To find Vietnamese, Caribbean, Italian, Ghanaian, Indian, Japanese, Haitian and Korean all under one roof, head to Global Grub Collective. The humble East Atlanta Village food hall hosts a variety of pop-ups or small, more consistent, vendors.

Unlike its larger cousins, Ponce City Market and Krog Street Market, the many purveyors do not all offer their goods at once, instead sharing the small space on a rotating schedule. Some vendors, like Ok Yaki and Smok One BBQ, only offer their specialties one day a week. Others, like Mai Kind of Brunch and Mamoune’s Homestyle Haitian, are open exclusively in the earlier hours.

The anchor of the space, We Suki Suki, slings banh mis, pho, and bubble tea. They are open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Owner Q Trinh opened the Vietnamese restaurant in 2012. After demand for the space becoming an all-day restaurant, two customers asked if they could operate a taco stand out of the space in the evenings.

Since then, the Collective has expanded to include 15 independent concepts. By sharing a space to operate part-time, Trinh supports the smaller ventures and hopes they can eventually branch out into their own buildings. With multiple stalls operating at any given time, the additional foot traffic can give the small businesses much needed exposure.

The space feels perfectly suited to incubating the unique, up-and-coming food vendors. What this miniature food hall lacks in square footage, it makes up in charm with brightly painted walls, checkered tablecloths, red picnic tables and string lights that help the space feel warm and homey.

Unlike the cavernous size and polished atmosphere of Ponce City Market, eating at the Global Grub Collective reminds patrons of sitting in a friend’s kitchen as they experiment with new dishes. Most vendors offer few options on the menu, but they will not disappoint; anything less than excellent grub would not be in Trinh’s space.

One of the more recent additions to the schedule, The Midnight Marauder, makes specialty hot dogs. As “Defender of the Late Night Snack,” they take over the space from midnight to 4 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, catering to East Atlanta Village’s lively night scene. So Ko Bonchon, who serves South Korean double fried chicken wings, also adds to the late night offerings.

Focusing on local ingredients, the Marauder offers Spotted Trotter all beef dogs and No Evil Foods plant-based dogs on H+F Bread Company buns. Unique toppings, like Doux South’s Drunken Mustard and Simply Seoul’s kimchi, elevate the hot dog from carnival food to a complex, satisfying dish.

From noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 5–9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, Roti serves up vegetarian Indian soul food. Branded as a “vegetarian sloppy joe,” the pav baji is a tomato-based vegetable curry. With just the right amount of kick,
the dish pairs well with the soft roti rolls.

Along with Italian concept Poco Pomodoro, Revolution Gelato is one of the tenants operating most of the time. Open from noon to 9 p.m. every day and an extra hour later on Fridays and Saturdays, the brother–sister venture offers gelato. Despite being dairy-free, their Nekkid Espresso won Flavor of Georgia in the dairy product category at the 2016 UGA Food Product Contest. With a coconut cream base, flavors like Chocolate Fantasy and Orange Dream are rich and intense.

The Global Grub Collective offers alternatives to the authentic international fare of Buford Highway, late night Waffle House runs and traditional dairy desserts. If patrons cannot make it out to East Atlanta Village, multiple vendors use Uber Eats to deliver their goods.

A tech-genius billionaire indulges his philanthropic side to build a hospital, Bunkerhill, to utilize revolutionary technology.

James Bell (Augustus Prew, “Charlie St. Cloud”), the man behind Bunkerhill, creates an environment that melds technology and medicine. This hospital is far beyond the treatments and techniques applied at other leading hospitals, such as Johns Hopkins. Bell recruits only the best and tries to maintain a meritocracy of ideas among his staff. The doctors hired include Odette Annable (“The Astronaut Wives Club”) as Dr. Brockett and Reshma Shetty (“Odd Mom Out”) as Dr. Channarayapatra. Both actresses were in medical dramas previously: “House” and “Royal Pains” respectively. As an interesting parallel, Bell tries to bring Dr. Wallace (Dermot Mulroney, “The Wedding Date”) into the fold. While Bell continuously attempts to convince Dr. Wallace to join, the creators simultaneously attempt to sway the audience to keep watching and be inspired by the “possibilities of the future” through the show.

