Can we just be grateful this one actually made it out of the production hell it was in? The combo of a corporate takeover, a pandemic, and corporate finances led to animation studio Blue Sky (the Ice Age franchise) being shut down when the project was over 75% complete. The project was dropped and ultimately picked up by Annapurna Pictures. DNeg Animation Studios (Ron Gone Wrong (2021)) was brought in to finish the production.
And this is a gem of a movie – which did have a one week theatrical engagement, just not over here. This would have so amazing on the big screen, like at least a one month theatrical release worldwide. It would be have been so successful. This is such a fun movie, even if it is laden with the kind of controversies that would have kept it from the cinematic screens here, like Lightyear or Thor: Love and Thunder.
There are many ways to read into the character of Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz), a shapeshifter that often looks like a young girl, but actually isn’t; female, but not; a person, but not; Nimona is generally viewed as, and often called, a monster, but that’s really a matter of perception. How you are seen and how you behave is at the core of the story, both a simple concept and yet complex.
Familiar with the way people perceive her, Nimona ends up with Ballister (Riz Ahmed), a would-be knight of the realm who is considered a villain when he is set up to murder to Queen. Because of his status as a commoner, he was never regarded as a true contender to be a knight by the populace, much less his fellow trainees, except for golden boy Ambrosius (Eugene Lee Yang).
And just to highlight the overall production design and world-building, the setting is a kind of advanced medieval world where we have knights in armour armed with swords and crossbows, but also there is advanced technology like subways, flying cars, digital screens and mobile devices. Everything looks well blended too, having the archaic and futuristic together with an anarchic shape-shifter at the core of the story.
Anarchy is Nimona’s modus operandi, causing all sorts of chaos at any opportunity, reined in by Ballister’s sensibilities that are often challenged. Nimona’s evil ways is a result of the perception of the people, the effect of a causation and over a thousand years of customs and behaviours that were being brought into question by the Queen. The conditions of right and wrong are as fluid as Nimona’s form. The same applies to Ballister.
As with all good fables, there are allegories to be drawn depending on your own status and where you are in the world. Not everyone is going to draw the same controversies and conclusions regarding Nimona, and it is a good stepping stone to higher level discussions. But as perception is everything with Nimona, what you get depends on what you bring to it and what your own biases are.
Chloë Grace Moretz and Riz Ahmed are a fascinating double act here with Moretz (so underrated as a star) shining bright with her vocal performance, appearing to have tons of fun with the character, and the animation seems to reflect that… or is it vice versa. As mentioned above, Nimona is fairly anarchic, irreverent in behaviour and action for the most part. Yet, there is an underlying cause for effect, which makes the final act all the more poignant when it hits. A thousand years of conditional societal behaviour can do that.
The animation is different, taking on a cell-shaded aesthetic that works wonders. Each character have their little characteristic bits that come up, with Nimona having more than others. If this was a direction Blue Sky was taking their projects, they could have had another success or two instead of being shut down by Disney.
So, again, let’s be grateful Nimona exists as a movie.
Rating: 🦏🐳🦍🕊1/2 /5
Directed by Nick Bruno, Troy Quane
Written by Robert L. Baird, Lloyd Taylor, Pamela Ribon
From a story by Robert L. Baird, Lloyd Taylor, Pamela Ribon, Marc Haimes, Troy Quane, Keith Bunin
Based on the Graphic Novel by ND (Noelle) Stevenson
Stars (vocally) Chloë Grace Moretz, Riz Ahmed, Eugene Lee Yang, Frances Conroy, Julio Torres, Mia Collins, and Lorraine Toussaint
I’ve written a Syndi-Jean movie script and it is available to read for free!
Details are on my twitter feed, or check out the books (links below)!
Get all three!
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Learn more here.
Berning Away 
[…] Most modern comedies still play with tropes and cliches, but often from a storytelling viewpoint rather than those that came before; trying to build whole movies out of a singular trope. Threading the fine line of satire is where the new Barbie movie exist. It satirically skewers certain ideas, partially empowering some viewers while others would find offence. But, that’s comedy. It’s not meant to be taken so seriously, even if you want to. That’s on you as a viewer, an audience member, a participant to the presentation, as it touches on your own biases. It is meant to poke fun at certain topics, often presenting a different (usually skewered) viewpoint to the point of absurdity. Yet, some people just need to be outraged. Usually, it’s because they feel personally attacked despite the absurdity of how it is presented or relayed. The Barbie movie does tackle these absurdities of gender perfections in our society head-on and equally. Barbie (Margot Robbie) is dealing with trying to be the perfect woman in a world where the matriarchy strives, while Ken (Ryan Gosling) is trying to be the perfect man as viewed through the eyes of society in a world where the patriarchy basically doesn’t exist. The extreme absurdities of both worlds is presented here in a fairly balanced way, as the real world intrudes on their ‘perfect’ world. It is not something that speaks to just one culture or nation or even belief system. It is open to interpretation based on your own experiences and lifestyle, and the movie smartly does not present any easy solutions. It simply presents the problems that decades or even centuries of indoctrination and education has resulted in that which is now ingrained in societal behaviour. The rest is on you. For an alternate presentation on that issue, watch the excellent Nimona. […]
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