In Trollstopia, the various citizens of the titular place — many of whom come from different corners of their world with their own cultures and obsessions — juggle their relationships with each other and their new neighbors. While some of them have a harder time at this than others, this isn’t the case for Holly Darlin’ — the ambassador of the Country-Western Trolls of Country Corral. Energetic and kind almost to a fault, Holly quickly befriends her fellow Trolls.
During an exclusive interview with CBR, TrollsTopia star Megan Hilty broke down the ways her musical experience line up with her role in the animated series.
Despite playing the chief Country-Western Troll in TrollsTopia, Hilty is the first to admit that southern charm wasn’t her starting place as a performer. “I’ve always been a fan of country music, but I’ from Seattle, Washington,” Hilty explained. “I am not a Southern Belle, but I will say that constantly, people assume that I am from, very specifically, Dallas, Texas. For some reason, I get that a lot… I’m not sure what it is that people are picking up on, but I’ll take it, because I really, really enjoy all of these Southern Spitfires that I get to play in voiceover and on-screen.”
Thanks to the musical nature of TrollsTopia, Hilty got the chance to really flex her singing skills — even beyond her character’s country music. “Well, it’s really fun for me, because even though I play a country Western troll, I’m actually asked to sing in all of the different genres, which is really delightful for a vocal technique geek like myself. I just love trying all of these new styles, and it’s great because I’m not necessarily featured in all of them. It’s not like I totally have to embody it, but it’s really fun to try all of these new, different genres that I’m not necessarily used to singing in.”
Comparing her experience on Broadway as a musical actress and her time as a voice actress for shows like TrollsTopia, Hilty revealed, “I feel like there’s a really wonderful link between, very specifically, musical theater and voiceover for animation. If you’re a singer, it feels to me you’ll naturally know how to tell a story through your voice and the musicality of it. I could be wrong. Just, this is just my take on it. I just feel the two seem very similar, because the storytelling, it’s very dependent on telling a story just with your voice… You literally don’t have any physicality to lean on. Other people, many other people, add that for you, but it has to start with just your voice.”
TrollsTopia — along with the recent Trolls films — reinvented the franchise in a more modern musical incarnation. It’s a major change from the original version of the Troll dolls, which largely existed without any overarching character or story. “I definitely had Troll dolls when I was little,” Hilty explained. “I don’t remember there being a world. At that time, I just had dolls. Now, I have my own Trolls doll. I have a Holly Darlin’ Trolls doll. I have two of them, actually, on my shelf. I bought a third one for my kids, so they can destroy it, and I won’t cry.
“This is going to sound really odd, but it feels like one of the greatest accomplishments as an actor — to have an action figure, especially coming from childhood, and having those same action figures, those dolls, as a kid. Now I have my own that represents the character that I voice. That’s why I have two of them still boxed on my shelf, because that is better than any award or little trophy that I could get. It gives me a real sense of accomplishment, I guess. I have such pride in knowing that I’m a part of this huge world.”
Even while recording dialogue for the show throughout the tumultuous 2020, Hilty looked to her place within the Trolls universe as a major highlight. “I look forward to these sessions for TrollsTopia more than anything, because the character that I’m playing is pure joy,” Hilty explained. “The people I work with are pure joy. [Executive Producer Matthew Beans], being the creator, is also in every single session, and he is the embodiment of this show. We have so much fun.
“Before the pandemic, I got to do group recordings with other characters in studio. It’s just endless fun. There is nothing not fun about the show. During the pandemic, while everything seems so intense… once a week, I have a couple of hours where I go into my closet, which has now been turned into a recording studio, and I just experience pure joy in these recording sessions. I am grateful for this show for many, many reasons, but that has to probably top the list, is that it just genuinely brings me joy making it, and it is so much fun to watch too… Even if I wasn’t a part of the show, I would still be a huge fan, because it just brings pure joy in a time where we really need it, to be very honest.”
Executive Produced by Matthew Beans, TrollsTopia stars Skylar Astin, Amanda Leighton, David Flynn, Ron Funches, Kenan Thompson, Megan Hilty, Jeanine Mason, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Sam Haft, returns to Peacock and Hulu Mar. 18