Nimona is film the New York Times bestselling graphic novel sensation from ND Stevenson, based on his beloved and critically acclaimed web comic. This is something Different for audience but once they watch it it will be a Movie they won’t stop talking about or rewatching over and over again. It’s a pleasant surprise for me.

 Netflix had a good year last year with 5 potential Academy Award contenders for Best Animated Feature with Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio coming away with the win. This year they hope to copy that achievement. Their first chance is Nimona, the latest animated film on their streaming service. Which comes out today for everyone to see.

In a world full of queens and knights and squires a young man wants to be a hero in his land. He grows up to be a squire who is about to get his greatest reward. Until something unimaginable happens. He accidentally kills the queen when he is knighted by her. He gets his arm chopped off by his best friend and has to go on the run. While hiding he meets a mischievous girl named Nimona who is a shapeshifter. Together they have to clear his name.

Most animated films have famous actors who do the voice-over for the characters in the film. This one is no different. Riz Ahmed plays the main character Baluster Boldheart and Chloe Grace Moretz plays the title character Nimona. Along with Eugene Lee Yang as Ambrosius Goldenloin and SNL regular Beck Bennett as Sir Thadius Sureblade. The cast is stellar in this Sci-fi fantasy animated film. They all understand the humor and level of the movie they are acting in.

The directors Nick Bruno and Troy Quaine along with the writers Robert L Baird, Loyd Taylor, and Pamela Ribon have created an interesting world set in a kingdom of medieval queens, knights, and swords and sorcery. It is set in a modern world with technology. Which is a bit different for this kind of story. The mix of modern-day tech and medieval lore is very fascinating to me. The story is quite good.

The animation in this film is different from anything I’ve seen before. It has various styles all wrapped into one movie. The main style has a glossy realistic feel to it while other styles are more video game in nature or a painted style. All the various animation styles fit the story in their way. Flashbacks or present-day they all work perfectly fine for this film.

Nimona has a story that has been done before regarding a man who was set up for something he didn’t do and has to clear his name, but how this story unfolds is what is the most surprising part of the movie. It uses various different animation styles and technological themes with medieval themes. I’ve never seen this before. At the heart of it is a friendship between two creatures. And how they bond during a difficult time for them both.

3 ½ stars

Dan Skip Allen