As a member of Film Independent I keep getting invites about a special live read of Napoleon Dynamite. That odd breakout hit was directed by Jared Hess, who has now found his way after all these years to animation with Thelma The Unicorn. Does this make you want to put on some chapstick and vote for Pedro?

But first, let’s talk audio description. International Digital center is behind this, with Liz Gutman writing, and Tristan Snyder narrating. I’m excited for this, because I haven’t heard too much from Tristan since The Good Doctor switched audio description companies. Here, he proves he is an excellent choice for a kids film. his voice is very engaging for the little devils in your home, and he’s fun and entertaining enough to match the energy of this movie. Liz writes a pretty solid script almost every single time, and as this is about animals trying to be pop stars… for other animals… I felt like that world was described in a way that would spark the imagination for children. Let’s face it, while this film might be from the guy who gave us Nacho Libre, it’s also very much aimed at kids.

Thelma is a horse who just wants to sing, dammit. And she has this little band, and is ready to audition for this big show, but then she slaps some mud on her face, looks like a unicorn, and suddenly everyone is like… star quality. That’s what we’ve been missing. It’s one of those films that teaches kids to be true to who they are, they don’t need to make changes, you’re special as you are even if people don’t see it right away, and all those positive thoughts.

And there’s music! Most of it was fine, but once again I hated the Jermaine Clement song. He unfortunately is the vocal cancer in this cast, much like he was in Moana. and just like in Moana, he has the worst song… again. He really should stop doing voiceover work, because he’s just fine in his live action work. He keeps signing on to the worst villain roles with the worst songs. He’s doing something with his voice here that I also found grating.

The rest of the cast, Brittany Howard voices Thelma, and aside from the missed opportunity of having Megan The Stallion voicing Thelma The Unicorn, Howard does just fine. She has a nice big voice, and she fills all her songs. There’s nothing particularly memorable about Thelma, or her movie, but Howard does try to piece this role together. Despite being the least famous cast member, she’s backed by an onslaught on vocal talent regulars including Will Forte, Zack Galafanakis, Jon Heder, Sherry Cola, Fred Armisen, Kristen Schaal, and Eric Bauza (who just voiced Woody Woodpecker for Netflix).

It’s not a bad film, but it isn’t something anyone will remember, or something your kids will want to see more than once. it’s fairly similar to the Sing franchise, and those movies are more engaging. But, I wouldn’t try and stop someone. It moves at a quick pace, and for the most part, I had a decent time, Jermaine clement be damned. Jared Hess might be a far cry from Napoleon dynamite, but if we’re being really honest, he’s never matched that success anyway.

Final Grade: B-