Voices of Brittany Howard, Will Forte, Jermaine Clement, and Jon Heder
Directed by Jared Hess and Lynn Wang
Music and Lyrics by various
We remain at Netflix and in the 21st century for this week's family musical. While the internet can make or break a career, it's a double-edged sword. Yes, a performer can go from an unknown to a sensation in an instant with just one popular video...but it also puts them even more on a pedestal. It's also too easy for anyone to create a false persona, as Thelma does here, and have people worship it.
Thelma is an ordinary pony who learns that the hard way in this adaptation of the picture book of the same name by Aaron Blabey (who also wrote The Bad Guys). How well do they do in this story of a farm pony whose wish to be more glamorous brings her more fame - and trouble - than she ever could have imagined? Let's begin in the mind of Thelma (Howard) as she dreams of stardom for her and her two best friends and find out...
The Story: Thelma wants badly for her band the Rusty Buckets with her friends Otis the donkey (Forte) and Reggie the llama (Heder) to be in Sparklepalooza, but she embarrasses herself at the audition. After a truck driver (Zach Galafinkis) accidentally dumps pink paint and sparkles on Thelma when she has a carrot on her head, people passing by mistake her for a unicorn. She seizes the opportunity for her band to play, and the resulting video becomes an internet sensation.
Thelma first attracts the attention of retired agent Peggy Purvis (Maliaka Mitchell), who thinks Thelma and her band will be a perfect comeback for her. Unfortunately, she's also courted by obnoxious Vic Diamond (Clement), the smarmy agent for diva Nikki Narwhal (Ally Dixon). Diamond insists on her opening for Nikki, then blows up her bands' limo to make them late. Thelma is a sensation as a solo act, but Otis doesn't think she should have to hide who she is, and Nikki is jealous of her newfound popularity.
Thelma goes along with Vic's attempts to boost her career, including pairing her with internet star Danny Stallion (Fred Armisen), but she's not happy with him or the inane music she's singing. Meanwhile, Nikki sends her agent Megan (Edi Patterson) to get any kind of dirt on Thelma and destroy her image. She manages to convince Thelma to quit after she catches her putting on her unicorn makeup, but now everyone thinks she's missing. All Thelma wants is to reunite with her real friends at Sparklepalooza and prove to everyone that you don't need to be pink and sparkly to do what you love.
The Animation: Pretty typical computer animation. There's some rather odd or grotesque designs here, especially on the humans. Vic and Megan are scarier than any of the animals, including Nikki and her long horn. Some of the effects are pretty nifty, including the flashing effects with Nikki's big numbers and the "Sparklepalooza" in the finale.
The Song and Dance: While Howard's not bad in her debut as the short, plump pony who is determined to succeed in show business at all costs, it's the supporting cast who really shine. Forte is charming and funny as Thelma's role-playing-game-obsessed best friend who thinks she's fine the way she is, and Heder is adorable as their dim llama friend. I like some original touches here, like how talking animals and humans co-exist together with no questions, and some of the darker bits of humor and spoofs of shallow pop songs and the weird things people watch online.
Favorite Number: We open with Thelma and the Rusty Buckets performing "Fire Inside" seemingly at Sparklepalooza, but really in her imagination. "Blubber Trouble" is Nikki's song on TV, performed as a Busby Berkeley spoof with her male back-up dancers surrounding her. Speaking of the male dancers, they reprise their number as Nikki's "Pool Boys" at her mansion. "Hurricane" is Thelma's number with her band after she's gotten covered in paint and attracted everyone's attention. She sings about making it "Big" for the crowds before Nikki's concert.
Vic claims the "Three Cs to Success" will lead Thelma to fame and fortune. "Here Comes the Cud" is the ridiculous spoof pop number Thelma sings with Danny Stallion that winds up going to number one. It's so dumb, it ends up being smart satire. "Only Unicorn" is her other claim to fame. She finally admits at Sparklepalooza with her band that it's more important to be seen "Just As You Are." We end over the credits with Howard singing "Goldmine."
What I Don't Like: This isn't anything you haven't seen in live-action and animated movies going back to the early talkies. The story is cliched to the absolute max. It also has a lot of padding from the original story, which was only about a pony who wanted to be a unicorn. There was no Vic, Megan, or Nikki, and no contracts or stardom. The grotesque designs on the humans makes this a little hard to watch at times. There's also a lot of inappropriate bathroom humor, especially on the farm in the opening and near the end, as Thelma's stardom is unraveling.
The Big Finale: Not the best thing ever, but fun to watch if you're a fan of Howard or have a little girl who loves music, horses, and/or unicorns.
Home Media: This is a Netflix exclusive at the moment.
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