Review of 'Nimona'

A thousand years ago a medieval kingdom was attacked by the Great Black Monster which was defeated and a high wall was built around their city. The kingdom is now protected by the Institute for Elite Nights. During a knighting ceremony Ballister Boldheart (voiced by Riz Ahmed) is framed killing Queen Valerin (voiced by Lorraine Toussaint). Fleeing for his life, Ballister makes friends with a smart-alex shape-Shifter named Nimona (voiced by Chloë Grace Moretz) who agrees to help him prove his innocence. As they work together Ballister begins to question everything he has learned and come to care for his quirky, unpredictable, companion.

This is quite a fun, contemporary fantasy animation that never fails to amuse with it's 100 mile an hour plot and dialogue. Unusually for an generally released animation it also features an openly queer man which will doubtless raise eyebrows from some but is largely irrelevant. It is Nimona around which the plot circles who has secrets of her own and who sets the relentlessly sets the pace of the film in terms of both plot and dialogue with her smart Alec comments and witty asides. The animation is top rate and imaginative mixing both science fiction and fantasy futurism into a world that looks great on the screen. The plot is reasonably complex but quite believable with an equally satisfying resolution. There are enough unexpected plot twists to keep viewers interested, not knowing what will happen next.

A fun, quirky, modern animation featuring a highly entertaining shape-shifter that will definitely entertain all but the most grumpy of viewers.

Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”

Review Date: 2024-08-18

Directed by: Nick Bruno and Troy Quane

Studio: Annapurna Animation

Year: 2023

Length: 101 minutes

Genre: Animation

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19500164/