Starring Chloë Grace Moretz, Riz Ahmed, Eugene Lee Yang, Frances Conroy, RuPaul, Sarah Sherman, Lorraine Touissant, Beck Bennett, Julio Torres, Nate Stevenson, Mia Collins, Zayaan Kunawar, Charlotte Aldrich, Nick Bruno, Troy Quane, Julie Zachary and Randy Trager

Directed by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane

Netflix

Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed), is about to graduate as an Elite Knight, the protectors of the kingdom established by the legendary heroine Gloreth. Ballister is the first commoner to become a knight and is ready to take his place alongside boyfriend and fellow knight Ambrosious Goldenloin. Until he’s framed for the murder of Queen Valerin and goes on the run. His only hope is Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz), a shapeshifting teenager who may be a demon, may be the bad guy and is most definitely a problem.

Nimona is an impossibility. Disney first wanted the love stories at the core of the film removed, then closed Blue Sky, the studio producing it and shelved the movie. Netflix bought it, it found its audience and then some and last Sunday night it was an Oscar finalist. That’s not only amazing but even it losing out seems oddly fitting. This is a story about surviving impossible trauma and finding that what you think you want is sometimes not what you need. Also, occasionally what you need is a pink rhino breaking you out of prison.

Adapted from Nate Stevenson’s graphic novel, superficially this is a mismatched buddy story, as Ahmed’s wonderfully pained Ballister and Moretz’s sentient impulse control problem flee from the Knights, try and clear Ballister’s name and do the odd bit of crime on the side. It’s fantastically good at all of this and frequently very, very funny. Nimona’s shape changing abilities are key to several of the action sequences but Ballister’s increasingly pained stoicism is the punchline every time. Nimona is heavy metal. Ballister is wearing heavy metal. The result is comedy gold and if nothing else watch the jailbreak sequence for what happens when script, art, tone, performance and design don’t just mesh, they dance.

But what makes Nimona a classic, and make no mistake, it is one, is how all of this works with the big thematic issues of the movie. Class, race, gender identity, bigotry, trauma, forgiveness and love are all central to the movie and get explored with an eye as unblinking as it is kind. Nimona and Ballister take turns helping each other be okay and Moretz and Ahmed are one of the most inherently likable double acts you’ll find. They’re also incredibly capable performers, and the final act gives them both a chance to take all the brakes off. The rage Nimona feels and the reason for it is heartbreaking, justifiable and presented with a clear gaze. How that rage is dealt with, and how Ballister’s own issues are resolved is knightly, pragmatic and kind-hearted. No easy answers, just friendship, healing and the chance to perhaps move on.

Verdict: Nimona is fantastic. It’s clever, kind, furious and very funny and it has an all-time voice cast in Ahmed, Moretz and Yang in particular. Losing out to a Miyazaki movie is nothing to feel bad about and Nimona deserves to find even more of an audience than it already has. Make sure you’re part of it. 10/10

Alasdair Stuart