Nimona

Nimona is a 2023 animated movie produced by ND Stevenson, and it is one of my all time favourite films for many reasons. But let’s start at the very beginning.

Originally, Nimona was a Blue Sky Studio production set to release in 2022, but when the film was close to being finished, Disney stepped in and ruined everything by shutting down Blue Sky, therefore cancelling the film, because of its LGBTQ+ thematics. This comes as no surprise, because it isn’t the first time something like this has happened, in fact, “The owl house”, which was an animated show that aired on Disney channel, was shortened not that long ago because of its queer representation, to three 44-minute specials, instead of a full season.

All hope seemed lost, until the 11^th of April 2022, when it was announced that Annapurna Pictures had picked up Nimona, and would release it on Netflix in 2023, giving us the masterpiece we have today, so thank you for that Netflix. I still hate you for cancelling “Warrior nun”, and many other sapphic shows though. But mostly “Warrior nun”. Alright, time to get into the actual movie.

“Nimona '' begins with the story of a hero, called Gloreth, who defeated a big bad monster and saved everyone. She vowed that her people would never be vulnerable again, so she trained an elite force of knights, and decreed that their descendants would protect their kingdom for many generations to come. Gloreth became a symbol of hope for everyone, and a massive gold statue of her was built in the kingdom, so no one would ever stop admiring her, following into her footsteps, and repeating her words: “Go back to the shadows from whence you came”. This worked for a thousand years, until our real protagonist, Ballister Boldheart, showed up.

Ballister is going to be a knight, but he’s a special case, because he’s not a descendant of any of the original elite soldiers that Gloreth trained. He’s an outsider. He’s only here because he trained so hard, from when he was a kid, and because the queen trusts him. However, his best friend, Ambrousios Goldenloin, is a direct descendant of Gloreth, so everyone loves him, while Bal is often shunned by the kingdom’s population because, to them, he just isn’t trustworthy, despite being at the top of his class, and having proved many times that he only has good intentions. Because of this, he’s worried that the kingdom won’t accept him, and is feeling rather down in the dumps, but Goldenloin manages to cheer him up, and throughout their interaction, it’s pretty obvious that there’s romantic undertones to their relationship.

The knighting ceremony is about to begin, so the squire is handing out the knight’s respective swords to them, but when he gives Ballister his, something seems off, perhaps the weight. The squire tries to show him his phone, which comes off as him wanting a picture, but we’ll later find out that’s not the case. The only other somewhat relevant soon-to-be knight, is Todd, the himbo bully, who thinks he’s better than everyone else and constantly makes fun of Ballister for being different. The director congratulates everyone, and it’s time for the ceremony to commence.

It’s finally Ballister’s turn to be knighted, so he walks up the stairs, and bows to the queen, who taps his shoulders with his sword but, when she’s finished, no one claps, or shouts, or cheers. There is only silence. The utter defeat in his eyes is unmissable. And then, after a bit of a pause, someone starts clapping their hands, and then more and more join, and the crowd starts to finally cheer him on, and shout his name, not because of hate, but because of admiration and trust; and then the unthinkable happens: the queen gives him his sword but, while he’s holding it, the hilt...opens. A green beam comes out of it, hitting the queen directly in the chest, instantly killing her. Someone attacks Bal, chopping his arm off, literally disarming him. Ambriousious. He looks extremely confused and deeply saddened. Everyone, including him and the director, think Ballister killed the queen. He runs away, clutching at where his arm would’ve been, had it not been mutilated. The only thing Goldenloin can do is watch him leave, while everyone around him screams “Queen killer!”. Luckily it doesn’t take long for Bal to find a hiding spot, or evil lair, depending on who you ask, and to build himself a new arm.

Now, I know what you're thinking, where the hell is Nimona? She’s not even in the opening act of the movie named after her! (unless you noticed the fact that she narrated the story about Gloreth). Not to worry, you needn’t wait anymore, she is properly introduced as soon as he tries his arm on, and it is a GREAT character introduction. We immediately get a good feel of her personality, which is a rebellious, spontaneous, sarcastic and generally unserious one, which makes for an interesting dynamic with Ballister, who always wants to have a proper plan and is committed to doing things discretely and carefully. She immediately calls him boss and starts nosing around his “evil lair”, as she calls it, and admiring his arm, before making a creepy face and asking if they let him keep the old one, to quickly moving on and asking if she can keep his blowtorch, all before he can even process what is happening. He tells her to go, to which she replies asking about taking on the role of being his sidekick, showing him her version of a résumé, which consists of drawings of animals killing people. Although she initially wanted to join him to take revenge on the people that cast him out and abandoned him, she agrees to help him clear his name upon discovering that he is, in fact, innocent. And by agree I mean she insists on tagging along until Bal finally gives in and says yes. The last important thing the first 20 minutes of the film does, is to make sure we understand Bal and Goldenloin’s relationship: they were best friends since they started their training, and it is heavily hinted that what they have goes beyond a simple friendship.

What follows is an incredibly fun and fast-paced movie, albeit not devoid of some heart-warming and dramatic moments to remind us that the situation the characters we are following are in, is pretty darn bad.

