Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers Nimona.
After years of development hell, Nimona It’s finally on Netflix.starring Chloe Grace Morris Featuring the voice of the eponymous character, the animated film explores a unique world inspired by medieval fantasy and science fiction while exploring themes of prejudice, gender fluidity and the dangers of authoritarian governments.In short, there’s a lot to unpack Nimona. While this movie is one of the best of 2023, nimona Didn’t hold the audience’s hand. That means, when the end credits roll, some people may still be wondering who Nimona is and why she turned into that giant beast at the end.well, now nimona Now that that’s out of the way, let’s break down the movie’s ending and discuss what it means.
Who is Nimona?
a millennium before the event NimonaIn the story, a warrior named Glores rises up against a fire-breathing beast that threatens his kingdom. Glores defeated the Beast and created the Order of Knights so that brave men from all noble families could stand together when evil came again to torment their homeland. Or at least that’s what the story says. In fact, the fear and paranoia that led to high walls around the kingdom and government oppression stemmed from lies.
While the film never reveals Nimona’s true origins, we do know that the shapeshifter roamed the land for a long time in search of companionship. Nimona tries to act like a different animal, but is always turned down for being too different. One day, Nimona met a blond child named Glores. Impressed by Nimona’s abilities, Glores plays with the two girls all day while the shapeshifter transforms into different animals for the entertainment of her friends.
Unfortunately, one day, a passerby witnessed Glores playing with a bear. The man was frightened and called the whole village to rescue the girl. Nimona transforms back into a girl to show everyone that she is not dangerous. However, the villagers called Nimona a monster and attacked the poor girl. Nimona tried to escape by transforming into a different animal, but the villagers surrounded her. During the battle, torches thrown at Nimona sparked a fire that engulfed the village. Then, convinced that her parents were right and that Nimona was a monster, Gloles raised her sword and told her former friend to return to the shadows from where she came. Nimona left heartbroken. As the decades turned into centuries, the shapeshifters saw the kingdom grow more aggressive with difference, and the myth of Glores grew. That’s why Nimona was so angry and decided to play the role of villain that people gave her because of prejudice.
who killed the queen
Before the titular shapeshifter becomes a protagonist in the film, we follow Ballister Boldheart (played by Riz Ahmed) in the ceremony that would eventually turn him into a knight. For a thousand years, only warriors from noble families were eligible to become knights.Luckily, thanks to Queen Valerin (voice) for her blessing Lorraine Toussaint), Ballister had a chance to prove his worth, training from a young age to be the best knight the kingdom has ever seen. Tragically, during the ceremony, Ballister’s dream turned into a nightmare as a laser shot from his sword killed the Queen, making him the nation’s enemy number one. As the agency turns the would-be knight into a public villain, Nimona teams up with Ballister to wreak havoc on the kingdom.Together they found the director (by Francis Conroy) alters Barrister’s sword to create a trap that can take down both the knight and the queen.
The Superintendent grew up hearing stories of Gloris, whose fear of monsters beyond the kingdom’s walls transformed her into a fanatic who puts tradition above all else. So when the Queen invites a commoner to join the Order, the Superintendent fears that this will be the first step in exposing the kingdom to monsters. In honor of Glores’ teachings, the Chief did his best to maintain the conservative structure of the kingdom by killing the Queen, and to show that commoners could not be trusted to be agents of the law. That already makes her a dastardly villain.Nevertheless, in the final battle nimonaThe director was blinded by hatred and almost destroyed thousands of innocent lives.
What will happen in “Nimona’s Last Stand”?
After Ballister learns that Nimona is the same monster Gloles fought centuries ago, the knight confronts his acolytes. After everything they’ve been through, Ballister begins to mistrust Nimona, which is why his assistant is rightfully angry. Their discussion intensifies, and Ballister holds out his sword, fearing that Nimona will attack him. It was the last drop that made Nimona leave forever and abandon Ballister.
Losing Ballister’s friendship forces Nimona to remember how Gloures betrayed her long ago. Lonely, sad and angry, Nimona lost herself in the dark emotions she carried and transformed into a huge dark beast. As a beast, Nimona broke into the kingdom, destroying buildings on her way to the giant statue of Glorias that stood in front of the Academy. Nimona did not believe that she would have a true friend, and chose to end her life by falling from the statue’s sword. Before she made this last desperate move, Ballister put himself between Nimona and the blade. Ballister doesn’t know that his actions will stop Nimona, but he’s willing to risk his life if it means saving his friend. Nimona turns back into a girl, Ballister apologizes, and the two embrace tightly. This means that Ballister’s final acceptance allows Nimona to shed her monster form and become human again.
When Nimona destroys the city on her way, the Director sends Agency troops to stop the so-called monster. When the knights were unable to keep Nimona, the doge turned the cannons on the kingdom’s walls against the people. Determined to destroy the monster, the director decided to shoot the main square of the city. She knows that a single shell blast will kill thousands of citizens, but that’s the price the Chief pays for getting rid of Nimona. Inspired by Ballister to change her views and shed her prejudices, Nimona decides to save the kingdom from the Viceroy, thus rewriting history. The shapeshifter turned into a flame bird and flew towards the cannon, blocking the explosion with his body. The explosion knocked out the director, and apparently Nimona.
After witnessing how the monsters of Glores sacrificed their lives to save the people in the institution, the kingdom realized that there was a bigger world beyond the walls and they had nothing to fear. So everything changed in the kingdom, because people are now willing to explore the wilderness. Also, Nimona and Ballister become heroes. Before the end credits roll, we see Ballister return to his former villainous lair, reminiscing about his good times with Nimona. Offscreen, we hear Nimona’s voice greeting Ballister, which confirms she didn’t die in the blast. Hopefully this means we’ll see Nimona and Ballister together in some other adventure.
nimona Currently streaming on Netflix.
