Unicorn Cartoon Characters: 10 From TV and Film

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cartoon unicorn

Unicorns are everywhere in cartoons, and I think it is because they are the ultimate shortcut to magic. The second one trots onscreen, you know you have left the real world behind. The fun part is how wildly different they all are. Some are wise rulers. Some are plush toys with serious anger issues. One of them is, no joke, a floating head.

Here are 10 of the most famous unicorn cartoon characters. I tried to go past the surface stuff, so you get the shows, the voice actors, and a few facts that genuinely caught me off guard while I was digging. And if you have ever wondered whether Disney actually has any unicorns, this list answers that one loudly.

Unicorn Cartoon Characters

When I picture a cartoon unicorn, I think of the design first: a flowing mane, a spiral horn, and facial expressions way more dramatic than any real horse could pull off. But the ones that stick around back up the look with a real personality. Here is what tends to separate an iconic unicorn from a background sparkle:

What makes a unicorn character iconic?

  • The silhouette: horn plus mane plus tail equals instant recognition.
  • The palette: unicorns are built for dreamy, colorful, magical visuals.
  • The personality: they can be sweet, regal, chaotic, or weirdly intense.
  • The flexibility: they work in preschool shows, dark fantasy, and straight comedy.

Twilight Sparkle (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic)

Twilight Sparkle unicorn character from My Little Pony

Show: My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010 to 2019). Voiced by: Tara Strong.

I like Twilight Sparkle for one simple reason: she feels relatable. She is smart, a bit of a perfectionist, and the type who tries to solve everything with logic until life forces her to learn the emotional stuff too. The whole “magic of friendship” idea is one of my favorites in kids’ animation because it treats friendship like a real skill you have to practice, not a slogan on a poster.

She does not stay a unicorn: Twilight eventually becomes an alicorn, which is a unicorn and pegasus combo, so technically she graduates mid-series. Her voice is Tara Strong, one of the busiest actors in cartoons ever. She also voices Bubbles, Raven, Timmy Turner, and Harley Quinn, so Twilight is in very loud company.

Lady Amalthea (The Last Unicorn)

Lady Amalthea from The Last Unicorn

Film: The Last Unicorn (1982). Voiced by: Mia Farrow. Based on: Peter S. Beagle’s 1968 novel.

This is the one I point to whenever someone assumes unicorn stories are always cute and fluffy. The Last Unicorn is melancholy, strange, and genuinely beautiful. A unicorn learns she may be the last of her kind, gets transformed into a human woman named Lady Amalthea, and slowly discovers regret and love. It feels like a real myth, not a kids’ fantasy, and that is exactly why it has haunted people for decades.

It is basically a secret Studio Ghibli film: the animation was handled by a Japanese studio called Topcraft. A few years later, Topcraft’s core team went on to form Studio Ghibli, the home of Spirited Away and Totoro. So those lush, hand-drawn visuals share real DNA with some of the most beloved animation ever made.

Una (Gargoyles)

Una from Gargoyles unicorn-like character

Show: Gargoyles (1994 to 1997). Voiced by: Sarah Douglas. Role: leader of the London Clan.

Una is the ultimate “wait, this show has a unicorn?” surprise. Gargoyles was Disney’s darker, more grown-up action series, and Una is a unicorn-type gargoyle who leads the London Clan and runs a magic shop in Soho. I love unicorn characters that show up where you do not expect them, because the elegance hits even harder against a moody, gothic backdrop.

A super-villain voiced her: Una is played by Sarah Douglas, who you might know as Ursa, the Kryptonian villain from Superman II. The whole London Clan is themed after heraldry, so her clanmates include a lion (Leo) and a griffin (Griff). A unicorn, a lion, and a griffin running a magic shop together is the most British thing I have ever typed.

Buttercup (Toy Story 3 and 4)

Buttercup unicorn toy from Toy Story

Films: Toy Story 3 (2010) and Toy Story 4 (2019). Voiced by: Jeff Garlin.

Buttercup is one of my favorite “cute design, zero chill” characters. He is a soft plush unicorn toy in Bonnie’s room, but he is written loud, dramatic, and deadpan funny. That mismatch between the fluffy look and the intense personality is the entire joke, and it lands every time.

Yes, Buttercup is a he: despite the pretty pastel design, Buttercup is canonically male, voiced by Jeff Garlin of Curb Your Enthusiasm. He is best friends with the equally sarcastic Hamm, and he gets one of my favorite small gags in the film when he reads “Andy” upside down on Woody’s boot and asks, dead serious, “Who’s Ydna?”

Pony Head (Star vs. the Forces of Evil)

Pony Head from Star vs the Forces of Evil unicorn character

Show: Star vs. the Forces of Evil (2015 to 2019). Voiced by: Jenny Slate.

