by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
It’s certainly been an interesting year for Netflix animated projects.
Months after putting out an existential kids’ movie by Charlie Kaufman in Orion and the Dark, a new adaptation from the director of Napoleon Dynamite is hitting the streaming service.
Based off the books by Aaron Blabey, Thelma the Unicorn tells the tale of Thelma the Pony (Brittany Howard), who dreams of being a pop star. When a freak accident turns her into a unicorn and an instant sensation, she gets the fame she dreamed of, but with a cost?
Now despite what the lede might get you to think, this is not some quirky, avant-garde animated film for kids from director Jared Hess (and his co-director Lynn Wang). In fact, it’s very much straightforward. If you’ve seen a movie ever, I really don’t have to tell you what happens here. There aren’t really any surprises in the script, co-written by Hess and his wife, Jerusha Hess, from a narrative sense. It’s very paint-by-numbers.
However, that’s not to say there’s not fun to be had.
The music, as you’d hope for a movie that has music at its center, is solid. That shouldn’t be a surprise with John Powell, the man behind one of the greatest scores of all time in How to Train Your Dragon films, involved in the project.
The real fun, though, comes from the colorful cast of characters. Howard as our lead was new to me and she’s solid in the lead role. Apparently, it’s also Will Forte month at Netflix, as he makes an appearance as Thelma’s donkey best friend, Otis, alongside a pretty star-studded cast just a week after the debut of Bodkin. The real gems are found in the supporting characters. The pool boys, backup dancers for popstar Nikki Narwhal (Ally Dixon), are a hoot anytime they’re on screen. Jemaine Clement as Narwhal’s agent is doing his best Tim Curry impression. I could see it driving people crazy, but I had fun with it. It was fun, too, to pick up on some of the fun voices sprinkled throughout the film, like Jon Heder, Zach Galifianakis, Roger Craig Smith, Fred Armisen, and Kristen Schaal.
Look, there’s not a big deep dissertation to be done on this movie. It’s pretty surface level.
Rating: Liked It
Thelma the Unicorn is currently streaming on Netflix
You can read more from Jake Bourgeois, and follow him on Twitter and Letterboxd