Netflix new original animated film- Nimona had an interesting journey on it’s way to completion. The film was well into production at the, then Fox owned, Blue Sky Studios when the Walt Disney Company purchased 20th Century Fox in early 2021. At that time the new owners shuttered Blue Sky and Nimona seemed doomed. The film makers shopped it around and the production company Annapurna, along with Netflix, came up for the cash and the DNEG animation studio completed the film. Nimona is now streaming on Netflix. Was it worth all the work to get it completed? I think so.
Nimona takes place in a modern/futuristic world that still follows the political structure of the medieval period, like Knights of the realm. One particular hopeful Knight, Ballister Boldheart (voiced by Oscar winner Riz Ahmed), is of common lineage and not normally allowed to rise to being a knight, but as a child the queen herself saw greatness in him and has approved of it happening. On the day of bestowing the honor on several new Knights, Ballister is framed for killing the Queen and is now on the run. One of those now forced to bring him in is his own love interest, and new knight himself, Ambrosius Goldenloin (Eugene Lee Yang). While hiding out and trying to figure out how to clear his name, Ballistar is approached by a very tough and bombastic girl called Nimona (Chloe Grace Moretz). She says she’ll help Ballister find the killer if she can be his sidekick from then on. He really doesn’t have a choice, she is just such a large presence and insistent person. Oh...and she also can shape shift into, seemingly, any living creature. Which does freak Ballister out for a while. Now the two of them have to evade the authorities and learn who was behind killing the queen. As this story unfolds we also learn of Nimona’s origins and her own pain and loss. Which does all tie together in the final minutes of the story.
While I don’t think Nimona is anything amazing, I will say that it’s not like anything else out there. The futuristic/Medieval setting is interesting and the heartbreaking backstory of Nimona’s works very well too. The rest is fairly exciting with trips into silliness here and there. The voice cast works great, especially Chloe Grace Mortetz voice performance as Nimona. She has such a range of emotion and they all seem sincere and real. Riz Ahmed is good too. I don’t think I’ve seen him in anything else where he was able to be silly like this and he’s quite good. The rest of the cast includes Eugene Lee Yang, Frances Conroy, and Beck Bennett. Now I’m rarely a fan of Back Bennett. Not because he isn’t talented, it’s that he has made a career of being the overly macho, but clueless character, which he portrayed a lot of during his time on SNL. His Launchpad McQuack on Ducktails and now this, other than his character in Nimona being more mean than clueless, are kind of the same. He has found a niche, but I’d like to see him show us he can do something else. Another SNL alum Sarah Sherman, along with Lorraine Toussaint, and RuPaul turn up in small roles too. So, there is some serious talent in this voice cast and it does go a long way toward selling the story to the viewer. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the CG animation style of this film, but it doesn't ruin the experience.
The overall message of the film is “be your genuine self”, or “who you are is ok”. In this story the fact that Ballister and Ambrosius (I’m sorry but could Ambrosius Goldenloin have a gayer sounding name?) are a couple is not the issue, it’s Nimona and her being labeled a “monster” and shunned and feared for who she is that takes focus. Yes, Pixar’s Turning Red did cover very similar material just a couple years back and I think it’s a slightly better film. Unlike Turning Red’s Meilin, I feel that Nimona’s trauma is much deeper and darker. Turning Red is an allegory for puberty while Nimona deals with being shunned and feared for who she is and her own fear and anger over who she is. I think the last act of Nimona does a nice job of showing her being accepted by others and, more importantly, being happy with who she is herself. I hope the kids who need to see this movie get the chance to see it and I hope it’s not so obvious to the parents of children who teach them to hate others because they’re different. Nimona is a good movie, with a good message.
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