#anyway go watch Nimona

[bloodpen-to-paper]

Nimona's Subtle Racial Placement in a World of Wealth Gaps

The racial placement of Nimona was not lost on me, and its something I'm seeing more of in media, so lets talk about how Nimona did it and why:

The Queen was black, and as a black woman she was the one who chose Ballister, a commoner, a brown kid, to be the next Knight of the Realm. She chose him above all the elitist kids because she saw his merit, and chose not to let the status of the others affect her decisions. And she was killed for it by a white insurrectionist.

For years Ballister was bullied by Todd, a white man, while the other elitist knights did nothing. Except for Ambrosius, an Asian man (presumably since he's modeled after Eugene Lee Yang), who not only stood up for him, but ended up becoming so close to him that they became lovers.

There's a lot of diversity in this movie, both within the wealth classes (the highest position of power being held by a black woman while Nimona, who's whole story is about being oppressed and ostracized, is white), and among the general populace of multi-racial and ethnic side characters. Yet there's still mostly white knights among the Queen's guard, not to mention the original story of Gloreth revolves around a white girl brought into legacy. You could even argue colorism with how Ambrosius has a lighter complexion (especially considering he was originally white in the comics) and is brought up as the trusted descendent of Gloreth over the commoner Ballister.

Despite being a movie about classism that's set in a diverse world, Nimona still has a subtle racial aspect within its character dynamics. It does this for a very important reason: to bridge the gap between art and reality. In real life, we have white supremacy. In real life, we have capitalism. And Nimona uses its racial aspects to further make its point about the class divide and bigotry within a caste system.

Racial supremacy and the dismantling of it is a complex matter. Diversifying the world is easiest to achieve among the working class; you can show people of different skin tones in movies and TV, hire a more diverse racial pool within work environments, etc. But what gets difficult is changing the diversity within the elite spaces, because their place in the wealth gap has made them near impossible to touch from a working class position. Diversifying the space in a local diner? Easy, as long as the manager is willing. Diversifying the spaces within the Electoral College? Harvard alumni? HBO Executives? Good luck, you'd give an arm and a leg just to change maybe one person's position in those spaces. Because the power is so hoarded and privatized that changing anything, like racial diversity, would include upending the entire system that allowed for them to exist as they do. A local diner involves being able to convince one person in a small position to either change their model, or changing out that person with someone with a different model. The systems of supremacy don't have roots as deep within that scenario, but the elitists? They are the system. And to change them is to change the system entirely. You cannot eliminate the racism from elite spaces without dissolving the wealth gap.

Nimona shows this subtly, in that among the common people its super diverse (black news anchors, people of different skin tones occupying the same spaces, etc), but within the elite institutions, the Knight of the Realm was always someone who was from the elite, and had nepotism to get them through. Ambrosius was expected to be the Knight because of his heritage, and most of the knights in the guard along him and Ballister were white and had Old Money. The movie didn't need to include racism in their message against classism, but the creators wanted to bridge that gap between "movie metaphor for real world issues" and actual real world issues. They created "commoner" and made sure the audience knew that represented not just the "working class", but the racial working class. They made sure the implications of racial bias were there and readable for the people who could relate to the struggle of being a person of color in a supremacist society. They even made queer people feel seen, not just with Ambrosius and Ballister's relationship, but with Nimona's entire allegory for gender-queerness. Its a movie that aims to have its art reflect reality for the sake of making people get invested in their own real world issues within our real world society. Many "progressive" works now utilize talking points from progressive movements without actually giving representation to those affected, causing a case of appropriation painted as representation. Nimona aimed to create genuine representation that would be seen by the people who needed it most, not just with the obvious messages from the story-telling, but from the subtle bridges that connect this piece of fiction to the very real world it took inspiration from. And I think its safe to say Nimona achieved just that.

[tippenfunkaport]

You know, it would be amazing if Hollywood learned the right lesson from the success of Nimona. Something like "Hey, maybe don't throw out a nearly done movie as a tax write off" or "people want queer stories" or even "don't be afraid to take some storytelling risks and be original" but you just know they're going to come away with some absolutely batshit takeaway like, "next time delete all the evidence and burn it to the ground so the gays can't make us look bad!"