The pilot episode shows Bell making grand promises to the patients he brings, hoping to do the impossible. Much of the technological innovation that occurs is unrealistic for the current day and age. The monitor detects a heart attack while in the pocket of a paramedic, without any
skin contact, which is currently impossible.

Other technology, such as a wearable ankle monitor to sense physiological functions, is based on current research but outperforms current scientific possibilities. While it is understandable that the show pushes the boundaries of reality to entertain, “Pure Genius” would be better if most of the innovation was more grounded to existing research.

Another technique in the episode is to 3D print a highly complex cardiac tumor. This has been seen on the small screen before in season 11 of “Grey’s Anatomy” in 2015. Despite this repetition, tumor printing is one of the more realistic depicted medical advances.

When Bell makes outrageous promises and blindly believes he will save patients’ lives, it is not in the their best interest, as Dr. Brockett points out. Since Bell has no medical degree, this behavior has no place in the patient-doctor interaction is dangerous and should not be
portrayed.

The show relies on the shock value of technology so much that the rest of the show falls to the wayside. Bell’s choice of patients that seem interesting and at the end of their ropes is overused. The knight in shining armor trope is cringe-worthy and occasionally slightly annoying.

The innovations are used as props, but they instead inspire laughter or concern in the technologically educated viewer. In a comically unrealistic manner, they created the first remote controlled nano-bot in less than a day.

Additionally, it is worrying that there is no third-party vetting of the medical devices that are used. There is no mention of the FDA or clinical trials before they jump in and use dangerous
technology on patients.

In fact, Bell says they innovate faster and change lives because there is no ‘“red tape.” Red tape, while annoying, is life-saving. By creating a system of accountability and testing, red tape protects patients. Medical ethics being bypassed with a blasé attitude is troubling.

For a pilot, far too many plot lines were thrown around. Bounding between four patients, a seemingly budding one-sided romance between Bell and Dr. Brockett, and the genetic disease Bell inherited is overwhelming. Gerstmann–Sträussler–Scheinker (GSS), the rare neurodegenerative disease Bell inherited, motivated him to build Bunkerhill, unbeknownst to the public.

Overall, the show took a wonderful idea but pushed the boundaries too far. The technology
angle is too unbelievable, and the omission of important steps to protect patients from well-intended but dangerous technology is concerning. The script leaves much to be desired, as do the plot points themselves. In order to see a renewal in its future, “Pure Genius” would need to shock itself back to life.

“Leave your troubles outside, so life is disappointing? Forget it! We have no troubles here! Here life is beautiful,” croons the Emcee in the opening number  “Willkommen.” As the audience is drawn into the captivating and bawdy world of “Cabaret,” they forget those troubles until their politics are echoed back to them.

This version of the musical is a touring production of the Roundabout Theater Company’s 2014 Broadway revival of Sam Mendes’ (“American Beauty”) Tony Award-winning 1998 revival, which skyrocketed Alan Cumming (“The Good Wife”) into fame.

“Cabaret” follows struggling American novelist Cliff Bradshaw as he arrives in 1930s Berlin, where the arts were king and sexuality was a little more
fluid, including his own. Bradshaw is quickly introduced to the seedy Kit Kat Club, where he meets the flirtatious and often guileless Sally Bowles, who forces her way into his life.

Their story, along with a secondary plot involving the members of Fräulein Schneider’s boarding house, where Bradshaw is residing, is told against the rise of the Nazi Party.

The sardonic and sensual Emcee, played by Randy Harrison (“Queer as Folk”), intermittently punctuates the storyline. He serves as the Greek Chorus, foreshadowing the ever impending political climate and moving the story along.

While dressed similarly to Cumming’s 1998 Emcee, Harrison’s Emcee is more callous — almost malevolent. However, the audience still cannot resist being drawn to him as he flirts with and mocks them.

