AllMovie

An enchanted creature with a really lousy attitude welcomes us to his world in this computer animated short subject. The Toll is a mock-documentary comedy which introduces us to a troll who lives under a wooden bridge and supports himself by demanding a tribute from all who pass. While the troll imagines himself to be someone of great compassion who is a victim of bad press, the blue-skinned and large-nosed beast seems to possess more ego than ability, and over the course of seven minutes we discover just how lonely, self-obsessed and bitter the creature really is (not to mention learning how much he enjoys eating people). The Toll was written and directed by J. Zachary Pike of the fledging digital animation house Hatchling Studios; the short was screened in competition at the 2007 South by Southwest Film Festival.