--- description: When the team behind Trolls set out to create Anna Kendrick's Princess Poppy, they strove to avoid adhering to traditional beauty standards. title: Why Anna Kendrick's Trolls Character Isn't a Traditional Princess image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Why Anna Kendrick's _Trolls_ Character Doesn't Look Like a Traditional Princess  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Jul 22, 2016 3:05 PM CUT  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Jul 22, 2016 3:05 PM CUT The animated film industry has long been criticized for presenting [unrealistic female body ideals](http://time.com/3667700/frozen-brave-disney-princesses-heroes-and-sexism/ "undefined") to young viewers, particularly when a movie’s main character is a [princess](http://time.com/4378119/disney-princess-effect-on-girls/ "undefined"). So when the team behind DreamWorks’ upcoming [_Trolls_](http://time.com/4418696/justin-timberlake-trolls-comic-con/ "undefined") set out to create [Anna Kendrick’s](http://time.com/4326399/justin-timberlake-anna-kendrick-cover-cyndi-laupers-true-colors/ "undefined") Princess Poppy, they strove to avoid adhering to what many consider traditional beauty standards. During the _Trolls_ Thursday panel at San Diego Comic-Con, producer Gina Shay spoke about the obligation to depict realistic body image in film, noting that Poppy looks just as much like a troll as any of the other characters. “As filmmakers we feel like it’s our responsibility to give girls memorable characters that don’t make them feel inadequate in body image,” she said, according to [Cinema Blend](http://www.cinemablend.com/news/1537029/the-real-reason-anna-kendricks-character-in-trolls-isnt-a-traditionally-hot-princess "undefined"). “We broke every princess rule in the book on this one; we kept the troll shapes round, shoeless.” Shay went on to explain how having a daughter has strengthened this perspective for her. “My daughter’s eleven, she has a really powerful mind and I would rather have her using it to be imaginative instead of obsessing in front of a mirror because all girls are beautiful,” she said. See Princess Poppy in the _Trolls_ trailer below. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4418973/anna-kendrick-trolls-princess-comic-con-body-image/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4418973/anna-kendrick-trolls-princess-comic-con-body-image/"},"headline":"Why Anna Kendrick's Trolls Character Doesn't Look Like a Traditional Princess","datePublished":"2016-07-22T15:05:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:34:41.174Z","description":"\"We broke every princess rule in the book on this one\"","url":"https://time.com/4418973/anna-kendrick-trolls-princess-comic-con-body-image/","keywords":["movies","Newsfeed","Body Image","trolls","Anna Kendrick"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4418973/anna-kendrick-trolls-princess-comic-con-body-image/","name":"Why Anna Kendrick's Trolls Character Doesn't Look Like a Traditional Princess"}}]}] ```