Russell Brand's Trolls character was meant to be female

Russell Brand's character in Trolls was originally intended to be female.

The British comedian is part of the all-star cast for Dreamworks' latest animated flick, based on the popular Troll toys.

Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake and Zooey Deschanel also have leading roles, with Russell in good company alongside fellow Brits James Corden and John Cleese.

Russell’s turn as Creek nearly didn’t happen though, as the first draft of the story, by Kung Fu Panda screenwriters Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, called for a woman’s voice for the character.

"There were some key character changes. For quite a long time Creek, Russell Brand’s character, was a female character who was Poppy’s (voiced by Anna) nanny," Glenn told Collider.

"Poppy’s mother had died and she was being raised by an older nanny, who ended up having the same backstabbing role in the story, but it seemed so insurmountable to have a mother figure doing that to Poppy. It seemed very hard to come back from.

“Even the Brothers Grimm wouldn’t go that dark," Jonathan interjected.

Glenn adds that by changing the older maternal character to Creek, the character could also serve as a romantic rival for Branch, played by Justin.

Talking about the stellar cast assembled, which also include Gwen Stefani and Superbad favourite Christopher Mintz-Plasse, the duo admit they lucked out.

"It’s a gift," Glenn smiled. "We got super lucky. The (Kung Fu)Panda movies have their share of fine actors, as well, but the pure comedy talent of even the smallest parts is great. Everyone has their own reasons for wanting to be in a movie like this. The fact that it’s a musical appealed to a bunch of people."