Trollz (TV series)

Trollz is an animated television series produced by DIC Entertainment and features the adventures of five teenaged female trolls, who call themselves the Best Friends for Life, who use magic every day to help them with their everyday life as well as battling whatever magical creatures and issues they may find themselves up against in their everyday lives. These trolls were based on the troll doll created in the 1960s.[1]

Trollz
The main characters (left to right): Sapphire, Topaz, Amethyst, Ruby, and Onyx.
GenreFantasy, comedy, action, adventure, Magical Girl
Created byAndy Heyward
Based onTroll dolls by Thomas Dam
Developed byEric Lewald
John Loy
Directed byKaren Hyden
StarringBritt McKillip
Chiara Zanni
Alexandra Carter
Leah Juel
Anna Van Hooft
Samuel Vincent
Reece Thompson
Jesse Moss
Matt Hill
Opening theme"It's a Hair Thing" by Valli Girls
Ending theme"It's a Hair Thing" (Reprise)
Country of originUnited States
Canada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes27
Production
Executive producersAndy Heyward
Michael Maliani
Running time21–22 minutes
Production companiesStudio DAM
DIC Entertainment Corporation
Melusine Productions
Release
Original networkNickelodeon (Nicktoons Network)
Original releaseOctober 3 (2005-10-03) –
November 8, 2005 (2005-11-08)

A single season was produced with a total of 27 episodes. A second season was planned, but was later cancelled.[2]

Characters

Main

The main characters in the series are collectively known as the "Best Friends For Life".

  • Amethyst van der Troll (voiced by Britt McKillip): She is the leader of the BFFL. She is a young and pretty girl who loves her friends and would do anything for them. Amethyst is also considerate and gives good advice to her friends. Her gem is a pinkish-purple heart. She wears a lavender midriff top with a matching skirt and a fuchsia sash. She also wears fuchsia flats with white straps. Her hair is pink and wavy with a purple heart-shaped hairclip. She also wears pink heart-shaped earrings and a purple heart-shaped anklet. Her eyes are pinkish-purple and she has pink spell beads. Her favorite color is pink. Her boyfriend is Coal and her Ancient is her grandmother.
  • Ruby Trollman (voiced by Chiara Zanni): She is the bossy girl and second-in-command of the BFFL, and, as such, is really pushy and cares about her looks a bit too much. She is the lancer of the group. If she really wants something, she will do anything to get it. Her hair is red which is done with a star-shaped style and her eyes are red and her natural hair color is brown. She has a red star gem. She wears an off-shoulder white midriff top with a green star design, and yellow and blue sneakers. She also wears a black necklace with a red jewel, and a gold charm bracelet with a gold star. Her favorite color is red. Her spell beads are red. Her boyfriend is Rock and her Ancient is Obsidian.
  • Sapphire Trollzawa (voiced by Alexandra Carter): She is the smartest girl in the BFFL. When the friends have slumber parties, Sapphire just wants to study. Her gem is a blue flower. She wears a long-sleeved blue sweater with a white shirt, a pink skirt, ankle socks, and pink loafers with a blue flower on top of it. Her hair is blue and styled in a high ponytail by a pink hairbow. She has glasses on top of her head, her eyes are baby blue, her favorite color is blue. She has blue spell beads. Her boyfriend is Alabaster and her Ancient is Mr. Trollheimer.
  • Topaz Trollhopper (voiced by Leah Juel): She is a troll who is nervous and clumsy, loves shopping, is a fashion expert, and is the big guy of the group. Her gem is a yellow diamond. She wears a white midriff top with a pink vest over it, a green miniskirt with a pink and white sash, cream-colored leg warmers, and multicolored platform sneakers. Her hair is dirty blonde and messy, but styled in a ponytail alongside a green scrunchie. She has amber eyes, her favorite color is yellow. She has yellow spell beads. Her boyfriend is Jasper and her Ancient is Zirconia.
  • Onyx Von Trollenberg (voiced by Anna van Hooft): She is a goth girl and has a liking for poetry. She is kind but a bit defensive. Her gem is a purplish-black moon. She wears a black long-sleeved midriff top with a white tank top with pink polka dots, a black skirt, lavender tights, and black boots. Her hair is purple and styled in Afro puffs which are tied in buckled scrunchies, her eyes are dark purple and she wears multiple ear piercings on both ears and a silver choker, her favorite color is purple. Her spell beads are purple. Her boyfriend is Flint and her Ancient is Spinell.

Villains
  • Simon (voiced by Reece Thompson): Simon the Gremlin is the main villain of the series and appears in numerous episodes throughout the show trying to take over the world of Trollzopolis and get revenge against the Best Friends For Life.
  • Snarf (voiced by Janyse Jaud): A half-dog, half-ogre creature and Simon's loyal henchman who sticks by his side despite enduring endless abuse. Able to change from a cute-looking puppy to a hulking beast-like form at will.

