Thelma l'unicorno

Thelma the Unicorn (2024) is the first animated movie to be directed by Jared Hess and it's his best movies to date since Napoleon Dynamite (2004).

Positives for Thelma the Unicorn (2024): The plot of the movie is very basic and it does work for the most part. The voice performances from Brittany Howard, Will Forte, Jemaine Clement, Edi Patterson, Fred Armisen, Zach Galifianakis, Jon Heder and Shondrella Avery are pretty good. The animation looks good through the movie. There is a good message that kids can learn from the movie. And finally, the comedy is pretty decent.

Negatives for Thelma the Unicorn (2024): This is another Jared Hess movie where it is just too weird. None of the characters are particularly likable other than Will Forte, Job Heder and the blind old lady. Thelma is a little too selfish with the idea of fame and while I get why she did it, the way with how the movie does it is just too much. I also have to say that Jemaine Clement is not an actor who is for me, his acting is too weird. The story is very predictable and you know what is going to happen. And finally, this movie is basically made for kids and not adults which isn't a bad thing, but I've watched movies and show that can appeal to both kids and adults very well.

Overall, Thelma the Unicorn (2024) is a fun little animated movie for kids and that is just fine.

It's hard to turn a 5 minute picture book into 90 minutes of film, but Thelma the Unicorn will (probably) keep little kids entertained.

Of course there's an overarching message of being who you are etc, filled in with interesting moments about the culture of celebrity, the cult of fame, and how your favourite stars are carefully curated with marketing. As an adult and well out of the target demographic, this was the most interesting part of the film. My kid, aged 9, is a bit too old for it too but having grown up with the book, she wanted to see it. And she loved it!

Recommended for the under 10s.

Glitter, fantasy, pink, unicorns. Check, check, check, check. Another film about staying true to who you are; having fun while doing it! Yes, there are plenty of predictable cliches here, but a fun watch for some distraction. As long as you are you expecting any in depth meaning with lasting emotional influence. Not to say there are not good lessons and themes played on throughout the film, but they are not presented in any way that we have not all seen before. It is based on characters in the book by Aaron Blabey, actually two books. Blabey also did The Bad Guys, highly recommended books + film. These illustrated children's books do indeed follow the same general truth for adult's books- namely, that books are almost always better than the film!

This movie will definitely keep you entertained for 1 hr and a half it's cute, very funny/weird, and charming animation. The characters are nice although the design and movements of some characters are questionable to say the least but that just adds to the comedic tone of this movie. The pace is very nice and it gets done what needs to get done. The songs are good, I don't think they're great, but it fits with this kind of movie. The animation isn't anything groundbreaking, but I thought the animation was better than I thought it was gonna be especially judging from the trailer, so that's nice.

So overall, I very fun film that, while not for everyone, will make you laugh and definitely keep you entertained for the time being.

As a huge fan of Aaron Blabey's original books it keeps the core messaging of "be yourself" but changes how Thelma is revealed which is no where near as touching or meaningful as the original story.

The extra characters are funny and the secondary story of the rival singer feel like filler vs actually being a pivotal plot point which again takes away from the power of the core message the books conveyed perfectly.

On the whole is modern and bright and my kids loved it so it gets a pass for the underlying "just be yourself" but I would have preferred it more aligned to the books.

Alas Aaron Blabey signed off so it is what it is.