Thelma the Unicorn

Thelma the Unicorn
Release poster
Directed by	Jared Hess Lynn Wang
Screenplay by	Jared Hess Jerusha Hess
Based on	Thelma the Unicorn by Aaron Blabey
Produced by	Pam Coats
Starring	Brittany Howard Will Forte Jemaine Clement Edi Patterson Fred Armisen Zach Galifianakis Jon Heder Shondrella Avery
Edited by	Edie Ichioka
Music by	John Powell
Production companies	Netflix Animation Scholastic Entertainment
Distributed by	Netflix
Release date	May 17, 2024 (2024-05-17)
Running time	93 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Thelma the Unicorn is a 2024 American animated musical adventure comedy film written by Jared and Jerusha Hess, and directed by Jared Hess and Lynn Wang. Based on the children's book series of the same name by Aaron Blabey, the film stars the voices of Brittany Howard, Will Forte, Jemaine Clement, Edi Patterson, Fred Armisen, Zach Galifianakis, Jon Heder and Shondrella Avery. The film marks the acting debut of Howard.

Thelma the Unicorn was released on Netflix on May 17, 2024. It received mixed reviews from critics.

Synopsis

Thelma is a small farm donkey who dreams of becoming a famous musician alongside her band mates Otis the Donkey and Reggie the Llama in their band The Rusty Bucket. After humiliating herself at an audition that would’ve guaranteed them a spot in a singing showcase called SparklePalooza, a despondent Thelma is soon accidentally covered in pink paint and sparkle as she placed a carrot in top of her head and gains the appearance of a pink unicorn, which attracts a large number of people to her farm and her band,ages seize the opportunity to sing in front of them.

Despite Otis having misgivings at Thelma using her new appearance to sing in front of a crowd, Thelma decides to stick with her new unicorn persona. News of a Thelma reaches a retired record dealer named Peggy Purvis, who decides to make The Rusty Bucket her new comeback attraction. Soon, Thelma gains the attention of a snooty manager named Vic Diamond, who works for the arrogant Narwhale singer, Nikki Narwhale. Vic contacts Peggy and after some arm-twisting, convinces her to make Thelma an opening attraction at Nikki’s new concert. Reluctantly, Peggy agrees and when they go to rendezvous with Vic, the latter uses a missile to destroy a limo carrying Peggy, her husband Gerald, Otis and Reggie while he and Thelma go to Nikki’s mansion.

At Nikki’s show, when her friends fail to make it in time, Thelma is forced to sing solo, which causes the audience give her a standing ovation and in the process, Vic makes her sign a contract to make him her manager and he leaves Nikki. Jealous, Nikki attempts to attack Thelma, but this results in the audience jeering at her, causing her fame to plummet. Outside while walking through a crowd of fans, Thelma meets Otis and the two have an argument about him and the rest of her friends’ not being at the show, resulting in the two falling out. Thelma soon reveals her secret to Vic, but Vic reveals that he believes pretending to be something you’re not is part of the fame life. Vic soon convinces Nikki to pretend it date an Internet Star horse named Danny Stallion to increase her fame. Meanwhile, Nikki orders her talent agent, Megan, to find some scandal on Thelma in revenge for making Nikki infamous.

Eventually, Vic manages to book Thelma a spot on SparklePalooza, but when they go the stadium to sign up, Megan soon finds out about her real identity when noticing that her horn has come loose. She confronts Thelma in the bathroom and washes off her unicorn disguise and even threatens to reveal the deception unless she gets out of the music business. Reluctantly, Thelma agrees and leaves the stadium in shame. Thelma is professed as missing as a result. Two weeks later, Thelma hitches a ride with the drive who instigated her unicorn disguise to start and reveals that he’s been hiding a secret from his girlfriend as he feels that she wouldn’t accept him for who he is. Inspired, Thelma tells the driver to drop him off at a gas station where she reunites with her friends.

Wanting to fix things, the friends go to SparklePalooza just as Nikki is about to go on. After evading Nikki and Megan, Thelma dons her unicorn persona and goes to a dress the crowd, apologizing for lying to them about her true self and washes away the disguise. Although outraged at first, the crowd soon accepts Thelma for who she is when she and her friends play a song for them. Moved by Thelma, Nikki reforms and rejects both Megan and Vic when the latter attempted to win her back as a client.

Some time later, Thelma and her friends are still in the singing business but are content with just making records made by Peggy. Soon, Otis is hit with white paint and feathers that came from the same clumsy driver that made Thelma a unicorn, making him look like a Pegasus.