[yurigalactica]

okay so i just finished watching nimona for the first time and ohohoho let me Tell you. it made me feel Feelings™. it had me rolling on the floor laughing at some parts, and near tears at others—and i absolutely adored it from start to finish. though the one scene in particular that stuck out to me the most was nimona's backstory. (spoilers ahead)

the whole movie was a pretty obvious metaphor for how oftentimes, those who don't fit into society's unspoken mold of "normality" are ostracized and demonized, and for the most part this is how everyone nimona has ever come in contact with before has reacted to her—except for one person. gloreth. when nimona shows her that she can shapeshift, that she's different, gloreth doesn't run in fear like everyone else does. sure, she seems a little confused at first, but it's not a moment more before she takes the apple from nimona and they're back at it again, playing in the forest together as if nothing had happened. it's not the same between them, but that's nothing bad, because now they've got a whole new understanding of each other and they're able to be themselves more freely, more comfortably, around the other.

this doesn't change until the villagers see nimona transform. this doesn't change until they fiercely pull gloreth away from nimona, all the while gloreth shouts for them to leave nimona alone, that nimona is her friend. this doesn't change until they tell gloreth that nimona isn't her friend, but instead a monster.

by then, everything is different. that one word, spoken like it was dripping with acid and rot, planted enough fear in her heart that gloreth raised a sword to the person who was once her best friend, and uttered the damning words, "go back to the shadows from whence you came."

and man, that really hit me in the gut, because this scene echoes real life with such striking clarity. it echoes how children don't see each other for their differences, whether that be race or culture or gender. instead they see and love each other for who they are. it echoes how bigotry and hatred aren't innate, but rather, reflections of the beliefs of those around us. and most of all, it echoes just how damaging that can be.

nimona and gloreth are a perfect example about how prejudice isn't born, but learned, and man, i'm going to mourn the loss of their beautiful friendship forever.

[cute-as-buttons]

something something "innocent ppl will die!" "so will the monster" something something trans ppl being used as scapegoats

[casual-comedy-enjoyer]

So... just saw Nimona...

I have normal thoughts about it.

[illegiblehandwriting1]

i just watched nimona (minor spoilers ahead! go watch it!)

first half was just "awww cute lighthearted movie, neato, this is cool!" loving the characters and the vibe, everything's going well. Seems like the conflict wrapped up a little too quickly, so i check how much time is left. there is another half of the movie, so ok awesome! wonder what they're gonna do!

movie ends. i am in shambles.

also are we gonna talk about how the main character is a gay amputee poc with an adorably caring boyfriend who is shown to be the explicit love interest the moment he comes on screen and his sidekick is a genderfluid metalhead minor with pink hair who he pretty much adopts, like

i love them so much

and then also just...all of the end credits (the progress flag transition? the anarchy heart? it made me jump for joy. nimona knows what's up)

[deanpinterester]

REWATCHED NIMONA. SOLID 9/10

[tricksterimp]

Out of all the changes the Nimona film made from the original comic (the setting, the characters’ backstories, the plot, etc.) the one people unanimously condemn as a change for the worse is the loss of Goldenloin’s luscious long hair.

And they are absolutely right.

[tapcap]

whoever used the Doom Door Sound* in Nimona is my best friend. just btw.

[pynkhues]

Hey!! This is for the film ask ,animation addition!! Because I love cartoons and these films, I feel are a bit underrated so I’m wondering if you seen them and what your thoughts were

Coraline

Hotel Transylvania

Monster House

Wendell & Wild

Monsters inc

9

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Robots

Sry this is a lot 😭 but I absolutely love hearing your thoughts on movies

Hey! Don't apologise, anon, I love getting asked about movies, haha, so thank you, and thank you for your lovely words! 😊

Coraline

never seen | want to see | the worst | bad | whatever | not my thing | good | great | favorite | masterpiece

Definitely an iconic work in both stop motion and in children's horror. I've been thinking quite a lot recently about how so many fairytales and folklore stories that were historically aimed at children shared tropes and tones with horror. That link is explored amazingly well in the documentary Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched, which I highly recommend, but I do love that there are these genre staples still in children's storytelling that brings that back to the fore. Coraline (along with a few of the other movies you've asked about) is definitely one of them, and I think is one of the ones that does it the best. Just a really great film.

