1. During the gift exchange, Poppy does two little brief laughs, each more like a single cute ‘heh’… I bet that’s “every time you laugh you make that little sound” Branch referred to in TWT Perfect For Me :)
2. Branch acting unaware that she got his name to avoid spoiling her moment
3. He ducks his head and smiles shyly when she calls him cute :)
4. She runs her hand lovingly over the scrapbook cover’s text :)
5. The Hug - the extra squeeze and her quick dazed look
6. The invitations out in the open!! So glad they made a reappearance, that has always been one of my favourite things from the first movie. I find it interesting how in Trolls 1 there are two shelves then in HiH the bottom shelf is empty: no way he got rid of them, so maybe he’s moving them somewhere better, all around bunker? I would really love to know if he showed her them on purpose or if she stumbled across them, either one would be so sweet! She made him all those cards and now he made her a scrapbook in return!
7. His hand over hers while emptying the basket for the Funk trolls.
8. The swing’s opposite hair colours, continuing with theme of them being connected / compatible from TWT (after their fight during Perfect For Me she’s in the shadows and he’s in the light, in the credits her goggles are blue and his are pink, in contrast to when he was trying to confess to her in the beginning and he’s in the shadows / she’s in the light)
9. More ear movements like in Trolls 1, particularly Branch’s, but Poppy’s do a bit when he hands her the scrapbook. Subtle motions, but really emphasizes the emotion in the scene.
*10. Rewatched the movie (again) and decided to add this in: I just think it’s cute how she’s watching / smiling at him as he exits the balloon. He seems happy too the way he hopped off and was smiling as he started to walk away - even though it wasn’t much of a ‘date’, they still both enjoyed the little hangout!
11. Branch being so concerned about disappointing Poppy if his gift is too meagre. And while we all know (he probably does too) that Poppy would never stuff him into a blender or anything remotely close for any reason, the fact that he doesn’t want to risk his relationship in the slightest way and wants the gift to be perfect is adorable, great first steps of a new couple. He may be much happier and sillier, but he’s still cautious nervous Branch, and I love that he’s changed so much, yet he’s still him.
~Also, the ring implication: proposing to her has obviously crossed his mind, but he knows it would be too much way too soon, they’ve taken things slowly even when they were friends; he of all trolls would never take such a sudden and huge step, neither is ready for that at this point.
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2nd Pic: Parallels from previous movies: Trolls Holiday vs HiH “Go Big or Go Home” perspective… TWT vs HiH “blow up in your face” idea… TWT vs HiH leaning on balloon stance.
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(I may add more if I think of more…). EDIT: I thought of more!
3rd Pic: @dreamsinger-rose here are the best screenshots I could get of the moment between the kiss and the balloon - he seems to lean a bit toward her, but now that I take another look I guess she tilts her head away shyly, and you can’t really see his smile very well either - but it’s still a cute moment!
4th Pic: His glimpse down at her lips! dreamsinger-rose mentioned this and more down in the comments - I had noticed the glimpse myself but didn’t bother adding it as I’d seen it pointed out in other places, but then I thought why not, it’s a cute little observation!
5th Pic: Closeness in the balloon ride, also mentioned by dreamsinger-rose! BONUS: his little smirk when she shushes him, and the way her finger lingers even as she walks away!
6th Pic: Not exactly a little detail, probably everyone noticed but still: Barb referring to Branch as Poppy’s boyfriend (not teasingly this time), and Branch directly saying ‘relationship’ instead of friendship.
7th Pic: Poppy was so excited to get her bf’s name… but there was also a moment of doubt / pondering / puzzlement, realizing she couldn’t instantly think of the perfect gift and/or wondering what she could get “the coolest troll in the world” (still love that she called him that!), but she shrugs it off and goes back to her usual optimism. (I talk more about this in a previous post of “nervous Poppy”)
8th Pic: Poppy being considerate: she’s finally willing to focus 100% of her attention on him, no interruptions or distractions, to actually spend some quality time with him instead of have him just tag along while she works. And some smaller points: suggesting they say the names at the same, asking if he wants to go first instead of telling him to, and listening to / approving of his idea.
Nervous / insecure Poppy is the cutest! We’re so used to the pink queen being bubbly and carefree and confident, and I love her that way too, but this was a nice change. (This is kind of a ramble, but it’s an important ramble)
In my mind, she imagined getting her boyfriend an extra special gift, so she made the enormous box right away, confident she could think of something - after all, she’s an excellent gift giver, everyone knows it. When Poppy first opened her card, she was very excited to get Branch’s name, but we also see a bit of doubt on her face between her words “Cool” and “Well, better get to work…”, realizing she doesn’t have an instant idea. Then she acted confident with Barb/Val and still with Holly/Delta, though her tone seems forced, like she’s trying to convince herself more than them that she’s “got it covered” (with her usual optimism she brushes off Barb’s comment of “a lot of pressure”, emphasizing she’s the Gift Master full of inspiration, then lightly brags when Delta says she’s so good at gift giving).
But by the time Delta says “you always know what to get to make someone feel special”, Poppy’s confidence is clearly decreasing as she realizes she is running out / has run out of time, and now hopes she can still find some way to show Branch how special he is to her, and that she doesn’t disappoint him.
Poppy is hesitant at the gift swap, not jumping at the chance to go first, instead offering (but not forcing) him to go. She looked so ashamed when she opened the empty box, and nervous as Branch tried to make a guess at what it was. Telling him how wonderful he is, singing him an inspirational song (her ‘split-second grand idea’ expression mid-hug), the sweet kiss, then choosing to spend time with him without any interruptions - all these things made for the best gift Branch could’ve ever wished for, gifts he truly needed.
I’d say Poppy put as much pressure on herself as he did with getting the perfect gift, but in a different form. And normally she would just happily brush it off, like ‘oh well, I couldn’t think of anything for you, but it’s no big deal, let’s go party!’, but she was actually really worried about how he would feel.
And it’s true, he is always over-prepared, and practical, so really, what could she get him that he doesn’t already have, or that is useful to him but isn’t a mediocre present. Sure, she could’ve made him a scrapbook too or something, but she’s all Go Big or Go Home, and since she didn’t manage to go big, she was left with one option. Plus, from a movie-plot view, giving nothing instead of something small like Branch did made more sense to convey two messages at once: gifts don’t have to be big and fancy to be meaningful, and being together is more important than presents.
Holiday in Harmony has arrived and was absolutely beautiful!!!
So here are some cute Broppy moments from various books… including the HiH Golden Book! I’ll add others if I find more elsewhere.
*The collaged screenshots are from Youtube, mostly the channels Play Tube TVandStorytime Now!. Otherwise look up a book name with ‘read along’ or ‘read aloud’ and you’ll find it
*The HiH pics are from Apple Book’s website preview and georgebeard70089 on Instagram
Random cute bits of Broppy - various TWT promos, the Troll-a-Palooza short, some Peacock Youtube question-and-answer type thing, and some Trollstopia thing from Facebook
On set for DON’T SLACK, playing everything but DON’T SLACK Just tryin’ to bring some joy…. Video is finally out tomorrow Ps I know Anna’s in pajamas, but this was filmed pre-social distancing Anna Kendrick AndersonPaak Trolls
Color keys for Country Western land. Art Director Tim Lamb and Production Designer Kendal Cronkhite had the clever idea of covering everything in fabric and quilting. I was happy to get to key this section.
