A fantasy adventure with riot grrrl energy in ‘Nimona’
A powerful, shape-shifting teenage girl and a disgraced knight-in-training suspected of murdering a beloved queen are at the heart of “Nimona,” a vibrant and irreverent animated adventure set in a futuristic fantasy realm.
It’s a familiar story – a society ruled by old rules and a crippling fear of outsiders – even by recent Netflix animation standards (see “The Sea Beast”). But “Nimona” comes in exciting new packaging with a wildly fun soundtrack that includes Metric, Dope Saint Jude, and Judas Priest, LGBTQ+ themes that aren’t awkwardly subtle, and charismatic lead voice actors in Chloë Grace Moretz and Riz Ahmed. There is also a supporting character named Ambrosius Goldenloin. Ambrose. Golden loin. He has blonde, wavy hair and is voiced by Eugene Lee Yang from The Try Guys.
A little anti, a little hero. ‘Nimona’, only on Netflix from June 30.
The fraught saga of getting “Nimona” to the public could be its own epic movie. The hit graphic novel by ND Stevenson first entered development in 2015 at Blue Sky Studios and was inherited by Disney in 2019 as part of its acquisition of Fox. Despite seismic shifts and leadership changes, work continued. Then in 2021, when the film was reported to be 75% complete, Disney announced that Blue Sky Studios would close and “Nimona” would be shelved. Adding to the economic hardships of the pandemic, Business Insider reported that Disney’s leadership disagreed with a same-sex kiss. Then Annapurna and Netflix stepped in, with new directors (Nick Bruno, Troy Quane), and brought “Nimona” to the finish line (but also without a kiss).
Moretz is the voice of Nimona, a chaos-loving radical who sees a fellow outsider fall horribly from grace and thinks, “I need to team up with this guy.” The outsider in question is Ballister Boldheart (Ahmed), a boy from the street who dreamed of being a knight, a position traditionally reserved for members of a certain class or descendants of an ancient, revered warrior named Gloreth, who lived 1,000 years. ago saved the kingdom from a monster. Despite the odds and prejudices, he rose through the ranks and almost made it.
At the “Night to Knight Knights,” a major televised event featuring futuristic Super Bowl halftime show-meets-“Blade Runner”/”Hunger Games” production levels, audiences are still unconvinced about Ballister – they scoff at him don’t’ I don’t deserve it and won’t keep them safe. The only people on his side are his friend, the aforementioned Ambrosius Goldenloin, and the Queen. But during the ceremony things quickly go wrong: the sword he gave kills his most public champion, the Queen, in front of everyone and no one gives him the benefit of the doubt. He’s a queen killer and that’s that.
Ballister is hesitant to team up with Nimona – he wants to prove his innocence and she doesn’t seem like the best way back into society. But she also has some very useful abilities, being able to transform into anything and anyone – an adult, a child, a rhinoceros – and single-handedly defeat a dozen men without much effort. Plus, she’s much more fun than the mean-spirited bros and icy leaders of the Institute. Moretz, it should be noted, is an excellent voice actor who brings real life and punk energy to Nimona. And there are some real twists and turns on the way to the solution that are best just experienced for yourself.
The release is certainly scheduled to coincide with Pride, but it happens that LGBTQ+ rights are also under fire again in the country. This might not push the envelope much beyond recent animated forays into more blatant depictions of same-sex relationships, but it’s another small step in the right direction that always helps when the movie is good too.
Netflix may not have initiated “Nimona,” but it won by eventually releasing it.
“Nimona,” a Netflix limited release on Friday and streaming on June 30, has been rated PG by the Motion Picture Association for “violence/action, crude humor, thematic elements, and some language.” Running time: 101 minutes. Three out of four stars.
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MPA Definition of PG: Parental guidance suggested.
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Follow AP film writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr.
