The troll doll was created in 1959 by Danish fisherman and woodcutter Thomas Dam, when he carved a doll based on Scandinavian trolls for his daughter Lajla. The toy line gained popularity in Europe and the U.S. during the early ’60s, becoming a fad embraced by kids and the counter-culture.
Because Dam Things, the Scandinavian company that produced the toys, lost control of its copyright after failing to comply with U.S. laws, imitators flooded the market in the ’70s and ’80s. However, as a result of a 1994 Congressional law that restored copyright protection to a number of foreign works, the Dam family regained authority.
They mention the 2005 cartoon series, but there were also two other series from the late 90s that might have only been pilots. I remember they aired during a “special week” where KLJB Fox-18 aired a bunch of weirdo cartoons in the morning, the two troll cartoons being two of them. One of them was based on a Troll line for boys that had come out at the time.
Anyway, Dreamworks is doing this crap so expect it to be awful CGI with breakdancing trolls. Maybe they’ll even throw in a Matrix reference, as that is so current. Plus, Trolls love Starbucks!