Hotel Transylvania

never seen | want to see | the worst | bad | whatever | not my thing | good | great | favorite | masterpiece

I haven't seen this one, but I grew up with a lot of the director's other work (particularly The Powerpuff GIrls and Samurai Jack), so it's been on my list for a while. Now that my nephews are in the target demographic for it too, I should definitely try and watch it with them!

Monster House

never seen | want to see | the worst | bad | whatever | not my thing | good | great | favorite | masterpiece

I've heard a lot of good things about this one, but for some reason, I've just never gotten around to it.

Wendell & Wild

never seen | want to see | the worst | bad | whatever | not my thing | good | great | favorite | masterpiece

You've picked so many movies I've never seen, anon! That's truly a feat these days, haha. I've been really keen to see this one since it came out though. It's such a good cast, and Henry Selick is a giant among men when it comes to animation directors. Coraline and Nightmare Before Christmas are obviously iconic, but I'm very partial to James and the Giant Peach too!

Monsters Inc

never seen | want to see | the worst | bad | whatever | not my thing | good | great | favorite | masterpiece

Easily one of Pixar's best. A lot of this works due to the worldbuilding and voicework chemistry between John Goodman and Billy Crystal, but the script is really strong too and that sequence with the doors is so original and innovative.

9

never seen | want to see | the worst | bad | whatever | not my thing | good | great | favorite | masterpiece

Oh man, I remember seeing this when it came out, but I don't think I remember much about it beyond having watched it, so I don't really want to rate it, haha. Mmm, I'm pretty sure I liked it? Might be one to rewatch though.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

never seen | want to see | the worst | bad | whatever | not my thing | good | great | favorite | masterpiece

I'm going to say never seen, because I haven't watched it in full, but I worked in a kids clothing store for three years when I was at university, and we had a little nook in the back of the store where kids could sit and watch movies. Head office would get us one (1) new movie a year, and this was the third one we got, so there are certain scenes I could probably recite, despite having never watched it, haha.

Robots

never seen | want to see | the worst | bad | whatever | not my thing | good | great | favorite | masterpiece

Imperfect, but underrated! It's a shame that Blue Sky Studios went so downhill so fast, because their first few releases - particularly Ice Age, Robots and Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! - all suggested real promise and an interesting change in tone / pace compared to other animation houses at the time. Alas - they were reduced too quickly to sequels even before Disney shuttered them.

Ask me about movies

[rhyme-draws-stuff]

Nimona >:D !!!

[multimousenette]

oh wow tumblr wasn’t kidding when they said nimona was good I am. in pain (good) like tears running down my face sobbing

[exhaustedwerewolf]

also good god the way I gasped so loudly when I realised that in this version ambrosius and ballister were canonically absolutely not open to interpretation romantic from the off… knowing all the pain that was coming… good fucking god

[geekytealover]

Just watched nimona and when the needle dropped on ‘gold guns girls’ by metric I screamed ‘I WROTE THIS FILM!’ out loud

[wastinawaaay]

nimona 🤝 black sails

making me go crazy

[imrllytootiredforthis]

has anyone else watched the movie nimona...

cause i just watched and my JAW is DROPPED. i read the book a few years ago and it's actually one of my all time favourite graphic novels but the movie.

so much was changed from the book but i honestly think that everything that was changed, was changed for the better. it was so good-like everything, the characters, the relationships, the story. it was so funny too.

i saw several raters say that it was like a 9/10 which i strongly disagree with, it's a 10/10 and you cannot convince me otherwise.

nimona was just so relatable too-i've only cried to two movies in my entire life and nimona in this one almost made me start crying which is saying something.