Not such
good luck…
Not all trollsareas
friendlyas theDam
trolls. The trollsof
Norsemythologyand
Scandinavian folklore
are slow-witted, solitary
creatureswhodwell in
rocksandmountains,
andareoftendescribed
asgrotesqueman-eating
beings that turn to stone
in the sunlight.
Risse-Gubben
Adisagreeable forest
trollwhocauses
woodlandaccidents,
fromchildren fallingout
of trees towoodsmen
beingcarelesswithaxes.
Nokken
This lake troll dislikes
fishermen and so steals
bait and scares fishaway.
He alsopullspeople
underwater andentices
childrenonto thin ice.
Fjell-trollet
Theseenormous
mountain-dwelling trolls
cause avalanches and
earthquakesby stamping
their feet. Throughout
Scandinavia,many
natural landmarks are
said tobe formed from
trolls that have turned
to stone after being
exposed to sunlight.
So importantwere
trolls to thesuccess
of thebusiness,
thatwhenBerrie
marriedhis third
wife in 1993,he
decorated the
reception tables
with22cm-tall
blue- andpink-
haired trolls, and
brideandgroom
trolls topped theweddingcake.
Themarketwas saturatedand in
1994 the inevitablecollapseoccurred
and trollsagain faded intoobscurity.
Withabusiness focusedentirelyon
theproductionof trolls–unlike their
competitorswhohadother toys in their
range– thingsdidn’t lookbright forDam
Things. “When I came to thecompany
asCEO in 1997,” saysØstergaard, “the
companywas ingreatdifficulties.”
The firststepwas toregain thecopyright,
and in2003aCongressional lawallowed
theDam familytorestorecopyrightand
becomethesolemanufacturer.Withthe
copyrightanda largesettlement fromRuss
Berrie (protectedbyconfidentialityclauses)
inhand,Damtrollsbeganto interestvarious
investorsaroundtheworld.
DamThings, itseemed,was
finallysettoreapthe
rewardstheydeserved.
Unfortunately,
however, success
was limited.The
company issueda
licensetoAmerican
productioncompany
DiCEntertainment
tocreatean ill-
fatedanimated
televisionseriescalled
Trollz
(starringa
groupof fiveBestFriendsForLife,orBFFL).
Theserieswasshort-livedand theassociated
merchandise failedtocreatethehoped-
forthirdwaveof trollmania.So, in2007,
DamThings found themselvesback in the
courtroom, this time filinga lawsuitagainst
DiCEntertainment formisrepresenting
itsabilitytomarketamoderntrolldoll toy
campaign. In theend, the lawsuitwassettled
onundisclosedterms.
Toall involved itwasclear the
company,nowheadedbyThomas’s
sonNiels,neededanewdirection. “We
decidedwewould shoot for the starswitha
Hollywoodproduction,”saysØstergaardof
theDreamWorksdeal. Productionstarted
on thebig-budget,musical comedy in2012,
withastoryabouthow the trollsgot their
colouredhairbyEmmyAward-winning
writer,EricRivinoja.
With thecopyrightbattles finallyat
anend, andanexclusive license in the
handsof aUSpowerhouse, it seems that
theanticipated thirdwaveof trollmania
will, rightfully, beall about theDam troll.
“Thomasalwayshadadream thathis trolls
wouldstar inamovie, and ifwehadhim
here today,hewouldbesoexcited– it’s the
fulfillmentofhisdreams,”saysØstergaard.
“I think it issafe tosay thatwearegoing
tosee the troll again ina
manner that exceeds the
pastbymagnitudes.”
damworld.dk
Gjøl iswithin30
minutes’driveof
Aalborg;Norwegian
flies toAalborg fromfive
destinations.Bookflights,
ahotelandarental carat
norwegian.com
Right
⁄
Oneof
ThomasDam’s
original troll
drawings from
the 1980s,
whenhewas
developing
new facial
expressions
and troll
characters for
theEuropean
market
SCANPIX/AKG-IMAGES, CORBIS; MARY EVANS PICTURE LIBRARY; PHOTOSHOT; PHIL MASTURZO
046\
n