Another star standout was Allison Ewing, who stepped in as Sally Bowles for our performance. Ewing’s Sally is world-weary yet optimistic. One cannot help but wonder how much of her disregard for the realities around her is influenced by the drugs and gin, and how much is plain ignorance. In spite of her circumstances, she desperately wants to be a star, and her potential to achieve this dream shines when Ewing sings.

The minimalistic set is almost a playground for the performers: they climb all over the scaffolding during their numbers. Members of the orchestra double as members of the ensemble. Often leaving their seats to join in song and dance numbers, they serve as the musicians in the cabaret, in addition to those of the musical. While the Fox Theatre does not have as intimate of a setting as Studio 54 or a nightclub, the staging permits the audience to have nearly two performances in one.

Fifty years after its original Broadway debut, “Cabaret” remains as relevant as ever. Sally’s cry that “that’s just politics, and what does that have to do with us?” as she and Cliff discuss leaving Berlin after the increased influence of the Nazi party becomes palpable. Especially in today’s political climate, where so many are quick to accept patriotic rhetoric at the expense of their friends and neighbors, the show was poignant. The audience is once again confronted with their prejudices during “If You Could See Her” after the Emcee reveals the true identity of his ape-woman lover.

As Sally sings in her solo song “Cabaret,” “Life is a cabaret, old chum! Come to the cabaret!” “Cabaret” continues through Sunday at the Fox Theatre.

Greeks United for Inclusivity, Diversity, and Equity (GUIDE), is a new student organization formed by the President’s Council after reviewing the findings and recommendations of the Black Student Experience Task Force.

GUIDE is part of the Greek Life Task Force, a panel that will present findings about the theoretical purpose and empirical experience of Greek life to Bud Peterson and other campus leaders. They will meet each Friday until April to work on this research.

Anna Malcom, fourth-year NRE, and Muswele Lundy, fourth-year AE, are the co-chairs of the organization.

The four Greek Councils — Interfraternity, Collegiate Panhellenic, National Panhellenic, and Multicultural Greek Councils — each send three delegates to the organization.“Guiding to a better Greek experience” is the motto of the organization, and they are trying to implement this by broadcasting the benefits that each of the disparate cultures of Greek life at Tech add to the whole.

“When I was on the executive committee of my sorority”, Malcom said, “a FASET leader related how a mother approached her and asked if her daughter could rush a CPC sorority since she isn’t white. That really hit me as a perception that needed to be addressed from within the Greek community.”

GUIDE will be planning events for students from all walks of college life, aimed at increasing the interactions and opportunities for engagement across the divides between the Greek councils as well as between the Greek councils and the student body.

Early in the spring, for instance, they will be hosting a basketball tailgate for all four councils at one of the Tech home games. They are also working to change the way that Greek Week is planned and implemented so that it is a more rewarding and inclusive experience for Greeks of all councils.

“I rushed IFC my first semester and made a lot of friends,” Lundy said, “but I decided to hold off pledging until the spring, and at that time, I joined an NPHC fraternity. Seeing both sides of that really opened my eyes to the depth of the divide in Greek life, and I want to be part of changing that.”

The group is working with other student groups as well as Greek organizations to address concerns, and in the future they would like to help Greek and non-Greek organizations host events together.

GUIDE stands for increased inclusivity, diversity and equity of student experience for all students, and a huge part of this is educating those already involved in Greek life of what other students go through and how they can help them.

“We really want to provide resources for everyone,” Lundy said, “so that anyone in Greek life or considering Greek life feels more engaged, regardless of where they come from. Education is really important in improving long term inclusion.”

GUIDE is considering publishing a monthly spotlight on the history of the various councils to increase the general knowledge of some of these groups that students may not hear of often.

“Think about GUIDE as a group of dedicated and passionate people working to make the Greek student experience better for everyone,” Lundy said. “We’re working to address long-standing issues and break down the walls between the Greek councils.”

“GUIDE has three goals that I hope we can make progress towards,” Malcom said, “educating Greek students to be more inclusive, increasing the interactions among the four councils and addressing the perception that Greek life faces externally.”