Boyz
  • Coal Trollwell (voiced by Jesse Moss): He is a very clumsy Troll often getting into trouble. Boyfriend to Amethyst.
  • Rock Trollhammer (voiced by Matt Hill): Rock is a muscular troll with tall blue hair. He is very dimwitted and forgetful. Boyfriend to Ruby.
  • Alabaster Trollington III (voiced by Samuel Vincent): Alabaster is a mild-mannered troll with blond hair and rectangular glasses. He is a multi-millionaire, whose father owns a lot of the companies in Trollzopolis. Boyfriend to Sapphire.
  • Jasper Trollhound (voiced by Armen Weitzman): During the first episode, Amethyst cast a spell which cost Jasper his hair. However, Jasper has grown used to his new bald appearance and Jasper himself doesn't mind. Boyfriend to Topaz.
  • Flint Trollentino (voiced by Mike Antonakos): He is in a rock band, and loves writing poetry. Boyfriend to Onyx.

Ancients
  • Grandma Van Der Troll: Amethyst's Ancient/Grandmother.
  • Obsidian: Ruby's Ancient and owner of Obsidian's Spell Shop.
  • Mr. Slate Trollheimer (voiced by Jason Connery): Sapphire's Ancient and the girls' teacher.
  • Zirconia: Topaz's Ancient and Spinell's wife.
  • Spinell: Onyx's Ancient and Zirconia's husband.

Rivals
  • Coral Trollarwise: Coral is the senior captain of the cheerleaders. She is in constant rivalry with Ruby, usually for a cute boy's attention. Her gem is maroon. Her gem is shaped like an ace of spades.
  • Opal Trollangel: Opal is Coral's main friend. She has tan skin and light-pink hair with a sky blue hair tie. Her gem is in the shape of an oval.
  • Jade Trollcroft: Jade is Coral's secondary friend. She has spiky lime green hair. Her gem is in the shape of a thin diamond.

Other
  • Kaboom: A dim-witted but friendly volunteer at Obsidian's shop who tends to be the subject of spell bead experiments during the "Spell Moments" at the end of episodes. Originally, he was meant to be a major character, but was reduced in this role instead.

Additional voices

Spell phones

Spell Phones are devices based on real-life cellphones, but are adapted to provide functions for magic and spellbeads as well as provide the standard functions of a normal cellphone. "Spell Calls" are used to cast spells on other Trollz across long distances. To initiate a Spell Call, the caller places a spell bead in the spell bead slot after inciting the incantation and then dialing the phone number of the intended recipient and hitting the cast button. The Spell Phone then transfers the spell through the phone line and when the recipient picks up the phone the spell is released through the receiver of the phone. It is a useful function that allows Trollz to cast spells across long distances, but a lot of teenagers misuse the function and instead use it to play pranks.

Spell Moments

At the end of each episode, short 30-second segments called "Spell Moments" are featured. These feature one of the BBFL summoning a random or weird spell at a male Troll called "Kaboom", which usually leads to unusual situations.

In the DVDs, those are not featured, rather one segment would be featured on each one as a Bonus Feature.

Episodes
Episode No. Episode Title Written by Air Date Description Story Arc
1 Best Friends for Life Eric Lewald
John Loy		 October 3, 2005 Ruby, feeling Amethyst upstages her, kicks her out of the group, leaving the friends to try to reunite them.

Spell Moment: Sapphire's Garden Head Spell

 Best Friends for Life
2 Five Spells Trouble John Loy October 4, 2005 The Trollz visit the Ancient World and meet the mysterious Obsidian.

Spell Moment: Amethyst's Zit Spell

3 First Day of School Carter Crocker October 5, 2005 The girls inadvertently release the evil Snarf from the Ancient World and have no idea how to get him back there.

Spell Moment: Ruby's Mega Burp Spell

4 Onyx's Gem Cliff MacGillivray
Kelly Ward		 October 6, 2005 The girls discover that their belly gems are dimming, so they must escape Simon the Gremlin to bring back the glow.

Spell Moment: Topaz's Animal Morphing Spell

 The Magic of the Five
5 Topaz Possessed Len Uhley October 7, 2005 Simon takes advantage of Topaz's weak will and possesses her body.

Spell Moment: Onyx's Granted Muscle Building Spell

6 The Big Test Sean Roche October 10, 2005 The girls try to use a list of chemistry ingredients to send Simon back to the Shadow World.

