An evil Queen banishes a flower loving troll named Stanley (Dom DeLuise) to New York City, where he befriends two young children.
Stanley (Dom DeLuise) is a kindhearted, popular troll who can create flowers with a mere touch. When Gnorga (Cloris Leachman), the mean-spirited Queen of the Kingdom of Trolls discovers Stanley's secret, she banishes him to a faraway place where she assumes nothing green can grow - New York City. Taking refuge in Central Park, Stanley befriends two young children, Gus (Phillip Glasser) and his baby sister Rosie (Tawny Sunshine Glover). The three share wonderful adventures until Gnorga decides to let her mischief-making magic loose in the Big Apple.—Lesley Sweeting (Taken from back of R1 DVD cover)
A friendly troll with a magic green thumb grows one flower too many for the Queen, whose laws require all trolls to act mean, be ugly, and scare humans whenever possible. As a punishment, he is exiled to a world of concrete, where he should live a life of proper trolldom: Manhattan. But of all places, his pod lands in Central Park, where he feels right at home. He befriends a young brother and sister, out for the day unknown to their parents, and must immediately protect them from the Queen's attack. This is an adventure that teaches the importance of love and responsibility.—Cynan Rees <[email protected]>
When his parents are too busy to take him to the park, a bratty boy named Gus (Phillip Glasser), followed by his toddler sister Rosie (Tawny Sunshine Glover), take off on their own. While Gus plays with his toy boat, Rosie gets herself into a large underground area. There she meets Stanley (Dom DeLuise), a friendly troll with a green thumb that will grow a flower at his thumb's touch. This run-down underground cave is now Stanley's home after he is exiled to Central Park from his home world, a terrible loveless dark troll world, for growing flowers. Gus is introduced to Stanley by Rosie and is not impressed. But when Gnorga (Cloris Leachman), the evil Queen of the troll world, comes to Manhattan armed with her purple thumb that turns things to stone, she sniffs Stanley out, with intentions of bringing Stanley, his friends and the city to a terrible conclusion.—Morticon
At the beginning of the film, viewers are introduced to an underground 'Kingdom of the Trolls', where all symbols of beauty, especially flowers, are forbidden by the evil Queen Gnorga (Cloris Leachman). Protagonist Stanley (Dom DeLuise) is an unusual troll with the power to create moving, talking flowers with a touch, who cultivates a garden in secret. When he mistakenly exposes himself, Gnorga holds a trial ('The Queen of Mean'), where she threatens to turn Stanley to stone (her usual punishment), until her consort King Llort (Charles Nelson Reilly) recommends exile instead, to a place he believes to harbor no beauty at all. When Gnorga acts on this, the place of exile proves to be New York City, where Stanley takes refuge in a cave beneath Central Park. Soon afterwards, he is befriended by two human children: Rosie (Tawny Sunshine Glover) and her elder brother Gus (Phillip Glasser). Inspired by Rosie, he creates a beautiful garden in his cave ('Absolutely Green').
Word of Stanley's happiness reaches the Troll Kingdom, and Gnorga's reputation suffers. She, in retaliation, attempts to drown Stanley and his human friends with a flood created from Gus' tears; but this fails, when Stanley's own magic, and Gus' desire to protect Rosie combine to break Gnorga's spell. Stanley then displays his ideal of a world, in which the trolls live at peace and all else is beautiful ('Welcome to my World'). When Gus and Rosie leave for home, Gnorga destroys much of Central Park with a cyclone, and captures Rosie. Gus scolds Stanley for his fear of Gnorga, and tries to rescue Rosie, but is changed by her into the shape of a troll. Stanley, ashamed, rescues both, and confronts Gnorga. After a fierce contest of their powers, Stanley changes Gnorga partly into a rosebush, and she, through the transformed Gus, turns Stanley to stone. Moments later, Gnorga becomes a rosebush altogether, and her own power teleports her and Llort back to their kingdom. Gus, restored to his human form, retrieves the petrified Stanley.
The next day, Gus and Rosie return Stanley to Central Park, where he unexpectedly returns to life, restores the Park to its intact state, and briefly covers the entire city with flowers ('Absolutely Green', reprise). A brief epilogue reveals, Llort is now ruling the Troll Kingdom alone, much more gently than Gnorga.
