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A troll doll (Danish: Gjøltrold) is a type of plastic doll with furry up-combed hair depicting a troll, also known as a Dam doll after their creator Denmark woodcutter Thomas Dam. The inspiration came from trolls in old folklore. The toys are also known as good luck trolls.
The dolls were first created in 1956 or earlier and were larger and made from a softer, more rubbery material than the smaller versions that became popular in 1959, before becoming one of the United States' biggest toy fads in the early 1960s. They became briefly popular again during the 1970s through the 1990s and were copied by several manufacturers under different names. During the 1990s, several video games and a video show were created based on troll dolls.
In 2003, the Dam company restored the United States copyrights for the trolls, stopping unlicensed production.
In 2005, the Dam company licensed the brand to DIC Entertainment to modernize the brand by creating a cartoon under the name Trollz, but the show only lasted one season. The failed cartoon also led to a lawsuit followed by a counter-claim lawsuit.
In 2013, the brand was bought by DreamWorks Animation, with an animated feature film called Trolls being released in 2016, followed by two sequels, released in 2020 and 2023.
During the period of popularity in the early to mid-1990s, several attempts were made to market the troll dolls to young boys. This included action figure lines such as The Original Battle Trolls from Hasbro, the Stone Protectors franchise, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Trolls. The popular Mighty Max line also had a series named Hairy Heads, also known as Dread Heads.
In 2003, the Dam copyright was restored by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. The Uneeda Doll Company, a company that made millions of US dollars by manufacturing troll dolls in the U.S., challenged the restoration. The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the lower court's preliminary injunction, enjoining Uneeda from manufacturing, distributing, or selling "Wish-nik" troll dolls. The Toy Industry Association named troll dolls in its Century of Toys List, a list of the 100 most memorable and most creative toys of the 20th century.
In 2005, Dam licensed the trolls to DIC Entertainment as Trollz. With this, the licensing campaign saw the troll dolls being pushed towards young girls, featuring products such as fashion dolls and fashion accessories. The campaign failed and eventually lead into a lawsuit.
In 2007, DIC sued the Dam company, claiming that they alleged claims of fraud in the inducement and negligent misrepresentation in connection with Dam's troll doll, and DIC's Trollz, which was created after DIC licensed the brand from Dam. Dam counter-sued DIC, claiming that the company financially misrepresented its ability to create and market a modern troll doll toy campaign and destroyed the image and goodwill of the doll.
In 2013, DreamWorks Animation acquired the intellectual property for the Trolls franchise from the Dam Family and Dam Things and became the exclusive worldwide licensor of the merchandise rights, except for Scandinavia, where Dam Things remains the licenser.
In 1992, DIC (who would later produce Trollz in 2005) released a half hour special called Super Trolls. The special featured three heroic trolls who fight an evil troll named Craven. The special was released on VHS by Buena Vista Home Video.
In that same year, a direct-to-video sing-along special was released titled The Trollies Radio Show, with puppet trolls singing somewhat dated hits such as "Kokomo", "Woolly Bully", and "Do Wah Diddy", as well as some original songs.
Also in the same year, GoodTimes Entertainment released a direct-to-video sing along series Treehouse Trolls. The two videos were Treehouse Trolls Forest of Fun and Wonder and Treehouse Trolls Birthday Day.
In 1993, Graz Entertainment and Sachs TV Entertainment released an action cartoon based on the troll dolls called Stone Protectors. The show featured a kingdom built out of crystals that came under attack by the reptilian troll-like Saurians; their leader, Zok, desired the powerful crystals protected by the Empress. Zok broke into the castle and reached for the crystals only to see them explode into pieces and fly to the Earth.
In 2005, DIC as part of a licensing campaign with Dam, they produced Trollz. An animated that featured five teenage girl trolls named after the gems on their belly buttons, their names are Amethyst, Ruby, Sapphire, Topaz, and Onyx. The trolls call themselves the “Best Friends for Life”. They live in a city called Trollzopolis. A city within a magical world. They use magic to help them with their everyday life. They also save the world from an evil green gremlin named Simon and his red monster dog friend named Snarf.
In 2016, following DreamWorks’ purchase of the troll property, they produced Trolls, an animated musical comedy film based on the Troll dolls. The film was released on November 4, 2016. It was directed by Mike Mitchell and co-directed by Walt Dohrn, with Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake providing the voices of Poppy and Branch. A sequel, Trolls World Tour, was scheduled for theatrical release on April 10, 2020, in North America. The film was originally planned to be released theatrically in the United States on this day, but the film was released simultaneously in , as regular movie theaters closed due to the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and through Premium VOD in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, South Korea and Italy. This affected the number of projections and the box office performance of the film. As the pandemic receded, the film was released back in regular movie theaters. Another sequel, Trolls Band Together was released exclusively in theaters on November 17, 2023.
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