Netflix and Annapurna acquired the unfinished animated film "Nimona" from Blue Sky before they went under, and now it's a Netflix release. And thank goodness, because this may have been a bad fit for Disney, but it's a perfect fit for Netflix. It's a fantasy action film set in a medieval kingdom, but one that's been built for a cyberpunk era, and if you squint you could mistake it for "Arcane." It's aimed at an older audience than the usual CGI animated media, isn't afraid to get dark and angry, and features major LGBT characters, along with a scrappy, bratty, irresistible antiheroine.
Newly knighted Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed) is framed for the death of the Queen (Lorraine Toussaint), forcing him to go into hiding, and attracting the attention of a shapeshifter named Nimona (Chloe Grace Moretz). She thinks he's a villain, and is determined to make herself his sidekick. Her bloodthirsty plotting and eagerness for chaos initially put Ballister off, because he's trying to prove his innocence to the interim leader and head of the knights, The Director (Frances Conroy). However, Nimona is awfully handy to have around for jailbreaks, finding and questioning suspects, and evading the guy responsible for capturing Ballister - who happens to also be his ex - Ambrosius Goldenloin (Eugene Lee Yang).
Annapurna doesn't have the resources of the bigger animation studios, and "Nimona" is noticeably cutting some corners when it comes to its animation. It's using a similar style to "Klaus" and "Bad Guys," with 3D mimicking 2D, which looks great when it comes to the flashy action scenes with Nimona changing into different cartoon animals in the blink of an eye. However, there are some sequences that are noticeably a step down from the others, and the environments are especially rough looking. "Nimona" had its original production interrupted by the Disney acquisition of Blue Sky, and subsequently much of the first creative team and pipeline was replaced. The characters and the writing, fortunately, help to shore up the rougher patches.
Boy do I love Nimona. She's a hilarious, rebellious, preteen punk, who has been ostracized for being a "monster" like Shrek. But unlike Shrek, Nimona really wants to be accepted, and has a far, far harder time coping when she's not. The film gets much darker portraying Nimona's mental and emotional state than I was expecting, though the ND Stevenson "Nimona" webcomic is reportedly even more fraught. All but the last act is kept light and fun, though, with Nimona doing her best to win Ballister over to the side of evil and villainy. A lot of the humor comes from contrasting her gleeful willingness to jump into trouble with Ballister's nervous caution. Nimona enjoys thumbing her nose at authority and stirring up trouble, but when push comes to shove she still has a loving heart underneath.
It's fascinating to watch such a familiar story of acceptance and tolerance take place in such a diverse fantasy world. Ballister and Ambrosius are a couple with a same sex romance that plays out exactly the way it does in every animated PG film with a straight romance. The knights include all genders, with both the Director and the kingdom's legendary hero, Gloreth, being female. Most of the character designs are modeled after their voice actors, a noticeably multi-ethnic bunch. However, there's a wall around the kingdom that nobody ever ventures across for fear of monsters, and Nimona's core trauma comes from being mistreated whenever anyone figures out that she's not human. The kingdom is pretty egalitarian and accepting, but still has its share of blind spots, and is capable of devastating cruelty.
"Nimona" is really something special. Yet again, this is the kind of riskier animated film the bigger studios should be making, but almost never do. Netflix and Annapurna coming to its rescue is one of the few feel-good success stories of this summer movie season, but part of me is still sad "Nimona" didn't get to be Blue Sky's swan song with a full theatrical release. At least on Netflix, it'll find its audience quicker, and hopefully lead to more films like it.
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