Nimona is a 2023 American animated science fantasy action-adventure film directed by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane and written by Robert L. Baird and Lloyd Taylor, based on the 2015 graphic novel by ND Stevenson. Set in a medieval-futuristic kingdom, the film features the voices of Chloë Grace Moretz as the eponymous shapeshifting character and Riz Ahmed as her boss and former knight Ballister, with Eugene Lee Yang, RuPaul Charles, Indya Moore, Julio Torres, Frances Conroy, and Lorraine Toussaint voicing supporting roles. The story follows Ballister who, after he is framed for the murder of the Queen, teams up with Nimona on a mission to clear his name.
Originally a production of Blue Sky Studios, it was set to be directed by Patrick Osborne, with an initial release date of 2020. Following the Walt Disney Company's acquisition of 21st Century Fox, the parent company of Blue Sky, it was delayed a couple times before being canceled due to Blue Sky's closure in April 2021. However, Annapurna Pictures revived the project the following year, with Bruno and Quane announced as directors, DNEG Animation providing animation, and Netflix acquiring worldwide distribution. Christophe Beck was hired to compose the film's rock-inspired score.
Nimona had its world premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 14, 2023, was released in select theaters on June 23, and made its streaming debut on June 30. The film received critical acclaim and was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Critics' Choice Awards, Annie Awards, and Academy Awards.
Plot
The citizens of a medieval-futuristic kingdom are protected by the Institute for Elite Knights, established by the legendary heroine Gloreth, who vanquished a "Great Black Monster" and enclosed the kingdom with a high wall one thousand years ago.
Ballister Boldheart is the first commoner to become a knight, as Queen Valerin is trying to change tradition so that "anyone can be a hero". During the ceremony, a laser shot from Ballister's sword kills Valerin. Ballister's boyfriend and fellow knight, Ambrosius Goldenloin, becomes distraught and disarms Ballister, dismembering Ballister's right arm in the process. Ballister becomes a fugitive.
As Ballister crafts a prosthetic replacement arm, he is visited by Nimona, a teenage outcast who has faced persecution for her shapeshifting abilities. Seeing a "villainous spirit" in Ballister, as he is facing similar treatment for his commoner origin and the murder of the Queen, Nimona declares herself to be his sidekick.
To clear Ballister's name, the duo kidnaps Diego, the squire who gave Ballister the sword. Diego gives them video evidence of the Director of the Institute secretly swapping Ballister's sword, revealing her to be the murderer. The duo confronts Ambrosius and the Director with the evidence, but the Director manipulates her knights into destroying it. Later, the Director is confronted by Ambrosius; she admits that she framed Ballister and murdered Valerin, as she steadfastly believes that strictly adhering to tradition is the only way to keep the kingdom safe from monsters. However, Ballister reveals that he has recorded the Director's confession, and "Ambrosius" turns out to be Nimona in disguise. When celebrating this in the hideout, Ballister posts it online, leading to public outcry.
The Director discovers that Nimona is the Great Black Monster defeated by Gloreth. She uses this information to convince the kingdom's citizens that it was a shapeshifted monster that had confessed in the recording, and paranoia spreads that anyone could be a monster. The real Ambrosius meets with Ballister and reveals Nimona's past, insisting that Nimona deliberately deceived Ballister. Shocked by the revelation, Ballister argues with Nimona and questions their friendship. Feeling betrayed, Nimona flees into the woods.
Stopping at an abandoned well, Nimona reminisces about her past: a thousand years ago, she wandered the world and transformed into other animals to try and fit in with the wildlife, but none of the creatures she encountered accepted her. After encountering Gloreth, who was a child at the time, Nimona transformed into a human. Gloreth and Nimona became friends, and Gloreth was accepting of Nimona's powers. However, the other citizens of Gloreth's village, including her parents, believed Nimona was a monster after discovering her abilities. The villagers attacked Nimona with torches, which accidentally set the village on fire. Gloreth, confused, became fearful of Nimona and drove her away.
With Ballister's abandonment and Gloreth's betrayal echoing in her head, Nimona transforms into the Great Black Monster. She enters the city and decides to commit suicide by impaling herself on the sword of Gloreth's statue. However, before she can do so, Ballister stops her and apologizes. Nimona changes back to human form and embraces Ballister. The kingdom's citizens see this and are moved by it, but the Director orders a massive laser cannon on the wall to be fired at Nimona. Ambrosius protests at turning the weapon on the city, which would cause widespread destruction and countless deaths. The Director then turns on the knights, using the same kind of beam that killed the Queen, and prepares to fire the cannon herself. To save the kingdom, Nimona assumes a giant, red phoenix-like form and flies into the cannon, resulting in her apparent death, as well as the death of the Director. The resulting explosion destroys part of the wall, revealing a beautiful, mountainous valley behind it.
Sometime later, the kingdom undergoes several changes: the breach in the wall has become a passageway through which citizens travel freely; Nimona and Ballister are honored as heroes; and Ballister's relationship with Ambrosius has been restored. Ballister visits his old hideout when he hears Nimona's voice, and joyfully realizes that she has survived.
