Picture: Netflix
Among our most anticipated upcoming animated feature films coming soon to Netflix is Thelma the Unicorn, the new feature film helmed by Jared Hess adapting the Aaron Blabey kid’s book.
Thelma the Unicorn has been a LONG time in the making, with the movie first officially unveiled by Netflix in June 2019.
Here’s everything else you need to know about Netflix’s Thelma the Unicorn:
What’s Thelma and the Unicorn about?
The movie is an adaptation of the best-selling Thelma the Unicorn novel by Australian author Aaron Blabey which was first published in 2015 and saw a follow-up, The Return of Thelma the Unicorn, released in 2019. Blabey is also known for his book series The Bad Guys (recently adapted by DreamWorks and streaming on Netflix in select regions) and Pig the Pug.
On the announcement of the movie, Blabey said:
“I’m beyond excited that my beautiful phoney Unicorn is going to sparkle her way onto the screen in a big, glittery Netflix film. Thelma is SO ready for her close-up!”
Per GoodReads, here’s the official synopsis for the book:
“Thelma dreams of being a glamorous unicorn. Then in a rare pink and glitter-filled moment of fate, Thelma’s wish comes true.
She rises to instant international stardom, but at an unexpected cost. After a while, Thelma realizes that she was happier as her ordinary, sparkle-free self. So she ditches her horn, scrubs off her sparkles, and returns home, where her best friend is waiting for her with a hug.”
Picture: Aaronblabey.com
Here’s the official synopsis of the movie per Netflix:
“Thelma is a small-time pony who dreams of becoming a glamourous music star. In a pink and glitter-filled moment of fate, Thelma is transformed into a unicorn and instantly rises to global stardom. But this new life of fame comes at a cost.”
In some of the descriptions of the movie, it’s been referred to as a “musical comedy.”
Who’s behind Thelma The Unicorn on Netflix?
Picture: Mikros Animation
Mikros Animation is the main studio behind the movie’s animation. Based in Quebec, Canada, they’re behind titles like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and Paw Patrol: The Movie. They’re also currently working in production on The Tiger’s Apprentice for Paramount and Ozi.
According to a recent post by the company, their teams in Montreal, Bangalore, and Paris are all working on the title.
Jared and Jerusha Hess have adapted the book into the screenplay. Jared is best known for working on Masterminds and The Last Man on Earth while Jerusha has worked on Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre.
Jared Hess and Lynn Wang serve as directors of the new feature film. Wang, before beginning working at Netflix in 2020, worked at Warner Bros Animation and Nickelodeon Animation Studio with notable credits including being the showrunner on Unikitty! and co-creator on Space Mission: Danger.
Pictured: Jared and Jerusha Hess and Lynn Wang
Aaron Blabey and Patrick Hughes of Foundation Media Partners are executive producers on the project, with Pam Coats (Mulan, Scoob!) as a producer.
Naturally, a movie like Thelma the Unicorn ultimately requires an army of animators and staffers working on it. To scratch just the surface, here are some of the names we found working on the project in various capacities from Mikros Animation and Netflix:
- Anaïs Mallégol as lead character animator
- Thibault Hormiere as lead animator
- Guillaume Arantes as animation supervisor
- Romain Boncens as principal material artist
- Stéphane Paccolat as senior look development artist
- Jérémy Ortiz as character animator
- Zoë Allen-Wickler as fix artist / technical animator
- Kévin Lagrue as compositing artist
- Laura Foglino as 3D animator
- Gabriel Fazzioni as 3D character animator
- Jonathan Souza as 3D character animator
- Max Ulichney as a character designer
- Elodie Soudan as a modeling artist
- Antoine Donnelly as an animator
Among the people working on the project at Netflix includes:
- Stephen Castro as 2nd assistant editor
- Camilo Castro as visual development artist.
- Jessica Killam as an editorial supervisor at Netflix
- Angelli Barrientos as story artist
You can see more credits on IMDb.
Who is in the cast for Thelma The Unicorn?
As of early 2023, no cast members have been officially unveiled for Thelma the Unicorn just yet.
We do know that casting for the movie occurred throughout the latter half of 2022, with an open casting call issued in September 2022 for the role of Suzie.
Per the casting call, “Suzie is a young believer in Unicorns. She is ecstatic when she sees Thelma, and quickly becomes Thelma’s biggest fan.”
When will Thelma The Unicorn be released on Netflix?
The movie is set to release on Netflix globally in 2024, as announced by Netflix in April 2023.
Other animated movies headed to Netflix exclusively throughout 2024 include That Christmas, Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie, Ultraman, and In Your Dreams.
Are you looking forward to watching Thelma the Unicorn on Netflix in 2024? Let us know in the comments down below.
You can set a reminder for Thelma the Unicorn on Netflix’s official page for the movie.
Netflix Synopsis: "A singing pony who dreams of stardom finds instant fame when she transforms into a sparkly unicorn -- but becoming a celebrity is one wild ride."
