NIMONA - Mark Reviews Movies

Nimona, Netflix

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Review by Mark Dujsik | June 29, 2023

The filmmakers of Nimona might have gotten by to some degree on the virtues of the film's unique world and compelling sense of style. However, this animated adaptation of ND Stevenson's graphic novel goes beyond its obvious aesthetic qualities.

There's a thoughtful story here, bolstered by a pair of surprisingly rich characters, about how a society that's built upon tradition and strict hierarchies will inevitably identify and look down upon those whom it can deem "others." If that makes this film sound a bit heavy-handed, it's also, though, a clever adventure about a man who's wrongly accused of being a villain and a shape-shifter who has maybe a bit too much fun playing at villainy.

Despite the increasing depth of this story, the best place to start with this film, perhaps, is its backdrop and look. It's set in a kingdom that, about a thousand years ago, looked and operated much like a Medieval realm that we might imagine from some legend or myth. The prologue here unfolds by way of an old, illustrated tome describing an ancient battle between humans and dragons, in which humankind is victorious thanks to the rise of a single hero named Gloreth. She was a mighty warrior whose story, virtues, and example have come to serve as the foundation for this kingdom ever since.

A millennium later, that means the city has retained its basic structure, with large stone edifices surrounding assorted homes and business within a series of towering walls that protect the place from the harsh world beyond its borders. Technology has evolved, though, despite the kingdom's locked-off status, meaning that flying vehicles make up most of the traffic of the city, while giant video billboards offer advertising and news updates to the population. It's a place that seems advanced in every conceivable way, except that it's fundamentally an old-fashioned society with strict rules, codes of honor, and something that almost seems like a caste system dividing nobles from the commoners.

All of this makes a certain sense, both on a practical level and especially on a thematic one. The look of the film, directed by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane, is inspired, too. With computer animation implemented to give the characters and backdrops the texture and feel of a more hand-drawn style, the film looks as cohesive and detailed as its story turns out to be.

The story proper begins on the day of the Queen dubbing new knights into the kingdom's elite group of soldiers, who still follow the traditions of their ancestors—from wearing suits of armor to wielding great broadswords, although the newer models have a fancy technological glow to them. On this day, tradition will be broken in a significant way.

One of the soon-to-be knights is Ballister Boldheart (voice of Riz Ahmed), an orphan who was born as a commoner but spent his life proving himself as an ideal candidate for knighthood. After being inducted into the elite guard, though, the handle of Ballister's sword, unbeknownst to the new knight, opens to reveal another weapon that kills the Queen.

After losing his arm to the sword of his boyfriend Ambrosius Goldenloin (voice of Eugene Lee Yang) and being accused of regicide, Ballister is thrown into the dungeon. He's rescued by Nimona (voice of Chloë Grace Moretz), a plucky, anarchistic young woman with pink hair, a punk attitude, and pointy canine teeth. She wants to become Ballister's sidekick for what she believes to be his revolutionary aims. Returning to his hideout and manufacturing a mechanical arm for himself, Ballister just wants to clear his name before being captured again by the knights, led by the Director (voice of Frances Conroy).

Nimona, by the way, is also a shape-shifter—capable of transforming into a variety of hot pink animals and taking the form of other people when necessary. It's a fun gimmick, especially in the way her abilities come into play in the plot's assorted chase and action sequences (turning into an armadillo to launch herself at an opponent or into a whale to smash through some doors, with the unexpected bonus of dropping quickly to the ground floor of a castle). Just as Ballister's class background makes him a subject of derision and suspicion, though, there's more to Nimona's powers—namely in the way that people perceive her and react to someone as markedly "different" from the norm.

The screenplay by Robert L. Baird and Lloyd Taylor is particularly smart in the way it allows these two characters to grow with and adapt to each other, as each one's initial assumptions about the other are challenged by this necessary bond. Nimona assumes Ballister is a villain, mainly because he's suspected of regicide but partly because of his background, and he presumes, after living in a society founded upon an establishing myth of fighting against monsters, that she must be one.

It's a genuine surprise how much depth these characters are gradually afforded, especially since Ballister begins as a sort of bumbling fugitive and the humor around Nimona's personality relies a bit too heavily on some cheesy one-liners. The whole of their relationship and of the story becomes a considered allegory about how deeply prejudice can be engrained upon people, how easily it can be exploited by those in power, and how making such connections as the one at the heart of the story is a good start—but only a start, nonetheless. In digging deeper than the surfaces of this world and these characters, Nimona is more than the appeal of its polished animation.

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