Three years ago, when Nimona came out, I was so excited to watch it. It was being lauded as one of the best Netflix movies of 2023 (which was a particularly strong year), with a poignant message of acceptance — especially for the LGBTQ+ community and others who have experienced discrimination. Shamefully, I never got around to it, and Nimona fell further and further down my watch list. However, thanks to Pride Month and the trusty Netflix algorithm, it recently popped up again, and after finally watching it, I can’t stop thinking about one particularly powerful message.
First, a quick plot recap to get us all caught up: Nimona is based on a graphic novel by ND Stevenson (but is very different from the source material). The plot centers around Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed), a knight who is falsely accused of killing the queen and teams up with the titular shapeshifter to prove his innocence. The animated flick is filled with humor, heart, action and quotable lines like, “Arm-chopping is not a love language.” And while that’s a good message, it’s not the one that stuck out to me.
I Loved the LGBTQ+ Representation In Ballister And Ambrosius’ Relationship
These days it’s not quite as rare to see queer couples on TV and in movies, but there’s still not enough representation — particularly in family movies. In fact, back before Netflix saved Nimona from cancellation, there were reports that Blue Sky animators felt “pressure” from Disney to remove a same-sex kiss. Thankfully, there were no such issues at Netflix, because Ballister’s relationship with Ambrosius Goldenloin (Eugene Lee Yang) is so important to the movie.
Not only does it normalize queer relationships in a beautiful way, but their history together added so much depth to the central conflict, with Ambrosius being the one tasked with hunting down Ballister following the queen's murder.
As much as I love that Nimona put a gay couple front and center in the plot, it was Nimona herself who really made an impact on me.
Nimona’s Shapeshifting Was Such A Beautiful Metaphor For Living Your Truth
When Nimona first floated the idea of teaming up with fellow outcast Ballister to clear his name (in exchange for making her his sidekick), the disgraced knight didn’t realize quite what he was getting into. However, once he experienced her shapeshifting into a whale, ostrich, gorilla, rhinoceros, etc., he struggled to accept her because he couldn’t define her:
- Ballister: What are you?
- Nimona: I’m Nimona.
- Ballister: So you’re a girl and a rhino?
- Nimona: I’m a lot of things.
I really appreciated that Nimona never apologized for who she was; she never felt forced to define herself. There was no fantastical story, no lore behind her shapeshifting. Nimona was born that way, and she consistently brushed off Ballister’s attempts to put her identity in a box (with more patience than he deserved).
I think this is so important, especially for younger people who may be struggling with their identity or sexuality or any other issue, because Nimona not only gives them permission to be themselves, but she shows several examples of what they can say to people who pressure them to do otherwise. Sometimes, for instance, she used humor to deflect a narrow-minded question:
- Ballister: Can you just be you, please?
- Nimona: I don’t follow.
- Ballister: Girl, you.
- Nimona: But I’m not a girl. I’m a shark. *chomp chomp* Hey, you ever put your head in the mouth of one of these?
That leads me to the conversation that had me applauding in my living room — one that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about.
If You Take One Thing Away From Nimona, I Hope It’s This
The scene that stuck with me from Nimona is when the shapeshifter and Ballister are riding the train, and he asks her one more time to be “normal,” and instead of brushing it off or making a joke out of it, Nimona challenges him:
- Ballister: Can you please just be normal for a second?
- Nimona: Normal?
- Ballister: I just think it’d be easier if you were a girl.
- Nimona: Easier to be a girl? You’re hilarious.
- Ballister: I mean, easier if you look human.
- Nimona: Easier for who?
YES! Nimona knows that if a person or group of people or society is telling her to act or look a certain way, it is for their own comfort, not her benefit, and she doesn’t owe them that.
I think there are obvious LGBTQ+ parallels to be made here — I’ve specifically seen a lot of references to the trans experience — but I also think it’s bigger than that. Autistic people or those with ADHD may not act like others expect them to, and people with disabilities, different looks and different attitudes can be left out for not masking or conforming to societal “norms.”
I often tell my daughters to “Take up space,” and that they deserve to be in the room as much as everyone else, but I’m sure I’ve never been able to articulate it as well as Nimona does in this scene and throughout the movie. Basically it's that you don’t have to make yourself small or change who you are to make other people more comfortable.
In fact, at Ballister’s suggestion that life would be easier if she only presented as a girl, Nimona tells him it’s actually the opposite — that she actually feels worse if she doesn’t let all of her different shapes show through.
Now that I’ve finally discovered the beauty of Nimona, I’ve actually watched it multiple times, and I could go on about the other quotes I love from this movie (“They grow up believing that they can be a hero if they drive a sword into the heart of anything different. And I’m the monster?” What a gift this movie is.).
I’m sad that it took me this long to finally discover Nimona, and if you haven’t seen it (or haven’t seen it in a while), do yourself a favor and fire up that Netflix subscription. You can also check out some more upcoming LGBTQ+ movies we’re looking forward to.
