTopia, it is best to go slow and steady.
Plot[]
Poppy and Branch start the first day of TrollsTopia by unleashing their new idea on the Trolls: the buddy system. Each delegate will be paired up with a Pop Troll so they can become friends. Guy Diamond has Synth, Smidge has Lownote Jones, Cooper has Dante Crescendo, Biggie has Val Thundershock, and Satin and Chenille have Holly Darlin'. Poppy is energetic about the idea of friendships forming right before her eyes.
Poppy blisses out for 7 hours until dark and Branch snaps her out commenting that is not her longest bliss. Rufus lets Poppy know a Cuddle Pup Puppy Parade is due in the village; it's an event that happens once every few years. The result is excited Trolls, which Branch says sounds hazardous. She goes to tell the buddies, but no one is to be found. Eventually, she finds the Pop Trolls on their own, while their buddies have done the same with each of their respective Tribes. Holly and Biggie explain the problem is that they're very different to each other, with Biggie exampling how his naptime lullaby song for Mr. Dinkles was ruined by Val's loud singing. Meanwhile, Dante was horrified of Cooper's habit of pooping cupcakes. Lownote comments they agreed new friends don't always make the easiest roommates, and Smidge said they went back to their old friends, whom they were comfortable with.
Poppy's new idea is "friend fall", a trust exercise involving one Troll catching another. Poppy and Branch example this, with Branch easily catching Poppy. When the buddies try, it fails. Synth is distracted by a glowing butterfly and fails to catch Guy, Biggie manages to catch Val, but her bandmates join in and can't get them. Meanwhile, Dante can't bring himself to trust Cooper, to which Cooper admits that he wasn't paying attention. The failures lead to the rest not wanting to do the activity.
Her new plan involves luring in all the buddies using a scrapbook and then trapping them in a room they can't escape from, unless two Trolls from two different Tribes open the door at the same time who are best friends. The room is full of bonding activities, and the buddies get to have fun. Pleased with what is going on, Poppy is happy, but she's soon interrupted by Rufus, who tells her the Puppy Parade has begun.
This, of course, leads to the problem of Poppy having trapped the Trolls inside. The Trolls desperately try to get out to see the parade getting more and more frustrated. Holly decides rather than unlocking the door she should just break it down. This works, but the last puppy is just going over the hill as they escape.
Everyone is angry at Poppy, and this causes her to admit she was sad that they don't like each other. They tell her they do like each other, but that doesn't mean they want to be roommates; they need time to learn more about each other as they're truly different. Poppy confesses they have a point, and friendships need time and, admittingly, space.
The new plan is to build five new areas for each Troll Tribe to live in to give them space: Rock Hollow, Country Corral, Classical Crest, Vibe Town and Techno Lagoon. So this ends the third day of TrollsTopia.
Cast[]
- Amanda Leighton as Queen Poppy
- Skylar Astin as Branch
- David Fynn as Biggie
- Sean T. Krishnan as Guy Diamond
- Fryda Wolff as Satin & Chenille
- Kevin Michael Richardson as Smidge and Rufus
- Walt Dohrn as Fuzzbert (non-speaking)
Trivia[]
- A buddy system refers to the act of doubling up for safety reasons. The idea is for each individual to keep an eye on their "buddy" and make sure that their well-being is kept in check.
- "Friendship takes time" is an issue that Queen Barb raised in Trolls World Tour when Poppy wrote a letter to her saying that they should be friends, even best friends.
- Poppy likes to pair up Trolls and create friendships, as already seen in Trolls: The Beat Goes On! episodes like "Friend Matching". Aside from Archer Pastry, all past friendships she created worked out in the end and usually only took a short amount of time, with Archer mostly resisting due to his position among the Party Crashers. Given her past references to her befriending attempts and habits in previous 3D and 2D animated media, it shows why Poppy would be relentless to make the buddies friends in a short amount of time.
- Poppy's "friend fall" is a trust exercise. It involves a person having to catch another one in order to better build trust partakes with them. The idea is that by the end everyone knows where they stand. Usually, friend falls are done with safety in mind.
- The reason Branch got a explanation for the Puppy Parade is due to him missing out on a lot of growing up as a Troll due to him staying in his bunker. In Trolls: The Beat Goes On!, it became common for Branch to be used as a means to explain to the audience what was going on in the events of that episode. Since Trolls: TrollsTopia continues on where Trolls: The Beat Goes On! left on, thus Branch is being used as he was before to tell the viewer what the Puppy Parade is and re-introduce the Cuddle Pups to them.
- Cooper was labelled a Pop Troll in this episode, even though he's actually a Funk Troll.
How many oddities can you spot in this crowd?
- In the final shot of the crowd as the Trolls cheer the unveiling of the new sections of TrollsTopia specifically made for each Tribe, if the viewer scans the crowd numerous oddities are thrown up. First, not only is Holly's hair colored grey instead of blue, but in the left front row is a clone of her who actually has her correct hair color; this clone is in both shots of the crowd. In the middle part, Synth is staring straight at a clone of himself, who only appears in the second crowd shot. Other oddities include 4 copies of Smidge (only one of which has a bow and the hair part above it), various Random Trolls placed regardless of their age, and a number of oversized and undersized Trolls.