Proof that unicorns do not have to be graceful. Pony Head is a floating, sassy, disembodied unicorn head from another dimension, and she is Star Butterfly’s chaotic best friend. She is rude, dramatic, and a complete scene-stealer. I think about her more than I expected to.

Cartoon logic at its finest: Pony Head is voiced by comedian Jenny Slate, and the design is gloriously absurd. No body, no legs, just a head with a horn and maximum attitude. The show never tries to explain it, which is exactly the right call.

Princess Celestia (My Little Pony)

Princess Celestia My Little Pony character

Show: My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. Voiced by: Nicole Oliver. Role: co-ruler of Equestria.

Celestia is “royal magic” turned into a design: tall, flowing mane, calm authority. She is the kind of unicorn character who has clearly been powerful for a very long time and does not feel the need to remind you every five seconds. Her power reads as steady and warm rather than flashy, and I find that way more convincing than a character who is constantly proving herself.

She literally raises the sun: Celestia’s job in Equestria is moving the sun each day, while her sister Luna handles the moon. Like Twilight, she is technically an alicorn rather than a pure unicorn, but that horn still counts. Sun-and-moon sibling rulers is a great bit of mythology for a show about pastel ponies.

Princess Luna (My Little Pony)

Princess Luna My Little Pony character

Show: My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. Voiced by: Tabitha St. Germain. Role: princess of the night.

Luna is the night-side of unicorn mythology: darker palette, more emotional weight, and a story built on redemption. I have always liked how distinct she feels from the bright, daytime characters. She is calm now, but you get the sense she earned that calm the hard way.

She used to be the villain: Luna was once Nightmare Moon, who got banished to the moon for a thousand years before being freed and redeemed. That backstory gives her real depth. Fun voice note: she is played by Tabitha St. Germain, who also voices the fashionista unicorn Rarity, so one actor covers two very different unicorns on the same show.

Skye (Sofia the First)

Skye Sofia the First unicorn character

Show: Sofia the First (debuted in the 2017 special The Mystic Isles). Voiced by: Andrew Rannells.

Skye is the “magical companion” unicorn, and I have a soft spot for the type. He is an enthusiastic young flying unicorn who just earned his wings, so he is still figuring out how to fly without crashing into trees. He becomes Sofia’s steed across the Mystic Isles, and he brings the fantasy into the story without needing a whole mythology lecture every episode.

A Broadway star in a preschool show: Skye is voiced by Andrew Rannells, the Tony-nominated star of The Book of Mormon. One small thing worth clearing up, since plenty of fans get it wrong: Skye is a he, a young colt still learning the ropes, not a mare.

Lady Rainicorn (Adventure Time)

Lady Rainicorn Adventure Time character

Show: Adventure Time (2010 to 2018). Voiced by: Niki Yang. Partner of: Jake the Dog.

Lady Rainicorn is unicorn-adjacent perfection: a long, rainbow-bodied creature who is half rainbow, half unicorn, and fully serene. She can fly, she can change the colors of things, and she is one of the gentlest presences in a very weird show. She makes the world of Ooo feel bigger just by existing in it.

She only speaks Korean, on purpose: Lady Rainicorn talks entirely in Korean, voiced by Niki Yang, and the show usually leaves it untranslated. So unless you speak the language, you are just as lost as half the characters, which is the whole point. It is one of my favorite quiet creative choices in any cartoon.

The Unicorns (Fantasia)

Fantasia unicorns Pastoral Symphony segment

Film: Fantasia (1940). Segment: the Pastoral Symphony.

The Fantasia unicorns are the storybook originals on this list. Soft pastel baby unicorns frolic through a mythological Greek countryside alongside fauns, centaurs, and cupids. The look is graceful, old-school Disney elegance, and you can draw a straight line from these designs to basically every sparkly unicorn that came after.

The grandparents of the whole bunch: at over 80 years old, these are by far the oldest unicorns here. Their segment is set to Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony, the Pastoral, which is why everything moves with that floaty, classical-music grace. Modern unicorn design owes these little guys a lot.

So, Does Disney Have a Unicorn Character?

This is one of the most common things people search, and the answer is a clear yes. In fact, four of the unicorns on this very list are Disney or Pixar: Una from Gargoyles, Buttercup from Toy Story, Skye from Sofia the First, and the classic Fantasia unicorns. Disney just never built one single famous unicorn lead the way My Little Pony did, so they hide in plain sight across decades of films and shows.

And honestly, that range is exactly why unicorns keep winning. You can write one as a calm ruler, a sarcastic plush toy, a melancholy legend, or a floating head with a bad attitude, and it still reads as a unicorn. That kind of flexibility is rare, and it is why the symbol shows up everywhere from cartoons to cereal boxes.

unicorn character

So now I want to hear yours. Who is your all-time favorite cartoon unicorn, and did I leave an obvious one off the list? Drop it in the comments.