The villains of Trolls Band Together, Velvet and Veneer, are uniquely bizarre creatures compared to the franchise's iconic long-haired Trolls dolls.
The pair of animated antagonists (voiced by Amy Schumer and Andrew Rannells) debuted as a part of Dreamwork's latest zany musical comedy, released in 2023.
More than a year after they burst onto the scene, the characters have stuck with fans.
[ Full Cast of Trolls 3: Trolls Band Together - Every Voice Actor & Character (Photos) ]
Who Are Velvet & Veneer in Trolls?
Trolls Band Together's Velvet and Veneer continue to confound audiences, as these strange creatures are unique in the much-celebrated Trolls franchise.
This villainous big-screen duo marked a first for the Trolls movies, not being the traditional Trolls doll like most of the other characters in Dreamwork's animated world.
Rather than being Trolls, they are designed in a much more plastic doll-like manner, looking like their entire body is made of bendable rubber rather than the hard brushed plastic of the iconic dolls the series is based on.
According to director Walt Dohrn, this was a concerted effort by the Band Together team to make them look different (via Animation Magazine).
He described their almost plasticine hair and shiny skin as meant to represent "the opposite values of the Trolls:"
"We wanted them to possess these kind of the opposite values of the Trolls. But their design was really complex because we started just drawing in kind of generic shapes before we figured out who they were."
In the world of the Trolls franchise, the pair come from a species known as Rageons. These long and lanky folk live in the great Mount Rageon and debuted as a part of Band Together in 2023.
They notably have a newly-renewed relationship with the Trolls of the world, with laws against Trollnapping and Troll torture. This follows a historical conflict between the two species where Rageons exploited the talent-filled Trolls for personal gain.
As a species, the Rageons are well known for their love of materialistic goods and partying, with some still willing to steal the talent of Trolls (i.e. Velvet and Veneer).
Their names were derived from dental terms, as Velvet and Veneer's parents were dentists in the movie. According to a post on Reddit by user BeanyIsDaBean, Velvet refers to "describe lesions in the mouth" or "a chemical in a special syringe for cleaning in between the teeth."
Meanwhile, Veneer is named after the protective shell that can be put on the front of teeth to protect from cracks, chips, or other structural and/or visual deformations.
In the film, Velvet and Veneer are twin Rageon wannabe pop stars who try to capture and steal the essence of Floyd (played by Troye Sivan), a former Trolls boy band Brozone member.
Their plans are thwarted, though, as they attempt to lure the rest of the Brozone brothers to hopefully steal their talents as well, leading the likes of Justin Timberlake's Branch and Anna Kendrick's Poppy to take the villains down and expose them as the talent-stealing imposters that they are.
Trolls Band Together is streaming on Netflix.
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