Tech’s GUIDE organization is modeled after the GUIDE program at the University of California at San Diego. That program, which launched in April 2015, aims to foster collaboration between the university’s 44 social Greek organizations and its Community Centers.

Three key focus areas are stressed in UCSD’s GUIDE program: an education summit in which historical issues like racism will be discussed during formal presentations, guidelines for inclusive events and closer analysis of exclusive recruitment processes.

Each chapter at UC San Diego participating in their Multicultural Greek Council, Panhellenic Council or Interfraternity Council will participate in the organization’s activities.

GUIDE at Tech is currently looking for new members, who can apply to chair GUIDE committees or become members of said committees. Furthermore, student organizations can sign up to be an official partner of GUIDE  and send a representative.

As a freshman, Frank Pittman has made quite a start in men’s cross country. The former Gatorade State Boys Cross Country Runner of the year and Marist graduate has already notched two ACC Freshman of the Week awards. Pittman sat down with the Technique to talk about his early success.

Technique: How did you originally get into cross country?

Pittman: Actually, I got into cross country through my dad because he ran cross country all throughout high school and then all throughout college. So he wanted to, I guess, not force me and my brother into cross country because then we wouldn’t like it, but he almost enlightened us. He took us to our first AAU cross country practice when I was in sixth grade.

The first year or two, it was absolutely awful because when you’re that young, your legs aren’t used to the pounding. I would always dread going to cross country practice. After a little bit, I started to get good, and it just started to feel really good to run and it was almost like you were just floating. Not nirvana, but it just feels good to run now.

Technique: What are some complexities of the sport that the average person may not know?

Pittman: Well, there are certain paces that correspond to a certain percentage of your effort, and those percentages fall into different energy systems.

If you’re going for eighty percent, that’s very aerobic, and you can do that for a long time, but the farther and farther past eighty percent effort that you go, it becomes more anaerobic and you start to generate lactic acid.

Technique: Are there any strategies that go into races when you’re competing against other runners at a meet?

Pittman: So when you’re in a race and somebody gaps you, it’s so much harder to maintain that same pace after somebody has gapped you when you don’t have contact with them. It’s mentally easier to run with somebody, and even on top of that, you can be running in a pack, but if you don’t have any teammates there, it’s a lot harder to motivate yourself than if your teammates are there.

Technique: How has your experience been at Tech so far?

Pittman: I’ve really liked my time at Tech so far. It is pretty tough; it’s very hard to balance everything. You need to weigh the pros and cons, like, “Should I stay up late to finish this homework assignment, or should I get some sleep for the 6 a.m. workout tomorrow?” So it’s a lot of that, but I still have a life outside of athletics and academics which keeps me sane, so that’s good.

Technique: What adjustments have you made to your running from high school to college?

Pittman: I guess in terms of the race, it is a pretty big jump because you go through the 5k mark, and it’s just instinct to think that you’re done because you’ve been doing that for four years, but then you have to remind yourself that you have two more miles to go.

It’s just like, I don’t want to do this, but after a certain point in the race you just realize you’re going to do it. So you start to get motivated to finish. In terms of training, I’m doing less mileage than I did in high school.

I like that part of it because I feel a lot fresher for the 8k, and also we don’t race as often in college … In high school we’d race every weekend, but now it’s just once every three weeks.

Technique: How do you feel about being named ACC Freshman of the Week twice now?

Pittman: First time, I was kind of surprised because it was at the [Roy] Griak Invitational in Minnesota which is one of the hardest courses in the country, so my time was really slow. I don’t know if I was the only ACC freshman racing that week … it feels really good to get that honor, but I was surprised.

Technique: Who’s your favorite person or team to run against?

Pittman: I haven’t really gotten the lay of the land in terms of college quite yet, but racing against my old high school rivals. There’s Steven Cross at FSU; he’s a really good cross runner. Aidan Tooker — he’s at Syracuse right now, I’m not sure if he’s red shirting or not. … Then Jeremy Brown at UNC and a bunch of other people that I’ve gotten to know through the years.

Technique: What’s your favorite course to run?

