“Thelma The Unicorn” is on Netflix today, and while it may look like something geared towards a younger audience, the animated musical rocks out to its own music and refuses to be a product of a soulless corporation. With its surprising amount of heart and humor, multi-Grammy award winner Brittany Howard, in her first significant acting role, shines and helps to deliver a message about being your authentic self and that fame and recognition do not lead to happiness. While it’s a recurring theme we’ve seen, the way that director Lynn Wang and Jared Hess execute the story makes it assessable to younger audiences. At the same time, the music by Howard and John Powell resonates and is something you can nod your head to.
“Thelma The Unicorn” follows Thelma, a frontpony of The Rusty Buckets. The titular barn pony has aspirations of being a major music artist playing at Sparklepalooza – think Lollapalooza but with humans and animals singing. Together with her friends Otis (Will Forte), a donkey, and Reggie (Jon Heder), a llama, they play on a remote farm in the rural countryside far away from the city. Even if anyone from a major studio or the big city were to pass by the farm, no one would pay attention to a trio of farm animals. Still, that doesn’t deter Thelma, whose voice proves that big things come in small packages and that perception isn’t everything.
Though Thelma has the talent and has been waiting years to prove herself on the big stage, talent search judges say she doesn’t have “it.” They want someone with a specific look. Someone who sparkles and lights up the stage. Not something forgettable. They claim Thelma isn’t special and she will never be at Sparklepalooza. A hurt Thelma refuses to be brought down without even having the chance to show off what she and her band got but ultimately embarrasses herself in the process. As such, she becomes the laughingstock of the whole farming community. But that doesn’t stop Otis and Reggie from trying to cheer her up.
One day, Thelma notices a carrot on the ground and uses mud to attach it to her head. Seeing her shadow, she looks like a unicorn. Otis is one of the only ones she can confined to. He can cheer her up but also can be honest with her. So when he sees her prancing around like a unicorn, he kindly brings her back to reality, telling her that there’s an edible mass growing out of her brain or that she is the new mascot for Root Vegetable Month. But when a truck full of drums of pink paint and glitter hits a pothole, it turns her into a unicorn. Soon, passersby see Thelma in her pink and sparkly form with a silver carrot as a horn, not knowing she is a pony. As such, Thelma showcases her talents to those watching, and she uses her newfound fame to catapult herself to stardom. But the pony, using a unicorn persona, quickly learns about the price of fame and the value of friendships when greedy managers and bitter music rivals try to make her into something that she isn’t.
The beauty and magic of “Thelma the Unicorn” come from its ability to deliver a dual resonating story about self-acceptance and self-discovery. Thelma finds out that there has always been a fire of creativity burning within her; she just needed self-confidence and not her persona to bring it out. The other message is that she learns being a celebrity isn’t what it is cracked up to be, especially when you end up being swallowed by corporate mainstream cookie-cut products and getting caught up in toxic rivalries with other singers who are in it for the fame and fortune and not the artistry. There is a playfulness to Thelma’s journey that makes it accessible to the target audience. Plenty of silliness and potty humor bring some levity to the story. The visuals embrace Aaron Blabey’s quirky illustrations while bringing Howard’s energy and persona into Thelma.
The character designs stem from Blabey’s works, with some reflecting the world we live in today. Shondrella Avery plays Zirconia, a blind old woman who helps Thelma embrace her voice and not her looks. Then there’s Suzie (Noelle Holsinger), a young girl bound to a wheelchair who loves unicorns but loves Thelma, the music artist, even more. It’s those acts of inclusion that really show you can find help and fans in the most unexpected places.
The first act sets up the exposition. We see Thelma’s dream of playing at Sparklepalooza in real-time. Singing a cover of Lenny Kravitz’s “Are You Going To Go My Way,” she introduces Otis as The Rusty Bucket’s lead guitarist and six-string slayer. She then gives a shoutout to Reggie, the band’s drummer and master of the beat. It’s a high-energy scene that sees the band giving it their all, the speakers are blaring, there are pyro effects, and the crowd loves every minute. But as soon as Thelma tries to crowd surf, she is snapped back into reality, and the concert turns into an empty barn where Thelma is laying on some hay. Directors Jared Hess and Lynn Wang capture the spirit of being at a concert and Blabey’s work so beautifully in that one scene alone, which then carries over throughout the rest of the film.
It goes through some predictable motions, though, mainly when a talent agent named Vic Diamond (Jemaine Clement) drives a wedge between Thelma and her friends. And when Vic ditches Nikki Narwhal (Ally Dixon) and Megan (Edi Patterson), the obligatory rivalry between clout-chasing celebrities such as themselves and an innocent character like Thelma manifests. Of course, the film sees a petty Nikki and brown-nosed Megan engaging in despicable behavior to get back at everything an unwitting Thelma took away from them. However, the rivalry is played more for a comedic effect. It is bound to stir up some laughter in the younger audience. Adults and parents may roll their eyes, but at least they’ll get some good music out of it.
Mikaros Animation may not be a household name yet, but you may have seen some of their work in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” and “The Tiger’s Apprentice.” Hess and Wang are also familiar names, with the former being the director of the cult comedy classic “Napoleon Dynamite” and Wang having helmed the “Unikitty” animated series.
“Thelma: The Unicorn” may not hit all the high notes, but when it does, it becomes an earworm you can’t get out of your head. If anything, it sparkles with so much joy that you may just want to watch it over again.