But the scene I feel is worth talking about the most, is the one where we find out what Nimona’s backstory is, which we get after she runs away from Bal, who finds out she was the monster that terrorised the kingdom 1000 years ago. When Nimona was a little girl, she lived by herself in the woods. She would shape-shift into various animals to try to fit in with them, but it didn’t really work. Everything changed when she saw a blonde girl playing by herself. The unnamed kid noticed her looking and encouraged her to join in. The two quickly became extremely close, and when Nimona revealed her powers… nothing changed. She’s not afraid of her. They keep going on their little adventures, only this time, she can be her true shape-shifting self. Until the people of her friend's village see her, and separate them. They charge at her with fire and weapons. She gets burned, and loses control. She fights back. Who she thought she could trust, picks up a wooden sword and points it at her: “Go back to the shadows from whence you came”. Gloreth.

At the end of the movie, when she’s been abandoned again by someone she trusted, she goes back to being that little girl. Soon after, she changes again. It’s not until we see the ground shake, that we see her true form. A massive, black creature with multiple glowing eyes, heading straight for the middle of the kingdom. Straight for the golden statue of Gloreth, pointing her sword in Nimona’s direction, like all those years ago. It’s not hard to realise what she’s going to do. She’s told us. “I don’t know what’s scarier. The fact that everyone in this kingdom wants to run a sword through my heart… or that sometimes, I just want to let them”. Obviously, the kingdom’s inhabitants think she is attacking them. The knights attack her, and it hurts. She roars at every hit. A guttural, animalistic sound but, if you really listen, you’ll hear a little girl screaming too. And she sounds like she’s in so much pain. Like she’s been hurting for so long because she has. She’s been abandoned, betrayed, shut out. She’s been viewed as a monster by everyone.

She opens herself up in front of the sword, showing what seems to be her heart. She slowly goes closer, and when everything seems lost… she feels something. Someone’s touch. She looks down and sees Ballister, stopping her from ending it. “I see you, Nimona. And you’re not alone”. Suddenly her exhaustion catches up to her. She reverts back to her teenage form, and falls but he's there to catch her. To hold her and silently promise that he’ll never leave her again. And she understands. Everyone does.

This film is everything to me. It’s a fun break, a form of escapism from everything, Nimona is someone I can relate to, despite having polar opposite personalities. It makes me feel seen and understood. Reminds me of the fact that I’m not alone, no matter how many times I think differently. Nimona stays with Ballister because, and I quote:”Everyone hates you too”. And she’s not entirely wrong. When people view you as a monster, that’s all you’ll ever be to them. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t done anything to lead them into thinking you’re a danger. You’re different, weird. They don’t understand and, to them, that’s a good enough reason to hate, or be afraid.

As a queer person, I love the fact that Ambriousious and Ballister’s romantic relationship is just that. They are to guys who are in love, and no one cares. Absolutely no one. Nimona herself is a symbol for trans representation, and even though it’s not exactly explicit, it’s hard to see it as anything else.

There’s a scene where she and Bal have a heart-to-heart. He asks about her shape-shifting, about what it feels like when she shape-shifts: “Honestly? I feel worse when I don’t do it. Like my insides are itchy. You know like that second right before you sneeze? That’s close to it. Then I shape-shift, and I’m free”.  

Even though the window tinted with the trans colours in the background shows that this scene has a set meaning to it, I think most people can relate to this feeling. I sometimes feel like I want to change my shape, or my body. Like I don’t belong in...myself. Like when the house I live in doesn’t feel like home. It’s… difficult, but manageable. Let’s say there’s worse feelings to have.

All of this, and I haven’t even talked about the animation. It is perfect. It’s a very cartoony style, and it’s simple, but it works so well. The characters are incredibly expressive, and Nimona’s shape-shifting is done in a very effective and creative way. The movements are dynamic and smooth and the way the light is used is amazing. Throughout the film, Bal is basked in darkness and shadows, while Ambriousuios is always in the light, further implementing the fact that people see him as a villain and his best friend as a hero. I especially love the lighting in the scene where Nimona and Bal bond after kidnapping the squire. It’s the kind of lighting that really sets the mood for the scene. It’s not so bright you think it’s a happy scene, but it’s not too dark to be seen as a sad scene either. It’s in between; Bitter-sweet. And the lighting perfectly compliments that. The backgrounds are detailed and a perfect mix of mediaeval and futuristic, and the characters are equally as well-designed. They all have different shaped sparkles in their eyes, different colour schemes, and I especially love how all of Nimona’s different forms have some sort of characteristic to indicate that it’s her, other than the pink. The rhino has a chipped horn, Bal has a pink hair streak. I immediately figured out that in the scene where Ambrousious questions the queen, it was actually her, simply basing myself off of the body language.

The voice acting is also top-tier. Chloё Grace Moretz manages to make Nimona a completely believable character, despite being the epitome of unbelievable. She’s good at making her sound like a kid, while also having at least 1000 years of experience. Riz Ahmed and Eugene Lee Yang, were also perfectly cast as Ballister and Goldenloin, and are able to bring a particular charm to their characters. 

Overall, I’d say this film, although simple, is an absolute masterpiece. And yes, I am biassed because it was created by ND Stevenson. Sue me. I also think it’s worth mentioning that RuPaul and the woman that voices Shadow Weaver from “She-ra and the princesses of power” are in this.