Pittman: It’s definitely going to be the Wakemed Soccer Park where ACCs is this weekend. I always just seem to have a really good race there because I raced there like every year in high school. It’s a great course.

Technique: How do you feel individually and about the team going into the ACC Championships?

Pittman: I’m really excited to race at the ACC Championships because it’s a fairly competitive conference. We have Syracuse and NC State and then a bunch of other schools that are just as competitive as we are. …

After the Crimson Classic, our last meet at Alabama, Coach Drosky told us that we need to start running as team more. I think if we do that at ACCs and everything clicks, we’re going to have an awesome day.

A quick glance at Tech campus does not suggest that it would lend itself well to outdoor aquatics. Atlanta is far from a coastal city and home to no major rivers. GT Sailing Club is looking to change that perception.

Based out of nearby Lake Lanier, the Sailing Club was founded as a means to compete with other schools and expose Tech students to the pastime.

The group’s constitution dictates that it exists “to encourage sailing, teach sailing and promote racing to all members of the Georgia Tech community.” For a student who did not previously have the time, resources or inclination to participate in such activities, the Sailing Club provides a gentle introduction.

More committed and experienced members, though, find a different kind of enjoyment altogether. The team competes in regattas, competitions against schools from around the region and country.

Common opponents include powerhouse College of Charleston and the University of Georgia. Each race can end as quickly as 10 minutes, but the preparation that goes into the event can vary drastically from one course to another. Navigating a river current, for example, offers a starkly different set of challenges than the more docile lakes on which the Jackets typically practice, such as the aforementioned Lanier.

Second-year Kasia Kwasniak grew up sailing on Lake Allatoona, northwest of Atlanta. When she came to Tech, she knew she wanted to continue that.

She soon discovered the significant differences between leisure and competitive sailing; communication between teammates was vital and even more factors had to be considered within each two-member team.

“One [team member] is a skipper; the skipper is the one who controls the helm [and] the rudder. The other person is the crew, and they control the sail up front,” Kwasniak said.

Together, the pair must navigate a winding path while keeping an eye on other competitors and ensuring their time is competitive.

Last weekend, Tech hosted a regatta of its own, which Kwasniak described as an opportunity for young, relatively inexperienced team members to get their first competitive experience.

Competitive or not, the Sailing Club offers a community for like-minded Tech students.

“There’s nothing better than being out on the water with your best friends,” Kwasniak said.

Tech’s women’s rugby team began in 2006, the product of an active, spunky group of friends lead by Jenny “Jarz” Rainwater. A few practices cemented their resolve to become an official club, and this year marks the organization’s tenth anniversary.

Current president Mari Nguyen knew nothing about the sport when she first came to Tech.

“My [Peer Leader] was involved with rugby and got me to come check out a game. I saw an alumni game, and I loved it. It looked really fun.

“I went and told her I had been considering joining, and she just looked at me and said, ‘But you’re so small. You’re going to get destroyed and broken.’ And I just told her, ‘Watch me.’ Now I’m president.”

While rugby’s inclusion in the summer Olympics this year encouraged a number of curious rookies to try the sport this year, the team welcomes new members at any point in the season.

“We’re always looking for people to join. We always welcome new people. It’s never too late to join,” Nguyen said.

Rugby has struggled to gain popularity in the United States; fourth-year Elizabeth Fuller has encountered some difficulties in encouraging students to join when many are so unfamiliar with the sport, thanks in large part to its poor publicity in the U.S.

“As much as people at Tech might say that they want to try new things, so many people say no to playing rugby,” Fuller said. “It’s something new, different, really tough and mentally hard to wrap your head around.

“People are comfortable with their academic side. They’re willing to try a club about an interest they might have. But with sports, they don’t usually go for something super new. And rugby, especially in America, is just so new and foreign still.”

Second-year competitor Sarah Violante believes that rugby’s notoriety for physicality also discourages those unfamiliar with rugby from joining.

“I think it challenges the female stereotype, and a lot of girls might not be comfortable with that,” Violante said. “It’s a very rough sport, … but we’re here, and we’re in one piece. It’s aggressive, you’ll get some bruises, and I think a lot of people are turned off by that aspect.”

