We live in a world that teaches us to be scared of anything different. Past generations have raised us to look after our own and shun any and all races, cultures, places, and even media that skirts an archaic definition of normality. This leads to an abundance of ignorance and lack of compassion, even as the wider world tries ꦺto tell us it’s becoming more 🌟accepting.
It can be hard for those who exist outside the box to keep on going when those within it are soꦜ eager to label them as illegitimate oddities, but finding somewhere to belong is worth the struggle. At ti🐟mes, you want to give up, but films like Nimona teach us that we’re never alone.
I’ve been a fan of ND Stevenson’s graphic novel since it was first being published as a cute little webcomic, and to see it achieve publication, win awards, and finally earn this animated film adaptation after years of production troubles warms my heart. Blue Sky Studios closed down shortly after Disney acquired Fox, meaning that version of Nimona nearing completion was suddenly lost to time. A film which put queer characters and diverse storytelling at the forefront was robbed of a chance of life thanks to the wills of capitalism. So, to see it brought back from the dead by Annapurna and Netflix is a heroic twist of fate perfectly befitting the character. While this adaptation isn't perfect, it’s a bold retelling of a timeless narrative.
While the film takes some creative liberties with the origina꧑l plot, it remains loyal to themes of challenging authority, questioning prejudice, and the malleable nature of 🔯our own identities. It follows Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed) as he’s framed for the murder of The Institute’s one and only Queen. He’s immediately labelled an outcast and hunted down by lover Ambrosius Goldenloin (Eugene Lee Yang) and the entire dystopian city in which he exists.
The second it becomes clear that Ballister stepped out of line, even if it wasn’t by his own volition, in this world the only solution is to bring him to justice, all while ensuring regular citizens are drawn into a perpetual state of fear and hate that stokes out any potential flames of change. From the outside, there are immediate parallels to be made with our own world Nimona wants us to take notice of. If you’re different in looks, identity, or sexuality, chances are you’re othered into 🌊a position of shame and ridicule, a tired routine this film does everything it can to uproot.
Boldheart shortly stumbles across Nimona (Chloe Grace Moretz) who also happens to be a rebellious shapeshifter with a rampant desire to become a villain’s sidekick. In reality, she just doesn’t want to be alone. Her ability to take on the form of any living being is constantly seen as a diversion from normality as she’s labelled a monster, a freak, and not a girl. Nimona can be viewed as none and all of tꩲhese things, and is sick and tired of everyone in life seeing her as a dangerous creature to ꦯbe afraid of.
She loves metal music and causing a ruckus, but in her heart sits a lonely individual desperate to be recognised after centuries of bigotry. You’ll be beaten over the head with this message of struggling to🌠 keep moving forward as change feels unattainable, and the only way to instigate things is to destroy the foundations entirely. Most people aren’t knowingly ignorant, but are instead conditioned into believing what those above them view as right and wrong because it benefits them and them alone.
Nimona is a kick in the teeth to that philosophy, and wants us to both understand the other side and ensure they get an appropriate kicking. It works, and the world it takes place in is spectacular. The Institute is a bastion of stark mediaeval futurism. Knights in shining armour can be seen riding mechanical horses or firing crossbows outfitted with laser beams. This is a modern world occupied by smartphones and televisions, but it also harkens back to a rural humbleness of farmhands toiling the land to make a living. This🧸 dissonance is proof that our society progressing in terms of technological capability doesn’t always result in people and corporations becoming more accepting, if anything it only gives them further means to weed out those who don’t belong. Certain parts of the world and specific characters lack a certain visual flair, although I can’t fault Nimona for how effectively it translates the source material.
Stevenson has said that Nimona wasn’t always intended as a trans story. But in the years since it has taken on a greater meaning, one brimming with a cathartic sense of belonging in a theoretical society that grimly reflects our own. All the while also teasing a potential future lined with hopeful optimism. Nimona might be transforming into whales to annihilate the symbols of authority that hold her down, buౠt she’s a right to make herself heard while changing the conversation in a world so determined to misunderstand her. She also turns into a shark and does a lit🥂tle dance on a table, which alone makes this film a winner.
