OSCARS 2024: Nimona (2023)

Here's a nice story. In 2012, college student ND Stevenson began publishing a web comic on Tumblr. Entitled "Nimona," the series became popular. This caught the attention of HarperCollins, who began publishing it in physical volumes in 2015. Shortly afterwards, the film rights were purchased by Blue Sky Studios, the guys behind the "Ice Age" franchise and a subsidiary of 20th Century Fox. When Disney bought Fox, the "Nimona" movie was canceled despite being nearly completed. Fans were outraged, especially due to the unavoidable suspicions that Disney canned the film because of its queer characters. The uproar was enough to encourage Annapurna Pictures to pick up the movie and complete production, with Netflix distributing. It was a good example of the passion of fans and filmmakers overcoming corporate malfeasance. Perhaps that inspiring story also warmed the Academy's heart, as now "Nimona" is nominated for Best Animated Feature. 

A thousand years ago, Queen Gloreth built a wall around the kingdom to protect it from the monsters outside. Now, the high-tech city is further served by a legion of sci-fi knights. Among them is Ballister Boldheart, a commoner has risen to the highest rank. When Boldheart is about to be knighted, his sword leaps to life and blasts the queen. Now the most wanted fugitive in the land, Boldheart goes on the run. That's how he meets Nimona, a mischievous shapeshifter eager to become a full-fledge villain. And she thinks Boldheart is her ticket to that goal. The two form an unlikely friendship, working together to clear Boldheart's name and uproot the conspiracy within the kingdom. 

When I was a kid, I had a bunch of little knight toys that I loved. When I realized these figurines were perfectly in-scale with some old "Star Wars" and "G.I. Joe" vehicles I had, I started to conceive of a sci-fi/fantasy mash-up story. I certainly wasn't alone in finding this idea appealing. "Camelot 3000" came out in 1982 and I'm sure there are older examples of such a premise. "Nimona" fits right into this niche sub-subgenre of "knights and dragons but also robots and lightsabers." There are knights, within a feudal landscape ruled over by a queen. But they have hovercrafts, instead of horses, and laser cannons, instead of catapults. Boldheart wears a traditional suit of armor alongside a robotic arm. It's a neat juxtaposition... But also one that doesn't hold up to much scrutiny. The populace in "Nimona" have cellphones and some version of the internet exist. This makes the plot – which necessitates a general incuriosity about the world outside the kingdom's walls – harder to justify. I can maybe swallow the idea of people still using broadswords and chainmail armor in a world where heat rays and plastic polymers exist. Rule of Cool applies to any speculative setting, after all. But medieval style political hierarchies and a Dark Age conception of the world become much harder to buy into when cellphone footage leaking, television, and social media are also plot points. 

Perhaps this is nitpicking. Yet "Nimona's" mediocre world-building points towards another half-assed element of the film that bugged me. "Nimona" has been praised for its LGBT+ elements. Boldheart is in-love with Goldenloin, a direct descendant of Gloreth and another knight. The two share a loving relationship. Meanwhile, Nimona's status as a cultural outsider – who is persecuted by a society that sees her as a "monster" and has come to internalize that attitude – is clearly meant to be symbolic of queer marginalization within a heteronormative world. The film becomes more and more heavy-handed with this idea as it goes on, patterning its villains after Catholic nuns who constantly yell about how "monsters" must be destroyed. Nimona's self-hatred after years of rejection driving her down a self-destructivd path forms the dramatic crux of the final path. Yet it's so odd to me that the movie makes this symbolic journey of queer self-acceptance alongside an open gay romance. Why not make Nimona openly queer too? Why not make that part of her motivation as well? The subtext grows more muddled in a last act that seems to suggest gay people sacrificing themselves to protect straight society is the only way to be accepted. I don't think that's the point the filmmakers set out to make. Yet its another good example of how the internal logic of this story and world could've been thought out better. 

Ultimately, I'll admit that “Nimona” took a while to win me over. The film begins with a tidal wave of exposition, to quickly establish its world and characters. Before we eve have time to learn much about Boldheart, the plot is set in-motion by him being framed for murder. Once Nimona herself appears, she's bouncing around the place in a manic manner, telling lots of jokes and acting abrasive. “Nimona” suffers badly from a style of humor that some refer to as “Whedon-esque,” though I think it has more in common with the pale imitators of Whedon. One of the antagonist peppers his speech with “bros.” The film piles on wacky incidents like Nimona turning into a creepy kid with glowing eyes or a dragon that spews breakfast cereal. At times, especially in the early parts of the runtime, it all becomes rather overwhelming. And, to be frank, annoying.

Despite its many, many flaws, “Nimona” does succeed when focusing on its central relationship. When played by Riz Ahmed, Boldheart acts as the comedic straight man to Chloe Grace Moretz' Nimona. While the character threatens to become obnoxious at any number of times, Nimona is ultimately the kind of heroine I'm predisposed to love. She puts up a tough, thorny exterior in order to protect a sad, vulnerable heart. When the movie gets at the heart of this unlikely friendship, in little moments like Boldheart pulling a blanket over a sleeping Nimona, is when the movie is at its best. Not the manic coic set pieces, sarcastic dialogue, or all-over-the-place plot. 

I've seen people both praise and dismiss “Nimona's” animation style. It's certainly not up to the standards of the “Spider-Verse” films or its imitators, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” or “Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.” The animation is at its best when detailing quirky facial expressions for its character. The models look like standard CGI cartoon characters and the attempt to add a stylized, cell-shaded look to the animation is not always successful. Still, I've seen much worst animation in bigger budget movies. I wish I liked “Nimona” more, as its fans are clearly passionate. I would say it's a film whose positive moments are far outshined by its weaknesses. [6/10]