Nguyen lamented how this crude understanding of the sport not only overshadows other, more nuanced aspects of the game but also leads to misconceptions about the women who play rugby.

“One of the things that I’ve heard throughout campus, and it’s very untrue, is that the girls who play rugby are super manly,” Nguyen said of the way she and her teammates are perceived. “And I feel like it’s said in a very negative way. Even if it was true, it still shouldn’t be said like that.

“Usually any type of stereotype you try and put on people is going to be wrong. We have people that like every major, every activity. It doesn’t really apply to just say manly, or something else.”

All were quick to affirm the true nature of players, with Violante enthusiastically adding, “Rugby people are the nicest people. They go out of their way for you. As a person, they are not this ferocious beast who is going to attack you. Only on the field.”

Nguyen had a particularly vivid memory of rugby while out of the country.

“I studied abroad in Singapore, and because of rugby, I got to play with a local team and get to know all of the non-touristy places. Getting to really know the locals
was fantastic.

“I also got, well, I guess you could call it a serious injury, while playing abroad. I broke my fibula. I got double tackled by the two biggest girls on the other team and I fell sort of weird.”

“At first, I thought, ‘Oh, it’s just sprained, you guys can put me back in. I don’t need to go to the emergency room.’ They said ‘Okay, you can sit there until the end of the game, but after that, we’re definitely taking you to the emergency room.’ The whole team came with me and sat with me there for hours. That really shows you what sort of people play rugby.

“I couldn’t walk up to my apartment. I lived on the fourth floor, and there was no elevator. One of my teammates, who was also a student at the university I was studying at, piggybacked me all the way up to my room. And this was in worse humidity than in Georgia. That’s the best thing about rugby. The people like that.”

Everyone nodded, reflecting on their own warm experiences with “rugby people”.

“It’s such a shame,” Violante said sadly. “The people that come out to just one practice will never get to experience that,” before chuckling, “ … never get to know what it’s like to break your leg and have someone carry you all the way up the stairs.”

Even in such a positive atmosphere, some things transcend all. “UGA!” they shouted reflexively when asked for a rival.

Fuller mused, “It’s always nice when you see UGA — or some other team — with like 40 girls, and then there’s us barely fielding 15 sometimes. But … we’re a lot more determined.

“Outside of practice we’re always working on lifting or staying in shape in order to make up for that difference.”

Ahead of his concert on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at Variety Playhouse, the Technique had the opportunity to speak to K IshiBashi, the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist behind Kishi Bashi. Co-produced by Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor, Kishi Bashi’s third studio LP “Sonderlust” was released in September 2016, and fans were elated.

Technique: What inspired your new album “Sonderlust”?

Kishi Bashi: Good question. There’s a lot of musical inspiration, a lot of soul and funk fusion from the 70s. I had a lot of new instruments, and I used a lot of samples that I made in Ableton Live, which is this software that is pretty popular with EDM artists. I also got a Wurlitzer, a keyboard, an electric piano. So, a bunch of different things.

Technique: I noticed it wasn’t as strings and violin heavy as your previous work, so was there anything in particular that made you want to go for a more electronic sound?

Kishi Bashi: Basically, when I started to make my album, I tried to go with the orchestral style that I thought was expected of me, that I thought my fans would like. I wasn’t really coming up with anything that was very inspiring to myself, and I knew that was a pretty dangerous position to be in because if you’re not making music that’s inspiring to yourself, you won’t be successful.

So, I searched to find what was really exciting for me, and it was these samples. For a lot of the songs, like “m’lover,” “Say Yeah,” “Honeybody” and “Hey Big Star,” the first few seconds, that’s the sound that actually inspired the entire song. So it’s a totally different approach from what I’ve done in the past.

Technique: What is your favorite song on the album and why?

Kishi Bashi: I really like playing “Honeybody” live. I like listening to it, too. I put it at the end of the album because it was a little too cute, I thought. Live, we do it acoustic, stripped down: I just play keyboard. It’s really neat and a lot of fun.

