Who knew that this year’s best animated movie (okay, maybe not including Across the Spider-Verse) would be a Netflix original. Obviously there’s still a lot of 2023 to go, but it’s highly unlikely that there will be anything quite this sharp and relevant in the next five months or so. That’s just fact.
Based on a graphic novel of the same name, Nimona takes place in a weird old-timey/futuristic hybrid setting… that actually really works. The film begins when a newly established knight is framed for killing the realm’s Queen, and he goes on the run in order to evade angry townsfolk. Along the way, he meets Nimona: a strange, shape-shifting teenage girl, who vows to help him clear his name.
What’s that? A rare Netflix Movie W? Genuinely, dropping this movie might be the biggest loss Disney has suffered in the past decade. For context, this is a film that was originally written and produced by Disney, but dropped when almost completed due to the studio not wanting to associate itself with the queer community so overtly. I don’t know for sure, but they’re clearly convinced that they’ll lose a large portion of their audience if they start being too “woke”. Dumb. But anyway…
What I’m saying is, it’s absolutely crazy that Disney dropped the fabulous Nimona due to the film’s LGBTQ+ themes, yet they were perfectly fine with releasing Elemental; a movie that was super average on the whole but at least it had a “heterosexual” relationship, right? For the record, Nimona is ten times better, homo or no homo.
Most refreshingly, this movie is honestly funny. Not only is it filled with puns and zingy one-liners, but the animation itself only adds to the humour. Speaking of, aesthetically, Nimona is so unique. This weird, mish-mash of a medieval-modernistic world is so inventive, with the animation showcasing hints of Spider-Verse inventiveness. I’m so happy that there’s so much variety in the animated world of film at the moment, and this film fits into that trend perfectly.
On the face of it, the plot seems pretty simple. (Knight inadvertently kills Queen, then tries to clear his name). But everything unravels in such a weird and wonderful way that takes you in a completely different by the end of it. With maybe her best performance since Kick-Ass, Chloe Grace Moretz is the perfect person for the job, and her voice alone makes you happy to go along on this adventure with her. (Plus, the legendary Frances Conroy makes a brilliant co-star).
Overall, Nimona is an almost perfect movie. Were it to be shortened by 5 to 10 minutes, it might well be the best animated movie I’ve seen in years, and even despite that, it’s right up there with the best. In this case, Disney’s loss is absolutely Netflix’s gain.
Nimona is currently available to stream on Netflix in the UK.
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Overall Enjoyability Rating: ½
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