The animated adaptation of ND Stevenson’s award-winning graphic novel Nimona almost didn’t happen. In 2021, Disney closed Blue Sky, the studio that was making the film. But a year later, Netflix and Annapurna came to the rescue—hinting that the movie would be ready in 2023.
And here we are, with a first look and a release date! This little teaser is light on story but big on attitude, which is really what we’re here for: Nimona and her particular brand of chaos. Why be a little orders-taking bird when you can big a big chaos dragon—or anything at all?
Here’s the synopsis:
When Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed), a knight in a futuristic medieval world, is framed for a crime he didn’t commit, the only one who can help him prove his innocence is Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz), a mischievous teen with a taste for mayhem—who also happens to be a shapeshifting creature Ballister has been trained to destroy. But with the entire kingdom out to get him, Nimona’s the best (or technically the only) sidekick Ballister can hope for. And as the lines between heroes, villains, and monsters start to blur, the two of them set out to wreak serious havoc—for Ballister to clear his name once and for all, and for Nimona to… just wreak serious havoc.
I will never get over how good the names in this world are. The synopsis leaves out the even more deliciously monikered Ambrosius Goldenloin (Eugene Lee Yang), the hero of the kingdom.
But the teaser has one very frustrating element: Animated Nimona has been slimmed down. Book-Nimona has wide hips and solid thighs, in glorious contrast to so many comics women with improbable proportions. The Nimona in this poster might not be as skinny as most modern cartoon or comics characters, but she’s certainly not the girl from the book:
What is appealing, though, is the animation: It’s not trying to be Stevenson’s very particular style, but it doesn’t look quite like anything else, either. At least not when we’re watching Nimona make up stories of chaos and destruction!
Nimona is directed by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane. IMDb lists a whole pile of writers: Robert L. Baird and Lloyd Taylor get screenplay credit; Baird, Taylor, Pamela Ribon, Nick Bruno, Troy Quane, Keith Bunin, and Marc Haimes are credited with the story.
Hopefully we’ll get a more substantial trailer before Nimona debuts on Netflix on June 30th.
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