Technique: What originally interested you in music, or how did you get your start performing?

Kishi Bashi: I was pretty serious with violin through high school, but it wasn’t until I got into jazz violin in college that I figured out that I wanted to do that for the rest of my life, as a career. I’ve always been really involved in music. As far as making a profession, it wasn’t until I went to Berklee College of Music where I learned the skills to be a professional at it.

Technique: What kind of music do you like to listen to in your spare time?

Kishi Bashi: I like classic stuff, like stuff from the 70s, 60s, and I also listen to whatever everybody’s listening to … In the mornings, I actually listen to classical music. It’s one thing I grew up with, like Mozart or Beethoven or Vivaldi, and it kind of makes me feel
refreshed.

Technique: Are you looking forward to doing anything in Atlanta while you’re in town?

Kishi Bashi: Probably not, I live in Athens so … Atlanta is not very far. I’ll probably be hanging out with friends. Usually we are just so wiped out from the night before, that there’s just sound check and that’s the most that we can do.

“Trolls” is DreamWorks Animation’s uplifting, brightly colored animated feature, which is a total giggle fest.

A young troll princess named Princess Poppy (Anna Kendrick, “Pitch Perfect”), known as the happiest troll ever born, needs to save her friends from the perpetually pessimistic Bergens, who eat trolls as their sole means to experience happiness. In order to succeed on her mission, she needs the help of the curmudgeonly, over-cautious troll Branch (Justin Timberlake, “The Social Network”) who is against almost everything the trolls stand for: hugging, singing and dancing.

Technique sat down with Director Mike Mitchell (“Sky High,” “Shrek Forever After”), Co-Director Walt Dohrn (“Peabody and Sherman,” “Shrek Forever After”), and Production Designer Kendal Cronkhite-Shaindlin (“Madagascar” series) to get a sense of the behind-the-scene production that went into crafting this film.

The troll characters were inspired by the smiling wooden troll dolls first created by Thomas Dam, a Danish woodcarver who made the first doll out of wood and lamb’s hair for his daughter. Filmmakers also alluded to a more traditional, fairy-tale version of trolls with the films’ antagonists, the drab Bergens, a complete contrast to the tiny, colorful trolls.

The theme of this movie very blatantly focuses on the search for happiness, but the directors felt that this was an important film to make, due to the current affairs of the world.

Darth explained, “There is a lot of social unrest and a lot of violence in the world, and we consciously said, ‘Let’s make something about happiness that makes people feel good.’”

Since they wanted to examine what goes into happiness, the production team researched many different sources on the subject of happiness from TED talks to a four decade long Harvard study.

As for the animation, the movie is a visual feast with an immersive world with amazing attention to detail.

“The technology in CGI films is so sophisticated; you make things that look really realistic … so Kendal took that technology and went the other way where our trolls are like gummy bears that have been flocked in velvet, and the forest is made out of felt. The leaves are felt, and the ground is all carpet,” Mitchell said.

Darth also noted that “we live so many more lives on screen these days, and we accept that. We made this film with the technology, and we certainly wanted to reconnect with the handmade quality.”

This decision returns to Mitchell’s and Cronkhite-Shaindlin’s roots, as they originally met while working at Skellington Productions where they worked on “Nightmare Before Christmas” and “James and the Giant Peach,” two famous stop motion films.

“Trolls” features both 2D and 3D animation as the trolls love to scrapbook. To achieve the 2D scenes, the artists physically created the look with scissors and felt. The team then shot the different parts and animated them in Adobe After Effects.

The film also showcases some ridiculous hairography with the the trolls, who use their magical hair as a superpower. The trolls can change hair color, grow it at any shape, stretch it like a monkey’s tail, and can even come together to make an entire Farrah Fawcett wig.

Cronkhite-Shaindlin noted that “[they] pushed for more of a yarn look, more [fibrous look],” which is in-line with the handcrafted world.

Although hair is traditionally known to be the most difficult to animate, the production design team faced a bigger challenge with glitter. The computers really did not understand how to interpret glitter, so the technicians had to determine how to create a realistic look, from how it reacted when it moved through the air and on the skin to how the light reflected it, and much more.

