An animated Netflix movie about a talking pony who dreams of becoming a folk rock music star isn't the most obvious choice for an acclaimed Grammy-winning musician looking to make her acting debut. But Brittany Howard has always marched to the beat of her own drum, both as leader of the beloved Alabama Shakes and on her much-praised solo work. And in “Thelma the Unicorn,” she found an unexpectedly ideal vehicle to showcase her earthy, muscular voice, bringing enough power and soul to the role to make a generic children's movie on paper feel fresh and inspired.
Adapted from a series of children's books by Aaron Blabey, “Thelma the Unicorn” begins with Howard's titular pony, medium-sized and effervescently maned, rocking the “Sparklepalooza” stage with her band Rusty Buckets. It's a dream, of course, since children's movies rarely start with their protagonists on top of the world. In real life, the Rusty Buckets perform in the old barn where Thelma and her right-hand man and best friend Otis (Will Forte) work, preparing for the big audition that could help them land a spot on the music festival lineup.
Directors: Jared Hess, Lynn Wang
Writers: Jared Hess, Jerusha Hess, Aaron Blabey
Stars: Brittany Howard, Will Forte, Jon Heder
The talent of the gang, and particularly Thelma, is easily obvious to the viewer, but both the haughty show horses and the humans for whom the farm animals work do not take this group of misfits seriously. And when that big audition comes, a nervous Thelma is devastated when the judges reject her before she can sing a single note, bluntly informing her that, as a "forgettable farm pony," she lacks the "right look" to be a star. .
So Thelma commits to a life of pushing carts around the countryside, before a messy accident involving a carrot and a truck carrying buckets of pink paint and glitter makes her look like a unicorn come to life. Instantly, her problem of blending into the crowd disappears and she gains swarms of fans by performing a pop-rock ballad that goes viral online.
News of a sparkly unicorn she sings about catches the attention of rock music producer Peggy (Maliaka Mitchell), who offers the Rusty Buckets a recording project. She also catches the attention of slimy talent agent Vic Diamond (Jemaine Clement), who swoops in to transform Thelma into a solo act, turning her into a globally beloved superstar practically overnight. In return, Thelma loses her friendship with her band and becomes increasingly uncomfortable with how these screaming hordes at her concerts don't see her true identity.
“Be yourself” and “authenticity is important” are not messages that surprise parents watching with their children; Everything from “Aladdin” to “Shrek” has covered this territory pretty thoroughly before. “Thelma the Unicorn” doesn't do much to change your expectations about anything that happens, and its biggest weakness is how rigidly formulaic her journey often feels. And yet the film, directed by Jared Hess and Lynn Wang, still manages to often delight, thanks to the comedy and charm contained within its dusty bones.
Hess wrote the film with his wife Jerusha, and if the duo sounds familiar, it's because they're responsible for the 2004 cult classic "Napoleon Dynamite." You can feel the DNA of that coming-of-age comedy throughout the film, even beyond the presence of protagonist Jon Heder, who voices the name Reggie in Thelma's band. The animation style (courtesy of French company Mikros) presents the animals in a fairly generic cutesy style, and the environments are equally dull, but the humans have an attractive, rubbery grossness that sits well with pimply teenagers. “Napoleon Dynamite”; Vic, with his comically large false teeth and hairy face, stands out as a particularly repulsive creation, in a good way.
The script is hilariously silly, filling out its world where humans and animals converse regularly and a Narwal is the world's biggest pop star with puns that include replacing Instagram with "Pigstagram." The jokes come at a frequent enough speed and with a successful enough hit rate that the film avoids getting bogged down by easily predictable story beats, and it's particularly successful when it casts a mildly satirical look at the movie industry. music. According to Vic's contract, Thelma releases her music under “Huge Sellout Records” and replaces her authentic roots-inspired rock music with generic pop-rap generated by a literal algorithm.
Yes, it's a little strange to see jokes about algorithms coming from a Netflix original, but "Thelma the Unicorn" presents its bleak vision of the predatory music industry and the plight of modern celebrity like an oversized cartoon, with just enough bite to feel. important; a throwaway joke about a screaming Thelma the Unicorn fan presenting him with adoption papers that will legally make him her child says more about modern celebrity culture in 20 seconds than HBO's "The Idol" managed in six episodes . Elsewhere, Thelma rises to the top partly through a fake publicity relationship with TikTok famous horse (well, VideoTubeTube famous), Danny Stallion (Fred Armisen), who is known for his surfer boy affection and his disgusting bolus chewing videos. In reality, he's a smart kid studying to become a neurosurgeon, but, as he cheerfully explains to Thelma, he "has to pay for medical school somehow."
Armisen is perfectly cast in the role, and is just one voice in an ensemble so complete that an actress like Kristen Shaal can be relegated to a single-scene cameo. Forte is wonderfully sweet as the nerdy Otis, while Heder is hilarious as the spacey Reggie. Clement is grumpy and cheesy as the vicious Vic, and “Righteous Gemstones” star Edi Patterson brings her memorable, bratty line deliveries to a vengeful talent agent trying to sabotage Thelma's meteoric rise to fame. Even Zach Galifianakis appears, in a small role that still takes great advantage of his unique comedic timing.
Everyone in the cast still pales in comparison to Howard, and the chance to hear her sing is probably the main attraction for any adult who decides to watch. There's no clear break from the original roots-influenced pop rock songs featured in the film (the music is credited to Dreamworks veteran John Powell), but Howard is so charming performing them that it doesn't matter. His rich, powerful voice makes every note ring with incredible force and provides emotion that makes the film's pivotal turning points far more powerful than the script can handle.
Even outside of the musical numbers, Howard is fantastic, enough that it's surprising to learn that this is the first time he's done any kind of acting, let alone voice acting. He is wonderfully down-to-earth as the determined but insecure Thelma, with an earnestness that completely sells the scripts with highly conveyed morals. If the rest of the film leans toward the slightly generic, Howard gives “Thelma the Unicorn” a big edge that you'll have no trouble rooting for.
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