Picture: Netflix
Among our most anticipated upcoming animated feature films coming to Netflix soon is Thelma the Unicorn, the new feature film helmed by Jared Hess adapting the Aaron Blabey kid’s book that’s arriving on the streaming service in May 2024.
Thelma the Unicorn has been a long time in the making. Netflix first officially unveiled the Movie in June 2019.
Here’s everything else you need to know about Netflix’s Thelma the Unicorn, beginning with the official trailer:
As this is a big preview – here are links to what you need to know!
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. The novel 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.”
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.”
Picture: Netflix
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?
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.
Talking about their process of working with Mikros Animation, Hess and Wang told Netflix:
“Mikros Animation is amazing. They’re wonderful to work with and amazing creative partners. They were on board with making Thelma from day one, really pushing all the visuals, and elevating the textures and lighting. But they couldn’t have done any of that without our production designer, Trevor Dalmer and our art director, Paul Sullivan. We worked really closely with those two to home in on what we wanted from the look of the movie. We wanted it to feel very tactile, we wanted it to have a way in with the kids, but then also feel mature enough for adults to come in and watch it as well. We really leaned into pushing angles, textures, and lighting. I think the lighting is really gorgeous in this movie.”
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.
John Powell, who is behind soundtracks behind animated classics such as How to Train Your Dragon and Ice Age, has composed the soundtrack for Thelma the Unicorn.
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?
In January 2024, the lid was lifted on the main cast for the upcoming animated feature film!
The writer, musician, performer, and actress Brittany Howard will headline the cast as Thelma. Speaking to Netflix about getting the role and why it appealed to her, Howard said:
“What made Thelma the Unicorn so appealing to me as my first voice acting role, honestly, was first the role. I felt super connected to it. Also, everyone working on it. I felt super lucky to work with Jared, Lynn Wang, Pam Coats, Morgan Rhodes, and everybody who was putting the whole thing together because I’d never been a part of a production like that. I had to trust these people to help me do my thing and be able to voice act. Once I met the crew and everybody involved, the vibe was so high, everybody was so cool. I was like, “Yes, this is where I’m supposed to be.””
Brittany Howard will voice Thelma
Also in the cast are:
- Will Forte (The Last Man on Earth, Nebraska) as Otis
- Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords, What We Do in the Shadows) as Vic Diamond
- Edi Patterson (The Righteous Gemstones, Knives Out 2)
- Fred Armisen (Wednesday, Saturday Night Live) as Danny Stallion
- Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover, Between Two Ferns) as Crusty Trucker
- Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite, Blades of Glory) as Reggie
- Maliaka Mitchell as Peggy Purvis
- Ally Dixon as Nikki Narwhal
- Megan Shank as Edi Patterson
When will Thelma The Unicorn be released on Netflix?
The movie is set to be the big animated movie for May 2024 with it set to drop globally on May 17th, 2024.
Picture: Netflix
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."
