Nimona

I went in knowing nothing of the comics or the troubled production history, so I didn't have any expectations. I thought this would be just an entertaining animation movie on par with most Pixar products as I thought it would have more of an edge than Disney movies. So I was very pleasantly surprised by the originality and quality of Nimona! Yes, some parts are a bit predictable but in this day and age that's almost impossible to avoid so that's not an issue for me. But the rest, from the story to the directing and of course the gorgeous animation, is top notch and made me sad it was already over when the end credits rolled out! Highly recommended!

In a technologically advanced kingdom, the kingdom and its citizens are protected by an institute of knights who carry on the traditions set forth by their heroine Gloreth who as legend held slayed a monster to protect a village. Ballister Blackheart (Riz Ahmend) has trained to be such a knight despite his lack of noble heritage but has been given the opportunity with the support of the Queen (Lorrain Toussaint) and his fellow knight and lover Ambrosius Goldenloin (Eugene Lee Yang). When Ballister is framed for the Queen's assassination he finds himself a wanted fugitive and loses his arm at Ambrosius' hand. As Ballister starts making plans to unravel who framed him, he attracts the attention of shapeshifter Nimona (Chloe Grace Moretz) who wishes to be a sidekick to a "supervillain" and believes Ballister fits the bill, despite Ballister's assertions that he's not one. With Nimona's help, Ballister unravels revelations about what truly happened.

Nimona is the long awaited adaptation of the 2015 graphic novel of the same name by ND Stevenson that was originally published in a series of chapters on Tumblr. Nimona was acquired by 20th Century Fox's animation division shortly after publication of its graphic novel form and actually made it through a significant part of development until of course Disney bought Fox and shut down Blue Sky Studios and many in development projects with Nimona being among them despite being about 75% complete at the time. According to former staffers Disney pushed back on the film's LGBTQ themes and the same sex kiss which may have been a factor in cancelling it. Thankfully like other cancelled animated Fox projects like The Magician's Elephant the forthcoming Escape from Hat, and the in development adaptation of Eric Powell's The Goon, Nimona found itself revived as a collaboration between Annpurna Pictures and Netflix and after an 8 year journey and I'm happy to say it was well worth the wait.

First on a purely technical level, Nimona looks fantastic. The creative team have done a fantastic job adapting the simple but charming art style of Stevenson's comic and with the film's mixture of cel shading and shadows it really does feel like a graphic novel come to life with some dynamic movements and designs that are truly breathtaking to look at. The animation on Nimona is especially to be commended because the way she moves and shifts from one form to another is near pitch perfect in its execution which is further complimented by the expressive faces each of the characters has that offers a wide range of emotions. Artistically speaking, the Kingdom in Nimona is a really unique take which I can only describe as "Medieval Futuristic" and its very much a mixture of Princess Bride by way of Blade Runner in terms of its mixture of fairy tale iconography mixed with holographic billboards and hover cars that creates a world that's got some many amazing details intermixed to make this feel like a living breathing world.

But Nimona doesn't rest on its visuals alone and they're in service of a great story with compelling characters. While needless to say the creative team have made some changes adapting the episodic graphic novel to fit in a feature film narrative, the story's core remains very much in tact even in spite of little details and side characters having been excised for the sake of a more focused narrative. Riz Ahmed is quite good as Ballister and his relationship with Ambrosius equally well played by Eugene Lee Yang is an endearing one that you do get invested in and it's probably been slightly strengthened in translation as the film starts off more tonally consistent as opposed to Nimona which started off more anarchic and silly while gradually getting darker (not a criticism of the book, they're both good in their own way). But at the center is undeniably Chloe Grace Moretz as Nimona who is pitch perfect in her casting and delivery. Moretz does incredibly well in the role as her rapid fire and hard edged delivery is well complimented by the animation team in a manner that reminded me of the perfect marriage of animation and performance that went into Robin Williams' Genie from Aladdin. Moretz gets some solid laughs out of her appetite for destruction, but she also gives us a heartbreaking undercurrent to her performance that we see more of as it's revealed her abrasive edge is a shroud for her inner pain. All these characters and threads culminate in a really satisfying way and I won't dare spoil it for you.

Nimona is a great animated film in a year where solid animation hasn't exactly been in short supply. I really can't say enough good about this film other than you owe it to yourselves to see it. Funny, exciting, heartbreaking, visually interesting. At this point I'm just repeating myself.

There is no doubt that Nimona is a movie aimed at a younger audience. That being said, I, as a 32 year old man, and enjoyed it thoroughly. Aside from the usual action packed high jinks you would expect from a fast paced story such as this, there are a number of twists in the story that I didn't see coming, as well as a few humorous moments that caught me off guard. Usually, movies like this fall under the banner of "fun, but predictable". That label does not apply to Nimona. The story feels refreshing. It takes things that feel familiar and gives them a new twist. Kudos to the writers.

Speaking of Nimona, the titular character of this movie, she is definitely the big draw of this movie. Watching Nimona, it's clear that a lot, if not most of the animation budget went into animating her character specifically. Add to this the voice acting of the very talented and experienced Chloë Grace Moretz and you have quite a gem on your hands. Her voice is like bubblegum. It feels like she can do just about anything with it. Her character is tragic in a way, and you really empathise with her sense of loneliness. All the other characters are well voiced and animated as well, with the character of Ballister functioning as the "straight man" (ironic term I know) to her wacky antics. This balance, though it's definitely been done before, works well.

As for the visual style and the animation. It's all computer work (no motion capture on the faces far as I could tell), and at times it does look a little "video gamey" to me. This seems to have become a standard in the industry, especially when it comes to platforms like Netflix, so I won't complain about it for too long. The animation itself is definitely very well done. It's always lively and never feels stilted. I read that Nimona faced some production issues, so I suppose we should all be glad it even got made. I must say I really enjoyed the soundtrack as well. It really hit during some of those more somber beats in the story especially.

I would recommend this movie to just about anyone.

I had to travel a very long way to catch this in the cinemas as it will only be a week and it's gone, but really worth the long journey for his super fun, super fantastic animated film from Annapurna and Netflix. Animation by Blue Sky Studios who were shut down, but finished by DNEG Animation.

Ballister Boldheart voiced by the brilliant Riz Ahmed, is framed for murder, he goes on he run, and a girl, called Nimona, played with such comic energy by Chloë Grace Moretz, wants to help, total chaos rains.

Like Spiderverse, it comes out firing, with such great fun, a simple great story along with some stunning great visuals, all thanks to the production design, which a mix of classic Disney of 'Sleeping Beauty" done in a French pastel like animation style, and it is just brilliant.

Chloë Grace Moretz, really went mad fun doing, the nutty but loveable Nimona, Riz Ahmed plays it cool and quirky, Frances Conroy is very stern, Lorraine Toussaint, is royal like.

The hour and 41 minutes runtime goes quick, it's very lean and does not, like a great deal of films need any editing. I just wish this was showing in IMAX as this would look and sound epic, some great action sets and great soundtrack.. Worth the hunt at the cinema. Based on a Graphic novel which I have to check out.

This animated movie is an adventure. The design of the world blends high-tech with mediaeval while mixing in a pop punk soundtrack that propels the on-screen action to a break-neck pace at times.

This leaves us with a fantasy show suitable for kids but with a deeper message regarding tolerance, propaganda and control that adults will find themselves reflecting on after the mayhem has stopped.

The tone can vary from Saturday morning cartoon silliness to the heartbreaking effects of isolation and loneliness, without inducing whiplash due to the carefully built characters on all sides of the story.

Highly recommended. I just hope they release the complete soundtrack soon.