DreamWorks Animation will introduce the iconic Troll franchise to a whole new generation of fans, now that it has acquired the IP from the Dam Family and Dam Things of Denmark. And the brand renewal strategy will no doubt get a major boost from the DreamWorks’ Trolls film that’s slated for a June 2015 release.

DreamWorks has tapped American Girl vet Shawn Dennis to head up brand development and create new ways for fans engage with the 50-year-old property. Dennis, who will also oversee other businesses within DreamWorks Animation’s portfolio of entertainment brands, was most recently SVP of marketing, product development and publishing at American Girl.

DreamWorks Animation now exclusively controls L&M rights to the classic Troll dolls everywhere in the world except Scandanavia, where Dam Things is still licensor.

The first Troll doll reared its bushy head in 1959, when Danish fisherman and woodcutter Thomas Dam carved a doll for his daughter based on the legendary Scandinavian troll. The dolls were popular in the 1960s and their collectible nature led to a major resurgence in the 1990s.