Spell Moment: Ruby's Styling Spell

7 Troll Fast, Troll Furious Paul Diamond October 11, 2005 Sapphire falls for a skootz-racing senior, who is using her to build a superskoot.

Spell Moment: Onyx's Stay Dry Spell

 Hair Over Heels
8 The Great Race Jim Fisher
Jim Staahl		 October 12, 2005 Mica returns and challenges Onyx to a skootz race rematch.

Spell Moment: Amethyst's Fine-Feathered-Friend Spell

9 Into the Woodz Jan Strnad October 13, 2005 The BFFL fight past mud monsters and stone ogres in the Haunted Woodz.

Spell Moment: Sapphire's Get You Noticed Spell

10 The Dating Game Martha Moran October 14, 2005 Topaz wants to use spells to change herself but accidentally turns Jasper into a sneaky geek.

Spell Moment: Amethyst's Rewind Spell

 You Glow Girls
11 Mirror, Mirror Michael Edens October 17, 2005 Sapphire buys a magic mirror pendant, which elevates her ego.

Spell Moment: Sapphire's Cheating Spell

12 Ruby's Rules of Partying Phil Harnage (story)
Brian Swenlin (script)		 October 18, 2005 Disguised as a cute troll, Snarf makes a guest appearance at Jasper's party.

Spell Moment: Topaz's Get-to-the-Point Spell

13 Forever Amber Carter Crocker October 19, 2005 Ruby loses an ancient ring that belonged to Amethyst's grandma.

Spell Moment: Topaz's Wrinkle Cure Spell

 A Hair A-Faire
14 Not-So-Good Old Days Sean Roche October 20, 2005 Simon casts Trollzopolis back into the Middle Ages.

Spell Moment: Ruby's "I'm all Ears" Spell

15 Simply Simon Brooks Wachtel October 21, 2005 The girls come upon a way to sneak into King Simon's castle to stop Simon from sucking the magic out of Olde Worlde Trollzopolis.

Spell Moment: Onyx's Happiness Spell

16 The Tree and the Dragon Cliff MacGillvray
Kelly Ward		 October 24, 2005 Onyx and Topaz go on a midnight mission to unmask the mysterious missing Ancients.

Spell Moment: Amethyst's Clean-your-Room Spell

 Spellbound
17 Homecoming Jay Abramowitz October 25, 2005 Simon almost ruins homecoming.

Spell Moment: Sapphire's Beef Up Spell

18 A Dragon's Tale John Ludin (story)
John Loy (script)		 October 26, 2005 Onyx returns to the Haunted Woodz, where she falls into Simon's hands and is transformed into a tree.

Spell Moment: Topaz's Flying Spell

19 Field Trip Len Uhley October 27, 2005 Rock's jealousy of the girls' magic starts a foolish fight that strands the Trollz in the woods.

Spell Moment: Ruby's Rock Spell

 Boys Spell Trouble
20 The Day the Magic Died Michael Edens October 28, 2005 The guys sneak into the Amber Caves to acquire magic amber for themselves, but it is a trap set by Simon.

Spell Moment: Onyx's Hiding Spell

21 Bringing Back the Magic Richard Stanley October 31, 2005 The Trollz must replace the Sacred Altar in order to restore their lost magic.

Spell Moment: Amethyst's Warming Up Spell

22 New Girl in Town Carter Crocker November 1, 2005 There's a new girl on the block who tries to break up friendships.

Spell Moment: Sapphire's Un-Yabbering Spell

 Fuzzy Logic
23 When Good Girlz Go Bad Carlos Aragon November 2, 2005 Ruby wants to know why the Trollz are behaving so badly.

Spell Moment: Topaz's "Hair-Brushes-Itself" Spell

24 Boyz and Girlz Together Don Gillies November 3, 2005 Ruby travels to Simon's home to defeat him.

Spell Moment: Amethyst's "Running Late Get Ready for a Date" Spell

25 Where the Trollz Are Craig Miller November 4, 2005 Simon follows the Trollz to a tropical island.

Spell Moment: Onyx's Slow Down the Day Spell

 Surfin' BFFL
26 Surf Monster a Go Go John Loy November 7, 2005 Sapphire has to confront her fears.

Spell Moment: Ruby's Phone Summon Spell

27 Krakatrolla Needs Some Java Julia Lewald November 8, 2005 The girls lose control of their tempers, causing Mt. Krakatrolla to erupt.

Spell Moment: Sapphire's Clam Up Spell

Merchandise

During development of the property, DIC announced that the series would mostly see "tech"-related products to match the theme of the show.[3]

In November 2004, DIC appointed BBC Worldwide as the UK license holder for the property.[4][5]

Broadcast

The "Best Friends for Life" movie originally premiered on Disney Channel on August 27, 2005 (later reairing on Toon Disney in the next month)[6] and then began its regular series run on the syndicated DIC Kids Network E/I block in 2005. The series would later re-air on the Cookie Jar TV block on CBS. As of 2022, the series is currently streamimg on Tubi.

