Quick LinksThe Differences Between Recording a Movie and an Album Brittany Howard Sings in a New Way and Lets Her Light Shine

Summary

Being in an animated musical is an emotional roller coaster, but both voice acting and recording music are fun experiences.
The film’s message about always staying true to yourself is the most important takeaway from Thelma the Unicorn for Brittany Howard.
Brittany Howard enjoyed challenging herself with new singing styles in songs like “Big” and found joy in working with the songwriters.

Brittany Howard brings her soaring vocals and killer guitar licks to Netflix in a hilarious animated musical. The former Alabama Shakes lead singer voices Thelma the Unicorn in her debut acting performance. Howard voices a miniature farm pony who dreams of stardom with her band, The Rusty Buckets. A fateful accident involving pink paint, glitter, and a strategically placed carrot, has Thelma pretending to be a unicorn on social media. The film skewers viral culture with a fantastic message about always being true to yourself. You can watch above and read below for our complete interview with Brittany Howard, where she compares hauling manure as Thelma to delivering the US mail before she became famous.

The Differences Between Recording a Movie and an Album
Thelma the Unicorn (2024) Thelma is a small-time pony who dreams of becoming a glamorous music star. In a pink and glitter-filled moment of fate, Thelma is transformed into a unicorn and instantly rises to global stardom. However, this new life of fame comes at a cost.Release Date May 17, 2024 Runtime 1h 33m Studio(s) Netflix Animation , Mikros Animation Distributor(s) Netflix

MovieWeb: I’m a big fan of your music. And I love this movie. You’ve spent a lot of time in the studio recording. How different is it doing voiceover animation in a studio?

Brittany Howard: It’s pretty different. Doing voice acting is a lot harder than I thought it was. You have to access so many different parts of you. In literally zero time, you might go from page 74, where you’re super, super, super sad, and then go back to page 12, where we’re laughing and having fun. It’s an emotional roller coaster. And four hours later, you’re like, so tired. When you’re in the studio [recording music], you can take your time. You can do this over again, this over again, this over again. You can scrap the whole song. It’s pretty different. But I’ll say they’re both really fun.

MW: I just spoke with [co-director] Jared [Hess]. He basically said that growing up, you worked at a farm. You had to haul manure. So what was it like to see Thelma and kind of relive this character?

Brittany Howard: It was so funny. Yeah, I did grow up on a farm. When I was really young, we had a lot of animals to take care of. I actually related more to Thelma hauling that manure when I was delivering the US mail [laughs]. There is a job that we had to do. You can’t not do it, you know? At the same time, I had big dreams of singing and being heard by the world, and maybe seeing the world. Me and Thelma both have that in common.

Related The Best Movies From Netflix Animation, Ranked Going from hit to hit, Netflix Animation is proving to be a force to be reckoned with. Here are the studio’s best movies, ranked.

The Rusty Buckets Live

MW: As a recording artist, you see the product coming together in front of you. You are hands-on. But doing voiceover work as an actor, you’re kind of playing submarine warfare. What was your reaction when you finally saw the finished film and what Thelma looked like?

Brittany Howard: It was surreal. I couldn’t…my brain couldn’t quite put together that my voice is coming out of this little pony. Then, when I would sing, this big voice coming out of this little pony — and it took probably a good 20–30 minutes into the film before I could watch the film.

MW: It was interesting talking to Will [Forte] because he never met you during the entire process. You guys are so cohesive as a band. So I’m going to ask you the same question. He also sings. He also plays guitar. Would there be any possibility for a live version of Rusty Buckets to go on tour?

Brittany Howard: Yeah, I would definitely do that. For sure, with this band, yeah.

Related Best Animated Musicals That Aren’t Disney, Ranked While Disney has undeniably established itself as synonymous with animated musicals, there’s still a plethora of other great examples to enjoy.

Brittany Howard Sings in a New Way and Lets Her Light Shine

MW: Let’s talk deeper about the music because it is very intrinsic to the film. It’s so much fun. It’s so outgoing. What song did you like the most? What was your favorite part of recording?

Brittany Howard: I really liked the song “Big” because it helped me sing in a way that I’ve never sung before. I found that kind of challenging, so I had a good time doing it. And also I really like “Fire Inside,” it’s so catchy. There’s a simplicity to it. I love the story behind the song. Working with the songwriters is super fun. So there’s a couple of my favorites. Also, I love “Here Comes the Cud.” That’s a great one too.

MW: Yeah, the “Here Comes the Cud” music video had me laughing into the ground. All right, for my final question, it’s more of a serious question. Thelma the Unicorn brilliantly mocks social media and this whole viral thing of ‘blowing up’ and becoming famous. It does that in a way that’s very humorous, very lighthearted. So, to me, that was the best theme in the film. Would you agree that’s the most important theme of the film?

Brittany Howard: I think it’s a great theme. But I would say probably for me, the most important takeaway from the film is just how your authenticity kind of gets you through in the end. You know, I think pretending like you’re someone only works for so long. I think the true blessing in life is being yourself and letting your light shine and just having other people appreciate you for who you are. I think that’s what I take away from it.

Thelma the Unicorn is available exclusively on Netflix. You can stream it through the link below:

Watch Thelma the Unicorn