Voice cast

• Brittany Howard as Thelma, a mini-sized pony that is painted to resemble an unicorn
• Will Forte as Otis, a donkey and Thelma's best friend
• Jemaine Clement as Vic Diamond, a talent agent
• Edi Patterson as Megan, a rival talent agent
• Fred Armisen as Danny Stallion, a horse
• Zach Galifianakis as Crusty Trucker
• Jon Heder as Reggie, a llama
• Shondrella Avery as Zirconia
• Ally Dixon as Nikki Narwhal, a famously pampered but vicious narwhal
• Maliaka Mitchell as Peggy Purvis, a blind elderly woman
• Jared Hess as Gerald

Production

In June 2019, it was announced that Netflix acquired the film rights to Aaron Blabey's children's book Thelma the Unicorn after a bidding war, and was developing an animated musical adaptation. It would be directed by Jared Hess (who wrote the script with his wife Jerusha) and Lynn Wang with Blabey serving as an executive producer alongside Patrick Hughes. Pam Coats was announced to produce the film in April 2023. Mikros Animation provided the animation.

In January 2024, Brittany Howard, Will Forte, Jemaine Clement, Edi Patterson, Fred Armisen, Zach Galifianakis, Jon Heder, Maliaka Mitchell, and Ally Dixon were announced as part of the cast. This is the second collaboration between Heder and Hess since Napoleon Dynamite (2004) and the 2012 animated TV series of the same name.

Music

Brittany Howard's cover of "Are You Gonna Go My Way", by Lenny Kravitz, is heard in the film but not included on the soundtrack.

Additionally, "Hold On, I'm Comin'" by Sam & Dave, a rerecording of "Conga" by Gloria Estefan, "Diamond Girl" by Nice & Wild, "After Midnight" by Chappell Roan, "Dance Across The Floor" by Jimmy Horne, "Shake Your Pants" by Cameo, "Hollywood Swinging" by Kool & the Gang, "Bodyshakin'" by 911, "Dancing To The Beat" by Clarence Murray, "Slam" by Onyx, "Jump into the Fire" by Harry Nilsson, and Jeff McCollister's "The Hardest Part of Breaking Up" and "Right Where It Counts", are also heard in the film but not included on the soundtrack album.

Despite not partaking in the film's ensemble voice cast, Baraka May recorded an original song "Blubber Trouble" for both the film and its soundtrack.

Musical numbers

No.	Title	Performer(s)	Length
1.	"Are You Gonna Go My Way"	Brittany Howard	3:32
2.	"Blubber Trouble"	Baraka May	2:24
3.	"Fire Inside"	Howard	1:57
4.	"Pool Boys"	Pool Boys & Big Freedie	2:15
5.	"Hurricane"	Howard	1:16
6.	"Big"	Howard	2:21
7.	"Here Comes The Cud"	Fred Armisen & Howard	2:33
8.	"3 C's To Success"	Jemaine Clement	3:18
9.	"Only Unicorn"	Howard	2:16
10.	"Just As Your Are"	Howard	3:26
11.	"Goldmine"	Howard	3:55
Total length:			28:03

Score

In December 2023, John Powell was confirmed to compose the film's score, beginning work the same month.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack album, Thelma the Unicorn: Soundtrack From The Netflix Film, is produced by Mike Elizondo. It was released alongside the film's premiere on May 17.

Track listing

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Fire Inside" (performed by Brittany Howard)	Mike Elizondo John Powell	1:57
2.	"Blubber Trouble" (performed by Baraka May)	Elizondo	2:24
3.	"Pool Boys" (performed by Pool Boys and Big Freedia)	Elizondo Powell	2:15
4.	"Hurricane" (performed by Howard)	Elizondo Powell	1:16
5.	"Big" (performed by Howard)	Elizondo Powell	2:21
6.	"3 C's To Success" (performed by Jemaine Clement)	Elizondo Powell	3:18
7.	"Here Comes The Cud" (performed by Fred Armisen and Howard)	Elizondo Powell	2:33
8.	"Only Unicorn" (performed by Howard)	Elizondo Powell	2:16
9.	"Just As You Are" (performed by Howard)	Elizondo Powell	3:26
10.	"Goldmine" (performed by Howard)	Elizondo Powell	3:55
11.	"Diners and Carrots"	Elizondo Powell	3:24
12.	"Becoming a Unicorn"	Elizondo Powell	1:03
13.	"They Liked Our Music"	Elizondo Powell	1:37
14.	"Red Carpet"	Elizondo Powell	2:36
15.	"Schemes and Fantasies"	Elizondo Powell	2:53
16.	"Blackmail Loo"	Elizondo Powell	2:30
17.	"Thelma Missing"	Elizondo Powell	2:02
18.	"Rescue & Coming Clean"	Elizondo Powell	2:13
19.	"Resolutions"	Elizondo Powell	2:02
Total length:			45:48

Release

Thelma the Unicorn was released on Netflix on May 17, 2024.

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 70% of 10 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.9/10.

External links

• Thelma the Unicorn on Netflix
• Thelma the Unicorn at IMDb
• Thelma the Unicorn at AllMovie
• Thelma the Unicorn at Metacritic
• Thelma the Unicorn at Rotten Tomatoes