In Ireland, the series aired on RTÉ Two from 28 September 2005 to 2006.[7]

In the UK and France, the series aired on CBBC and TF1 respectively.[8] In the UK, the series would re-air on Pop Girl.

In several international regions including Australia, Spain, Scandinavia and Asia, the series aired on Nickelodeon.[9]

Home Video and Streaming

On July 28, 2004, DIC announced they had signed a deal with Warner Home Video for the series in North America, where the episodes would all be combined into nine feature-length movies.[10] On September 21, 2005, DIC announced that the deal with Warner Home Video would be extended to all major territories across the world under a five-year deal, except for the United Kingdom, France, and Portugal.[11], where the series would be released by BBC DVD, TF1 Video and LNK respectively.

These story-arc versions of the Trollz episodes would later see a release on Netflix, including the rest of the scrapped ones.

North America

The first two releases - "Best Friends for Life - The Movie" and "The Magic of the Five", were released in North America on September 6, 2005.[12] Each movie combined the story arcs of Episodes 1-3 and 4-6 respectively in a feature-length format, with additional footage not seen on the TV airings.

Two additional releases - "Hair Over Heels - The Movie" and "You Glow Girls - The Movie", which would combine the arcs of Episodes 7-9 and 10-12 respectively, were planned for a Spring 2006 release but no such release occurred.

On August 8, 2007, NCircle Entertainment, who already held a then-new home video with DIC, announced they had obtained the rights to release Trollz DVDs and announced they would reissue "Best Friends for Life - The Movie" and "The Magic of the Five - The Movie" on August 14, 2007.[13] In December 2007, the previously-canceled third DVD release - "Hair Over Heels - The Movie" was finally released. NCircle then announced they would release "Hair Over Heels - The Movie" and "A Hair A-Fair - The Movie" in June 2008, the latter containing the story arcs of episodes 13-15, but both DVDs were never released.

International

Warner Home Video released "Best Friends for Life - The Movie" and "The Magic of the Five - The Movie" across the world in various regions beginning in 2006.

On February 6, 2006, BBC DVD released "Best Friends for Life - The Movie" on DVD.[5]

In France TF1 Video, released "La Magie des Cinq" in October 2009 through their TFOU Video label, which contained both "Best Friends for Life" and "The Magic of the Five" on one disc. The company IDP later released a 5-disc boxset containing all 27 episodes in November 2015.[14]

Lawsuit

On October 25, 2007, it was announced that DIC was filing a $20 million lawsuit against DAM, certifying that they had alleged claims of fraud in the inducement and negligent misrepresentation of the Trollz property and their licensing deal with the original troll dolls. DIC also claimed that DAM had failed to halt sales of counterfeit Troll Dolls appearing in the market.[15] DAM counter-sued DIC a week later, claiming that DIC Entertainment financially misrepresented its ability to create and market a modern troll doll toy campaign and destroyed the image and goodwill of the doll.[16]

References
  1. Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 663. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  2. "DIC Entertainment to Debut a Second Season of Trollz at Mipcom 2005". DIC Entertainment. 19 July 2005. Archived from the original on 11 May 2006. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  3. "DIC trots Trollz out for a fashion-forward twirl".
  4. "Brand Licensing 2004: Bigger, better and busting out all over".
  5. "BBC - Press Office - BBC Worldwide at Brand Licensing 2005".
  6. "Trollz Feature Premieres on Disney Channel". Archived from the original on 29 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  7. RTÉ Guide, 24–30 September 2005 edition and subsequent dates
  8. "MIPCOM: DIC Trollz, Hooks TF1, CBBC". 8 October 2004. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  9. "DIC, Nickelodeon Int'l Pact For Trollz". 6 June 2005. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  10. "WB Signs Trollz Home Video Deal with DIC".
  11. "Warner Takes DIC's Trollz Overseas". 21 September 2005.
  12. "WarnerBros.com | Warner Home Video And DIC Entertainment Debut First Two Feature-Length Animated Movies For Tween Brand Trollz | Press Releases". www.warnerbros.com.
  13. "Trollz Movies Getting Re-Released". 8 August 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  14. "Coffret intégrale trollz".
  15. "DIC Entertainment slaps Troll Company with US$20 million lawsuit".
  16. "Lawsuit Charges Fraud In Deals for Iconic Troll Doll; DIC Entertainment Cynically Concealed Financial Woes - 31/10/07 - 305539". elEconomista.es. 31 October 2007. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
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