Genre Animation

Nimona (2023)

Item: Nimona
Rating: 3.0
Author: Ross McLaren

★★★ — Nimona (2023)

Based on ND Stevenson's graphic novel of the same name, Nimona has something of a troubled road to the screen behind it. The project was originally developed at Blue Sky Studios, the Fox animation house responsible for the Ice Age franchise, but that production collapsed when Disney acquired Fox and shuttered Blue Sky in 2021, leaving the film in limbo. It was Annapurna Pictures and the visual effects company DNEG who picked up the pieces, eventually bringing the film to Netflix in 2023. That kind of production history can leave marks on a finished film, and it's worth bearing in mind when watching something that arrives, polished but occasionally uneven, from two studios working to salvage and complete someone else's groundwork.

At the helm are directors Nick Bruno and Troy Quane, the pair previously responsible for Spies in Disguise (2019) for Blue Sky, so they were no strangers to the material or the studio circumstances. The source graphic novel, published between 2012 and 2014 and later collected as a single volume, earned Stevenson considerable recognition and built a devoted readership, particularly among younger audiences who responded to its themes of identity and belonging. The film's visual approach draws clearly from that source, favouring bold outlines, flat colour fields and an aesthetic that sits somewhere between comic book panel and contemporary animation. It's a co-production with British involvement, DNEG being a London-founded company, though the film is thoroughly transatlantic in flavour. For a look at how animation can work at the opposite end of the production scale, the quietly powerful Josep makes for an interesting contrast, and the gap between that film's stripped-back style and Nimona's kinetic visual energy says a lot about the range the form allows.

The voice cast is one of the film's more interesting choices. Chloë Grace Moretz, who has ranged widely across live-action genres since her early career, takes on the lead role of Nimona herself, a shape-shifting teenager whose chaos masks something considerably more complicated. Riz Ahmed, a performer who rarely puts a foot wrong, voices Ballister Boldheart, the disgraced knight who finds himself reluctantly paired with her. Eugene Lee Yang, Frances Conroy and Lorraine Toussaint round out a cast that carries genuine weight on paper. Animation voice work lives or dies on whether you can forget the actor and hear only the character, and it's fair to say this cast gives it a proper go. If you're curious how another 2020s genre film handles the tension between spectacle and character, my thoughts on Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga cover some similar ground. And for a very different kind of animated film, one that deals in its own way with outsiders and otherness, The Hunchback of Notre Dame remains a useful reference point for how far animated family storytelling can reach when it really commits to its themes.

Nimona (2023), Netflix's animated adaptation of ND Stevenson's beloved graphic novel, arrives with a premise brimming with potential: a shapeshifting girl with chaotic energy teams up with a disgraced knight to clear his name in a medieval-futuristic kingdom. The film's visual identity is its strongest asset. Bold, graphic novel-inspired aesthetics blend seamlessly with fluid animation, creating a world that feels both timeless and refreshingly modern. Chloë Grace Moretz brings infectious mischief and surprising vulnerability to the titular Nimona, while Riz Ahmed grounds the story with earnest warmth as her reluctant partner-in-crime. The film tackles themes of identity, otherness, and institutional prejudice with genuine sincerity, and there's real heart in its central relationship. The action sequences are dynamic, the humour lands more often than not, and the emotional beats (when they hit) land with satisfying weight. It's clear the creative team cared deeply about this story and its messages. Yet for all its ambition, Nimona never quite ascends beyond "good." The pacing feels rushed in places, glossing over character development that might have made the stakes feel more earned. Some of the worldbuilding remains vague, and the villainy leans into familiar tropes without subverting them meaningfully. It's a film with a lot on its mind (acceptance, rebellion, found family) but not always the runtime to explore it all fully. A solid, visually distinctive animated fantasy that entertains without ever truly soaring. Nimona herself is a creation worth celebrating, and the film's heart is unmistakable, but it settles for competence over greatness. Still, in an era of safe, formulaic family fare, its willingness to be a little weird is commendable. Perfect for a weekend watch with younger viewers, though unlikely to join the animated canon's upper echelon.

That last point is the one that sticks with me. There's a version of Nimona that could have been something genuinely special, and the pieces are largely there: the look, the voice performances, a story that actually has something to say. What it needed was perhaps another twenty minutes and the courage to slow down and let the quieter moments breathe. As it stands, I'll come back to it with my kids before I come back to it alone, which probably tells you everything. Sometimes a film knowing its audience is enough. Just not always.

Rating: ★★★ | Year: 2023 | Watched: 2026-04-06

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Trailer

▶ Watch the official trailer for Nimona (2023) on YouTube

Where to watch

Watch in the UK
Stream: Netflix · Netflix Standard with Ads
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi

Watch in the US
Stream: Netflix · Netflix Standard with Ads
Physical: Amazon US

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