3/4/24 - Nimona (2023) - 7/10

A magical little animated action adventure that smartly focuses more on the heart at its core than flashy chassis it rides in. I found this magical tale of a special girl and a disgraced knight more engaging than its book origins, which was also solid itself. The artists behind this created an amalgamation of future tech and medieval society for something fairly unique and fun, but the heart of this tale is the love, heartbreak, and the rowdiness at each turn. Grace Moretz’s Nimona feels like the kind of mischievous “wants to have fun as a villain” that would linger in kids’ brains so I hope they see it. It has good messaging about societal placement, being more than expectations, and being different is more magical than a detriment. Love and acceptance is at the heart of this all, while the knight/knight relationship of our protagonist is barely thought of as outside the norm - an appreciated inclusion.

It ends up being really sweet and endearing, while providing laughs and fun children-centric action that isn’t blatantly dumb. And, me being the downer I am, I really appreciated the bittersweet ending with a gold-lined hope.