Voice cast
Chloë Grace Moretz as Nimona, a shapeshifter who takes the appearance of a teenage girl. She insists on being the sidekick to Ballister Boldheart. Mia Collins voices Nimona's Demon Baby disguise. Riz Ahmed as Ballister Boldheart, a former knight for the Institution who was kicked out when he was accused of murdering Queen Valerin. Zayaan Kunwar as young Ballister Eugene Lee Yang as Ambrosius Goldenloin, the champion knight of the Institution, direct descendant of Gloreth, and Ballister's boyfriend. Frances Conroy as the Director Lorraine Toussaint as Queen Valerin Beck Bennett as Sir Thoddeus "Todd" Sureblade RuPaul Charles as Nate Knight Indya Moore as Alamzapam Davis Julio Torres as Diego the Squire Sarah Sherman as Coriander Cavaverish as Gloreth. Ryan also voices a knight version of herself, as well as providing additional voices. Charlotte Aldrich as young Gloreth. Aldrich also provides additional voices. Cindy Slattery as Syntheya - voice of the Kingdom. Slattery also provides additional voices. Sommersill Tarabek as an Institute Analyst. Tarabek also provides additional voices. Lylianna Eugene as Patience. Eugene also provides additional voices.
Other members of the production crew who voice knight versions of themselves include directors Nick Bruno and Troy Quane, Julie Zackary, Christopher Campbell, and Randy Trager; Bruno, Quane, Zackary, and Trager also provide additional voices, alongside Wesley Turner. Bruno's sons, Jarrett (who voiced young Walter Beckett from Bruno and Quane's Spies in Disguise) and Jake, voice the kids who play a board game in a commercial as well as provide additional voices, and Taryn Bruno voices a concerned citizen; Trager's relative Sadie also voices a concerned citizen, while Sebastian Trager voices the Danks Kid. Maurissa Horwitz—who also provides additional voices—and former Blue Sky editor Tim Nordquist voice the zombies in a movie Nimona and Ballister watch.
Nimona creator ND Stevenson, who also served as a co-producer and contributed additional screenplay material for the film, has a voice cameo as Kwispy Dwagon, a cartoon cereal mascot.
Production Development Blue Sky Studios
In June 2015, 20th Century Fox Animation acquired the rights for an animated feature film adaptation of Nimona, a webcomic by ND Stevenson. Patrick Osborne was set to direct, from a screenplay by Marc Haimes.
The film was to be produced by Fox's former subsidiary, Blue Sky Studios, alongside Vertigo Entertainment. In June 2017, 20th Century Fox scheduled Nimona to be released on February 14, 2020.
In March 2019, The Walt Disney Company completed its acquisition of Fox, then in May 2019, the film was delayed to March 5, 2021. In November 2019, the film was delayed again to January 14, 2022. Through 2020 there was word that the film would be released in 2022, Stevenson stated in June 2020 that the film was still happening, From 3:15:57 to 3:16:46 in the video, ND says, "I can't say much about it, but I can tell you, its still happening, its exciting, and its gonna blow your mind, um yeah, hang in there, its coming. Its really cool. There was a lot of unrest in Fox getting merged with Disney for a while. Its so cool that...I remember when Disney released their slate for that year and it was like Untitled Star Wars project, Untitled Disney like animated film, Untitled Pixar film, and then there's like Nimona in the middle of it. It was so cool. So, yeah, its still happening and you're gonna love it." and said the same in an August 2020 podcast. See 52:19-55:36 in this video for her words about the movie. In August of that same year, Den of Geek reported that the animated film was still scheduled to be released in 2022, but gave no further details, with Deadline reporting the same in October.
Osborne would depart the film by March 2020, and after his departure, Nick Bruno and Troy Quane were brought on in to work on the story after directing Blue Sky's previous film Spies in Disguise (2019). Production would be done remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cancellation and aftermath On February 9, 2021, Disney announced it was closing down Blue Sky Studios, and that production of the film was cancelled. Following the announcement, Stevenson said it was a "sad day" and that he wished the best for everyone who worked at Blue Sky Studios, while Osborne said he was "truly heartbroken" that the studio was closing its doors. Webcomics commenter Gary Tyrrell criticized the decision, saying, "Disney could have allowed a very different kind of young heroine... I mourn for those who would have found a vision of themselves in an animated version". Anonymous staffers at Blue Sky interviewed by Business Insider bemoaned the cancellation of the film, calling it "heartbreaking", arguing that the film "didn't look like anything else in the animated world", and saying that they believe it will never "be completed and released." The film was set to be the first use of Blue Sky's Conduit, a system that allowed artists to "find, track, version, and quality control their work." Alt URL Had it been made, it would have been Blue Sky's first film with LGBTQ representation, as a few staffers confirmed to BuzzFeed News that the film had an "I love you" scene between Ballister Blackheart and Ambrosius Goldenloin.
One staffer stated that before being canceled, the film was "on track" to being finished by October 2021. A former animator at Blue Sky, Rich Fournier, stated that the studio was "very very close" to getting the film finished, but that they "found out it simply was not doable".
In March 2021, it was reported that Chloë Grace Moretz and Riz Ahmed were to have voiced Nimona and Ballister Blackheart, respectively, and that the film was being shopped around to other studios to be completed. In June 2021, Mey Rude, a writer for Out, said she still held out "hope that this film ... will find its way back to life somehow."