“They wanted us to take glitter out of this film, and we said, ‘What, this whole story doesn’t make sense without glitter,’” Mitchell said. “Kendal covered naked trolls in glitter. They’re like walking disco balls.”

The looks and design teams not only echoed Danish themes as homage to the toys’ origins but also drew world building and character inspiration from The Muppets, “Adventure Time,” and Hayao Miyazaki films. The team also wanted to create a body-positive, untraditional princess to match the actress voicing her, Anna Kendrick. Poppy is completely shoeless, and like the rest of the trolls, features a fairly stumpy body.

In “Trolls,” the music is showcased less like a traditional musical but rather has instances where characters stop and consciously sing to each other during the film. Dohrn noted that, “We didn’t want anything about this film to be traditional … we love old Disney animated musicals, but we didn’t want to be a traditional musical. We even say that it’s a comedy adventure with music.”

“We didn’t want our storytelling to stop for a musical number and then carry on. We wanted the music to help tell the story,” Mitchell furthered.

Justin Timberlake took a bigger role in the film than originally intended. He was only supposed to voice Branch. However, after hearing the directors’ “needle drop style” selections  music from 70s, 80s, and 90s,” Mitchell said that “[Timberlake] was like ‘Yes, I will do the voice, and yes, I want to be more of a part of this,’ and he became our music producer. He reproduced and imagined those classic songs, but he also wrote original songs for us, like ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling.’”

Darth continued, “He wrote it to solve a story problem we were having in Act III. We were pitching him this idea and how we transform the Bergans at
the end of the movie. Usually, you do it with a motivational speech or something, but that didn’t ring true. The song literally has people dancing in the theater, so they
accept that the Bergans can change that way … he redid all those songs to feel like they fit into the story.”

Since Timberlake served as a music producer, he was able to uniquely interact with the rest of the cast and guide them through their singing, which the directors feel “helped Justin’s and Anna’s characters have a bond that you might not normally see in animated movies.”

He also had the chance to work with Co-Director Walt Darth one-on-one as Darth played the character Cloud Guy in “Trolls.”

“We have him in the recording booth, which is rare for all these actors to all come together in the animated film, usually they’re recorded separately. Walt was in there with Justin improving, playing back and forth,” Mitchell said, which added a
more spontaneous feel that the scene captures.

Trolls features an all-star cast not only with the main characters, but also in the supporting cast including James Corden, Russell Brand, Gwen Stefani and many more Hollywood big-hitters. The team dubbed them their “triple-threats.”

“They were all tremendous actors, but every one of them had this weird sense of humor. They were all naturally funny, which helpful when you’re trying to make a funny film, and then every one of them can sing very well. Like Zooey Deschanel, who plays Bridget, has this beautiful singing voice. Anna Kendrick. Forget about it. Gwen Stefani, can sing apparently,” Mitchell said. “All of them were so clever and so funny. Like James Corden has so many funny jokes that we just couldn’t fit in the film.”

The film does not only feature big-time film stars. Sharp-eared audience members can pick up famous YouTubers featured in the film in minor roles, most prominently Glozell, Branch’s grandma. Sharp-eyed watchers might even see her trademark green lipstick on her character.

“We want to appeal to everyone, all age groups. There’s an age group; these are the people who influence them. They’re really funny people, and fun people to hang out with, so we brought them on for small roles. I think it worked out. We definitely recognize new media and the importance of the genre,” Darth said.

“Those people are so fun. All those YouTube stars, they’re so silly and funny,” Mitchell added.

Though the jokes, the visualizations and the music are all wonderful assets of the film, above all, the producers wanted the film to be unexpected.

“When we were talking on the phone from the beginning, they said that they really wanted this movie to be unexpected. For me, that was sign me up. And I feel like it is; I feel like people go in not exactly knowing what to expect,” Cronkhite-Shaindlin said.

The animated film, “Trolls,” dances its way into theaters everywhere on Nov. 4.