Trollz (TV series)
Trollz is an American children's animated television series produced by DIC Entertainment. The trolls were based on the troll doll created by Thomas Dam in the 1950s. A single season was produced with a total of 27 episodes. A second season was planned, but was later cancelled.
Premise
The show centers 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.Characters
Main
The main characters in the series are collectively known as the "Best Friends For Life".- Amethyst van der Troll : She is the leader of the BFFL. She is a young and naive 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.
- Ruby Trollman : She is the bossy girl and second-in-command of the BFFL, and, as such, is really pushy and passionately cares about her looks. If she really wants something, she will do anything to get it. Her gem is a red star.
- Sapphire Trollzawa : She is the smartest girl of the BFFL. When the friends have slumber parties, Sapphire just wants to study. Her gem is a blue flower.
- Topaz Trollhopper : She is a troll who is a bit of an airhead with a big heart. She loves shopping, is a fashion expert. Her gem is a yellow diamond.
- Onyx Von Trollenberg : She is a goth girl and has a liking for poetry. She acts aloof but she cares deeply about her friends. She may not be the toughest member of the BFFL, but she is confirmed as the heart of the BFFL. Her gem is a purplish-black moon.
Villains
- Simon : Simon is a gremlin and the main antagonist of the series. His primary goal is to take over Trollzopolis and get revenge against the Best Friends For Life.
- Snarf : A dog-like creature and Simon's loyal henchman who sticks by his side despite enduring endless abuse. He is able to change from a cute-looking puppy to a larger bestial form at will.
Supporting
Boys
- Coal Trollwell : Coal is Amethyst's boyfriend. He is a very clumsy troll who often gets into trouble.
- Rock Trollhammer : Rock is a muscular troll and Ruby's boyfriend. He is very dimwitted and forgetful.
- Alabaster Trollington III : Alabaster is a mild-mannered troll and Sapphire's boyfriend. He is a multi-millionaire whose father owns many of the companies in Trollzopolis.
- Jasper Trollhound : Jasper is Topaz's boyfriend. He accidentally lost his hair to a spell cast by Amethyst, but becomes used to his new appearance and comes to not mind.
- Flint Trollentino : Flint is Onyx's boyfriend. He is in a rock band, and loves writing poetry.
Ancients
- Grandma Van Der Troll: Amethyst's grandmother.
- Obsidian: The owner of Obsidian's Spell Shop.
- Mr. Slate Trollheimer : The girls' teacher.
- Zirconia : Spinell's wife. She was transformed into a tree by Simon 3,000 years prior before being restored to normal in the present.
- Spinell: Zirconia's husband. 3,000 years prior, he was transformed into a dragon by Simon and forced to serve him. In the present day, Spinell is restored to normal.
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 a maroon ace of spades.
- Opal Trollangel: Opal is Coral's friend. She has light pink hair and an oval gem.
- Jade Trollcroft: Jade is Coral's friend. She has spiky lime green hair and a diamond gem.
Other
- Kaboom: A dim-witted but friendly volunteer at Obsidian's shop who tends to be the subject of spell experiments.
Additional voices
- Mike Antonakos
- Ashleigh Ball
- Molly Bolt
- Maria Dimon
- Ben Einstein
- Brian George
- Michael Heyward
- Matt Hill
- Janyse Jaud
- Ellen Kennedy
- Connor Lee McGuire
- Vincent Maliani
- Blu Mankuma
- Christine Moore
- Jane Mortifee
- Jesse Moss
- Richard Newman
- Christina Pazsitzky
- Alan Young
- Ellie Stenehjem
- Alexandra Thompoulos
- Reece Thompson
- Lee Tockar
- Stevie Vallance
- Samuel Vincent
- Lizzy Walker
- Janet Wells
- Dale Wilson
Episodes
Development and merchandising
During development of the property, DIC announced that the series would mostly see "tech"-related products to match the theme of the show. Fifty-two episodes were originally planned for the series.In November 2004, DIC appointed BBC Worldwide as the UK license holder for the property.
Broadcast
United States
The "Best Friends for Life" movie originally premiered on Disney Channel on August 27, 2005 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 streaming on Tubi.
International
On October 8, 2004, DIC announced that CBBC and TF1 acquired broadcast rights to the series in the United Kingdom and France, respectively, and that the BBC and TF1 Groupe would also serve as the local consumer products agents for the property.On June 6, 2005, Nickelodeon acquired the exclusive cable, satellite and pay TV rights to the series in sixty-nine territories. The series aired on Nickelodeon channels in countries such as Spain, Holland, Belgium, Scandivania Israel, Latin America, Asian territories, India, Australia and New Zealand. On the same day, it was announced that free-TV rights had been picked up by Mediaset, RTVE, RTL Club, Alter Channel, Televisa, Saran, RTÉ, TVI and TVNZ.
In Canada, YTV aired the "Best Friends for Life" movie on September 4, 2005, but they did not air any other episodes.
In Ireland, the series aired on RTÉ Two from 28 September 2005 to 2006.
In the UK, the series would re-air on Pop Girl.
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. 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., 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. 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 and replaced by "Spell Moments".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. 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.
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.