Brittany Howard, lead singer of the Alabama Shakes, has made her acting debut in the new Netflix animated film ‘Thelma The Unicorn’. In this whimsical tale, Howard lends her voice to the character of Thelma, a pony who dreams of becoming a unicorn. The film, based on the popular children’s book by Aaron Blabey, follows Thelma’s journey to fame and self-discovery.
Howard’s performance as Thelma is both charming and heartfelt. Her vocal talents bring depth and emotion to the character, making Thelma a relatable and endearing protagonist. Through Howard’s portrayal, audiences are able to connect with Thelma’s struggles and triumphs as she navigates the ups and downs of pursuing her dreams.
The film features the voice of a bonafide rockstar as sparkly pink pony-turned-“unicorn” alongside some familiar comedians and voice actors. Check out who plays Thelma and the rest of the gang in the “Thelma the Unicorn” cast guide below.
Adapted from the best-selling book by Aaron Blabey (whose book The Bad Guys became an animated big-screen hit), the film co-directed by Jared Hess and Lynn Wang (Unikitty!) revolves around the titular character, voiced by Howard. Except that Thelma is not really a unicorn. She’s a simple horse who loves music and performs in a band named The Rusty Buckets along with her donkey friends, guitarist Otis (Will Forte) and drummer Reggie (Jon Heder). Thelma spends her days mostly toting manure on a farm and playing music in her free time. But the band hasn’t been able to get very far, being denied the opportunity to audition in the “Sparklepalooza Talent Search” because they just don’t have “it.”
But Thelma the Unicorn is a mostly breezy journey, as the little show pony learns her lessons and finds a more authentic way to be famous after one too many disastrous PR moves at the Music Video Awards. Howard, given several opportunities to display her powerful singing voice via music by John Powell, also wins over with her speaking one, imbuing Thelma with folksy charisma and confidence from the get-go; she may not believe in herself without the pink unicorn dust, but there’s never any doubt that she’s a star worth watching.
Which is enough for a movie of this ilk: a worthy lead character, some catchy enough song and dance, enough self-awareness to appeal to those not distracted by the unicorn of it all. In a sea of family content that’s more often than not annoying, Thelma the Unicorn surfs, for the most part, above the crowd.
The Hess duo interject bizarre humor into their screenplay via background characters by giving us a glimpse into their inner lives. Watch out for a short, middle-aged man obsessed with Thelma to the point he wants to be her son, probably a dig at the Bronie subculture of adult men who adore “My Little Pony.” Or perhaps chuckle at the gallows humor of a girl asking Thelma’s “boyfriend” to sign the urn containing her grandmother’s ashes. The collection of these tangential moments (of which there are plenty) ring more memorable than the core narrative and its obvious message. Although not as offbeat as last year’s “Leo,” Hess and Wang’s effort has enough gutsy flourishes to redeem it.
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