Thelma the Unicorn follows the eponymous pony whose dream of becoming a star comes true when she transforms into a unicorn. The film is now streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
Thelma is a pony who works on a farm with her donkey friends, Otis and Reggie. While Thelma looks like an ordinary pony, she is a talented singer.
She is in a band called The Rusty Buckets with Otis and Reggie. Thelma dreams of singing at SparklePalooza, the biggest music event of the year.
When the auditions for SparklePalooza are held, The Rusty Buckets decide to try their luck. However, they are rejected even before they can perform.
Thelma and her friends are told that people who look plain like them can never be stars. Thelma starts believing this and wishes that her appearance was different.
One day, Thelma puts a carrot on her forehead, trying to look like a unicorn. Just then, a truck driver’s reckless driving results in Thelma getting drenched in pink paint and glitter.
Thelma now looks like a unicorn, and her appearance immediately draws the attention of the passersby, who are all eager to take her pictures.
When Thelma gets attention for her appearance, she allows people to believe that she is a real unicorn. She also showcases her talent by performing for them.
The Rusty Buckets’ performance is shared on social media, attracting the attention of renowned producer Peggy Purvis, who has not produced music since losing her eyesight.
Peggy wants to make her comeback with The Rusty Buckets, giving Thelma and her friends the opportunity they had been waiting for.
As they start working with Peggy, Vic Diamond, who calls himself the Star Maker, offers to let The Rusty Buckets open for pop star Nikki Narwhal at her concert.
Vic is Nikki’s manager. Lately, Nikki’s career is not doing so well, and Vic sees Thelma as a way to boost ticket sales.
Otis suggests that Thelma should wash off the paint before performing at the concert, but Thelma refuses, not wanting to risk losing the opportunities they are getting.
Then, Vic intentionally leaves Thelma’s friends and Peggy behind and convinces Thelma to perform without them. Thelma’s performance impresses everyone.
Following Thelma’s performance, Vic abandons Nikki with plans to focus on making Thelma a star. To make her dream a reality, Thelma signs with him.
However, she has a falling out with Otis, who does not approve of Thelma pretending to be someone else.
Thelma reveals the truth about not being a unicorn to Vic, but he does not care about it. All Vic cares about is putting on a show that sells.
He gets Thelma to be in a fake relationship with Danny Stallion, an internet sensation. Together, Danny and Thelma release music that lacks substance.
The song was written and produced by AI, but as Vic had predicted, it is a hit. It tops the charts, and Thelma becomes a star.
On the other hand, Otis and Reggie continue making music with Peggy. They also find a new singer to replace Thelma but fire her when she fails to impress.
While Thelma now has all the fame she always wanted, she feels the loss of her friends and the authentic music she made with them.
Ending explained:
Thelma’s pretense ends
Just when Thelma considers contacting Otis, Vic tells her that she will be performing at SparklePalooza, which makes her forget about talking to Otis.
Additionally, her and Danny’s music video has been nominated for the Music Video Award of the Year. Thelma’s dreams are finally coming true.
However, Nikki’s assistant, Megan, who has been trying to dig up dirt on Thelma, discovers that Thelma is a regular pony, not a unicorn.
She washes off Thelma’s paint and threatens to reveal her truth to the world at the awards show. Megan agrees to keep Thelma’s secret only when Thelma promises to disappear.
Realizing that not even Vic recognizes her when she is not covered in paint and glitter, Thelma leaves without a word, giving up both her lie and her dreams of stardom.
Returning to her friends
As the news of Thelma’s disappearance spreads, her fans are heartbroken. Everyone, including Thelma’s friends, starts looking for her.
The only people happy about her disappearance are Nikki and Megan, as Nikki can now reclaim her status as the top star.
Thelma, who has been wandering alone, is offered a ride by the driver who first spilled paint and glitter on her.
The driver talks to her about his relationship with his girlfriend. He loves clogging but has not told his girlfriend about it, fearing that she might reject him.
Thelma advises him to tell his girlfriend the truth, as she believes that getting rejected is better than living a lie.
Thelma then realizes that Otis, who always told her she was perfect as she was, was right all along. She decides to take her own advice and return to her friends.
She now understands that becoming a unicorn made all her dreams come true, but it cost her the love of the people who cared for her the most.
Thelma returns to her friends and apologizes to them. Her friends forgive her, and Thelma rejoins The Rusty Buckets.
Revealing her true self
Thelma now wants to show the world her true self. She tells Otis that she wants to come clean, and he supports her decision.
With Peggy’s help, The Rusty Buckets gain entry to SparklePalooza, despite Megan, Nikki, and security’s best efforts to stop them.
At the last minute, Thelma paints herself to look like a unicorn before stepping onto the stage with her friends.
She tells her fans about how she always dreamed of performing on this stage but was told that she would never make it because of her appearance.
Thelma reveals how she pretended to be a unicorn so that people would give her music a chance. She then removes the paint and glitter to perform one of her original songs as herself.
Although she loses some fans, Thelma gains others who love her music for its authenticity. Her song touches people’s hearts and inspires them to be true to themselves.
Thelma and her friends then continue making music with Peggy. She goes on to become a star once again, but this time, she does not need to pretend to be someone she is not.
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