Nimona - Review: A Fantastic and Fantastical Queer Fantasy Adventure

 

In 2012, writer/illustrator ND Stevenson (“She-Ra and the Princesses of Power,” “Wander Over Yonder”) began publishing “Nimona”, a web-comic about a shapeshifter that was soon published as a graphic novel and began lapping up awards left and right. Eventually, it was picked up to be adapted into an animated film by Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox. However, after Disney purchased Fox and due to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Blue Sky was shut down with supposedly just a year of work left on the film. Yet, much like the titular character, “Nimona” the movie refused to die and was soon picked up by Annapurna to finish the work with Netflix distributing the film.

The film follows Ballister Boldheart, voiced by Riz Ahmed (“Rogue One,” “Sound of Metal”), a knight accused of killing Queen Valerin, voiced by Lorraine Toussaint (“Any Day Now,” “Middle of Nowhere”), and now a fugitive of the Institute, hunted by his former boyfriend and fellow knight Ambrosius Goldenloin, voiced by Eugene Lee Yang (“Behind the Try”) and The Director of the Institute, voiced by Frances Conroy (“Six Feet Under,” “American Horror Story”). Ballister finds himself reluctantly assisted by a young shapeshifter named Nimona, voiced by Chloë Grace Moretz (“Kick-Ass,” “Hugo”), an anarchist who believes him to be a villain who wants to get revenge on the Institute and on the people accusing him of murder.

While there are some light jabs throughout the film at fairy tales and fantasy stories, “Shrek” this is not. Co-writers/directors Nick Bruno (“Spies in Disguise” and Troy Quane (“Spies in Disguise,” “The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol”) and their co-writers Robert L. Baird (“Big Hero 6,” “Monsters University”), Lloyd Taylor (“Spies in Disguise”), Pamela Ribon (“My Year of Dicks,” “Ralph Breaks the Internet”), Marc Haimes (“Kubo and the Two Strings,” “Lost Ollie”), and Keith Bunin (“Onward (2020),” “Horns (2013)”) put a lot of effort into making sure these characters and their world are fleshed out beyond just bucking fairy tale stereotypes.

Nimona is a fantastic anarchic kind of hero. She rides the line between being extremely lovable and easy to identify with while also pushing Ballister outside of his comfort zone. She also is the source of the film’s biggest messages; the Institute’s propaganda-like ruling over the city, the potential brainwashing of Ballister’s knighthood, and the bigotry she faces from the Institute and the citizens of the city. Moretz breathes such wonderful life into Nimona and is absolutely the highlight of the movie, effortlessly flowing between the comedic, punk aspects of her character and the gravitas the film’s serious moments require.

Ahmed is also fantastic, giving Ballister a reluctant edge to his heroism and villainy that makes him more interesting than he otherwise might be. As he slowly ends up caring for Nimona, so do we, and Ahmed’s calm performance helps to facilitate that. Yet, you can still feel his pain and care, even as the rest of the world shuns him. Yang and Conroy are also excellent; Yang is a great goody-two-shoes kind of Knight not without his own struggles and Conroy embodies the kind of fantasy villain that is too perfect to not hate.

The film’s animation is incredibly beautiful with tons of smooth edges and flawless motion and flow. Nimona’s shapeshifting is really fun to watch and makes for some frenetic action sequences. The cel-shaded look of everything helps the primary colors, particularly the films heavy use of green and pink, really pop. There’s so much detail on display while also maintaining an appealing simplicity. Lighting plays a huge role here as well, and the way it reflects off the simpler colors and smooth surfaces makes everything pop in a satisfying way. It’s a truly beautiful looking movie in every respect. Those visuals are also helped by a fantastic score from Christophe Beck (“Ant-Man,” “The Peanuts Movie”) that blends string guitars and medieval influences with a futuristic bend, much like the kingdom itself.

Now, while we do, against all odds, have the finished project, it’s not just the pandemic that’s to blame for Disney cancelling the film. “Nimona” the graphic novel is a fiercely queer work in every facet, and rumors persist that Disney was apparently unhappy with how blatantly those elements were brought into the film, including a gay kiss between two male characters.

This is unfortunate given the queerness inherent to the original graphic novel, and thankfully, that queerness shines through in the finished product. Not only is that kiss and the romance entirely intact, its fleshed out from what existed in the original work. The film also has plenty of cameos from popular queer celebrities, such as RuPaul, Indya Moore, and Julio Torres. The entire character of Nimona is a fantastic queer and trans allegory as well. Beyond the fact that Stevenson (a producer on the film as well) has mentioned how Nimona helped him come to realize his own gender identity, its hard not to see her struggles and shapeshifting as something for any queer youth to identify with. It’s all portrayed simply enough for any family to watch and enjoy, but it also doesn’t hold back or sugarcoat the clear anti-authoritarian and anti-fascist themes at play. As Nimona herself would say “Let's break stuff.”

“Nimona” is a bold and beautiful film that, like its titular character, is completely unafraid to be itself. The fact that a film like this survived a studio closure would already be remarkable, but the fact that it manages to do so while still being fiercely independent is something else entirely. It’s fantastic on virtually every front, a wonderful adventure led by a dynamic duo you can’t help but fall in love with. 5/5