“Nimona” Is a Love Letter for the Misunderstood: A Movie Review

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SEA Wave reviews “Nimona”, an animation film directed by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane and starring Chloe Grace Moretz, Riz Ahmed, Eugene Lee Yang, and RuPaul.

Have you heard of “Nimona”? It’s the Netflix adaption of the graphic novel by ND Stevenson. The film follows Nimona and her friendship with Sir Ballister Boldheart, voiced by Riz Ahmed, and the realm around them. The film is all that and more as it gives the viewer fun action sequences and heart-wrecking, emotional scenes from the core characters.

 

Iconic Titular Characters

The movie is filled with relatable and iconic characters from the graphic novel. Nimona, our shapeshifter has a strong penchant for violence. Sir Ballister Boldheart, our loyal knight has to prove his innocence while having Nimona as his sidekick.

Sir Ambrosius Goldenloid, voiced by Eugene Lee Yang, our Gloreth descendant and is conflicted with the current situation brewing in the realm. And finally, we have The Director, the woman in charge of the knights and their “cause.”

All these characters have a deeper side to them and meld together to create an exciting narrative.

 

Impressive World Building

 

The story starts with the tale of old and later we see how the realm has changed over a thousand years. A high wall covers the land despite their technological advances and they still adhered to the old teachings of Gloreth despite their innovation.

 

Lighting and Overall Visual Storytelling

When it comes to storytelling, lighting and the overall visual aspect implies certain themes like light for good and darkness for evil. “Nimona” has a similar design to Across the Spider-verse and Puss in Boots which utilizes a mix of 3D animation with 2D illustrations.

What makes the movie shine is the implication of such lighting. No spoilers here, but it’s best you watch it with that in mind.

 

Message as Old as Time Presented Uniquely

Lastly, we’re looking at how they presented a lesson as old as time, “Keeping in check how we react to something unfamiliar.” The whole movie uniquely shows such a theme through the relationship of Boldheart, Nimona, and the people interacting with them.

 

Verdict

Overall, the movie is a fun movie with a deep lesson that’s needed for our age today.

SEA Wave rates the movies 4.5 out of 5 waves.

 

 

Watch “Nimona” now on Netflix.

To read more about pop-culture and Southeast Asian news, visit seawavemag.com.