Troll doll

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 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 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 after 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.

Toy history

Troll dolls were created by Danish fisherman and woodcutter Thomas Dam. Dam was initially a baker, but when flour supplies suffered, he sought numerous other jobs, including fishing and selling logs. Whenever he was home, he would carve little wooden figures depicting various mythical creatures for his children. Eventually he started selling the toys, and by 1956 was developing larger figures for department stores throughout Scandinavia. In 1959, Dam opened a factory, Dam Things Establishment, and began producing the dolls out of rubber; in 1961 they switched to using PVC plastic and made the dolls in various sizes under the name Good Luck Trolls. They became popular in several European countries during the early 1960s, shortly before they were introduced in the United States. They became one of the United States' biggest toy fads from the autumn of 1963 to 1965. The originals were of the highest quality, also called Dam dolls and featuring sheep wool hair and glass eyes. Their sudden popularity, along with an error in the copyright notice of Thomas Dam's original product, resulted in cheaper imitations.

The Dam company never stopped its production of trolls in Denmark, where they were always a popular item. In the late 1980s, the Dam trolls started making another comeback in North America. E.F.S. Marketing Associates, Inc. was one of the few corporations granted permission to import and market the Thomas Dam trolls for resale in the United States. These Dam Trolls were marketed under the trade name of Norfin Trolls, with an "Adopt A Norfin Troll" logo on the tags.

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.