Thelma the Unicorn directors Jared Hess and Lynn Wang discuss the music, humor, and life lessons in new Netflix animated film.
The first trailer for Thelma the Unicorn has dropped and gives viewers a look into this new animated film from Netflix. Based on the best-selling books, the story follows Thelma, a small-time pony who dreams of becoming a glamorous music star. In a 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. Brittany Howard stars as Thelma.
We caught up with the Directors of Thelma the Unicorn, Jared Hess and Lynn Wang, to discuss the importance of a movie that teaches lessons like this, the incredible needle drops, and the stellar cast. Thelma the Unicorn hits Netflix on May 17th, and you don’t want t0 miss it!
What Drew Them To Thelma The Unicorn?
Jared Hess, who also co-wrote the film with his wife, Jerusha Hess, admits they were big fans of the book by Aaron Blabey, as well as all his work. He reached out to them to see if they would want to develop it into a feature film, and they jumped at the chance. “I think the themes in the book about self acceptance, and everything Thelma is struggling with, is so universal, whether you’re young or old.”
Hess goes on to say that the messaging is told through fun, lovable oddball characters, which they thought were awesome. “We made the decision to expand beyond the book and turn Thelma into a musician that has aspirations of becoming a music star. Then it was expanding the world of the characters bringing in Vic Diamond, and Nikki Narwhal, and Peggy, so it was just fun to keep filling out the world with more weirdos.”
What drew Lynn Wang, Jared’s co-director, to the project? Well, she admits that she was already such a big fan of Jared Hess and Jerusha Hess, and their work. “I think anyone would be really lucky to work with them. so I jumped at that chance.” Lynn says she loves their humor and0 tone, and thought being able to bring that into an animated film would be really exciting because she feels like we haven’t really seen that before.
“On top of that, reading the script, I was really drawn to the story of self acceptance and believing in yourrself,” Lynn adds. “I think that theme itself is so universal. I relate to it as a child. I relate to it as an adult. I really think that it is a universal theme that a lot of people globally will relate to.”
Thelma The Unicorn Has Mutliple Needle Drops
As Jared said, they added the aspect of Thelma wanting to be a musician. So of course that means a lot of great music was included in the Netflix film. He explains that when they were coming up with original songs for the film, it was really finding the right songwriters, and they were really lucky. “Bret McKenzie from Flight of the Conchords, also an Oscar winner for his work on The Muppet movies, he just really got the humor. His comedic sensibility is second to none and he really killed it. He wrote Nikki’s Blubber Trouble song and Here Comes The Cud, and Vic Diamond’s Three C’s of Success that his buddy Jemaine Clement sings in the film, but then he also wrote the Only Unicorn in the Rainbow song, which is really heartfelt and sweet.”
Jared goes on to explain that Taurus Stinson, who is also an amazing songwriter producer, wrote so much of the music that is written specifically to showcase the elements of music, and the film and her style, and her original voice. “It was an amazing experience to be a part of that. I’ve never been a part of a movie that had so much original music and songs and to go through the process with the whole team was killer.” He also admits that there were a lot of songs that loved that they ultimately couldn’t squeeze in.
Lynn agrees, saying that the needle drops also span the eras and it’s always great to introduce kids to older music that really rocks. “On top of that, we had Brittany Howard, who of course has an amazing taste in her own music and so I think her bringing in her own amazing special sauce made the songs in this movie more of an ear worm than I some other animated musicals are.” absolutely.
When you watch Thelma the Unicorn, you will notice that a lot of the characters represent different eras of music. As Jared explains, “You’ve got Vic Diamond, who’s stuck in the 70s and late 60s. Then you’ve got Peggy, whose music is obviously from this amazing era of soul and the 60s and 50s. Then you’ve got Danny Stallion, who’s in a boy band at the end of the film, doing that *NSYNC Backstreet Boy thing.” Hess says there’s so many different moments and characters and songs that just will appeal and resonate with so many different people.
Important Lessons From Thelma The Unicorn
Thelma the Unicorn has a lot of positive messaging weaved throughout the film on top of all the catchy songs. These are lessons that both children and adults can learn from.
Jared Hess explains that one thing that was so strong in the original book, and something that they wanted to preserve as they made the film, was just the relationship that Thelma has with Otis. “From the get go, Otis loves her for who she is and doesn’t think that she needs to change anything. But that’s not how Thelma sees herself. That’s not her perception of how the world sees her.”
He goes on to explain that Thelma feels this pressure to change in order for the world to hear her music and so that she can achieve her dreams. “I think one of the themes is just finding those people who do love you for who you are, and support you for who you are. It is so critical. It’s important.”
What Lynn Wang Learned From Jared Hess
Speaking of learning, Thelma the Unicorn is Lynn Wang’s directorial feature debut. She has directed for television, including the wildly popular Unikitty, but when asked about working with Jared Hess and if she learned anything, she says absolutely. “It was and amazing process even though it was challenging, but our team is amazing. Working with Jared is a dream come true. Being able to work with these people, who have done features over and over again, and really being able to get inside of Jared’s weird brain is amazing. Which allowed me to be weird, which is always fun.”
Lynn adds, “I think every project you go through, you always learn a lot.”
Thelma The Unicorn Boasts An Incredible Cast
Thelma the Unicorn’s cast boasts so many talented actors and commedians: Will Forte, Jon Heder, Jemaine Clement, and Zach Galifianakis, just to name a few. When asked what it was like working with this group, Jared immediately jumps in with how much fun it was. “A lot of them are friends. It’s just fun to be able to work with people that you’ve worked with before, and be able to come up with new, crazy characters for them.”
This movie was made right in the middle of the pandemic, so a lot of people were home and recording from their houses or over zoom. “We were never in the same room with anyone, which is kind of crazy to think about,” Jared explains.
“It was amazing to watch these comedic powerhouses really embody the characters and bring them to life and infuse them with jokes that weren’t even written,” Lynn adds. “They would just kind of riff and we’re like, that’s great, so it was really great to see them do that and bring such a dimension to those characters.”
Jared laughs, and goes on to say that, “When you’re working with Zach Galifianakis, and Ed Patterson, and a Brittany Howard was so amazing. We would write stuff and she would come in the room and we’d be like, yeah, we’re sorry, we know these lines aren’t too great. How would you say it? And it was always so awesome and so funny. It’s so much better.”
Hess recalls when they were recording Zach Galifianakis, who plays the role of the crusty trucker that is driving the glitter and paint truck, he went down the rabbit hole of a monologue that he was just riffing on about how he’s on the no fly list at the Cracker Barrel. “I wish we could have put into the film.”
Biggest Challenge In Getting The Film Made
As mentioned above, Thelma the Unicorn was made during the pandemic, which was the biggest challenge according to both Jared Hess and Lynn Wang. “I think so much of creativity can flow in person,” Lynn admits, “But because we were online and through zoom, we had to find ways around it. There was a lot of trust between us and the team, and us with each other. It was hard, but at the same time, I think we discovered a lot of new things by going through that process.”
We will leave you with this… when asked to come up with a tagline to convince viewers to watch Themla the Unicorn, Jared Hess says, “Get ready for the weirdest unicorn movie you’ve ever seen.” Check it out when it comes to Netflix on May 17th.
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About Thelma the Unicorn
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. Thelma the Unicorn is a quirky, hilarious, and heartfelt ride from directors Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite) and Lynn Wang (Unikitty!).
Thelma the Unicorn comes to Netflix on May 17th.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. She is also a Freelance Writer. Tessa has been in the Entertainment writing business for ten years and is a member of several Critics Associations including the Critics Choice Association and the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association.