Nimona and the Art of Adaptation
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- Опубликовано: 3 фев 2024
- A video essay about Nimona, and also Nimona.
sources & related:
Maya Gittelman - We’re Gonna Win in the End: The Subversive Queer Triumph of She-Ra www.tor.com/2020/07/08/were-g...
Simone Murray - Materializing Adaptation Theory: The Adaptation Industry www.jstor.org/stable/43797393
Sneh Rupra - Imperialism and immigration in Captain Marvel outtakemag.co.uk/features/2019...
Robert Stam - “Introduction,” in Literature and Film: A Guide to the Theory and Practice of Film Adaptation (book)
N.D. Stevenson - The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures (book)
N.D. Stevenson - I’m Fine I’m Fine Just Understand: Nimona www.imfineimfine.com/p/nimona
Stacy Takacs - Monsters, Monsters Everywhere: Spooky TV and the Politics of Fear in Post-9/11 America www.jstor.org/stable/25475205 
Развлечения
Nimona isn’t a very accurate adaptation of the narrative of the original comic but it’s a perfect adaptation of the emotion of that narrative and that’s really what matters most.
Honestly I never read the comic but from the video and the comments I can see this is a master class of how to adapt a story, take it in a new direction for a new audience and still keep the core intact. The stories are the same but different, the characters act differently but feel the same, the tone is different but the themes are the same, the stories end differently but the idea is still the same.
The biggest differences are basically changing a bitter sweat tragedy into a children's story...
@@Marcel2278 watching the movie lead me to getting a signed special edition of the comic because I loved the movie so much. I loved the book almost as much.
I think that sets an example of how adaptations should work, is not always about retracing 1 by 1 the steps of the original story, but rather to offer the idea that the original narrative is delivering, understanding and substance is more important than following by the book
I think Nimona has got to be one of the few times where the movie adaptation is better than the book
Better than that, it's an extension and evolution of the emotions of the comic. As this video articulates so beautifully, it's almost more a sequel than an adaptation.
"...because he understands that the monster and the scared little kid are not one and the same."
"...because he understands that the monster and the scared little kid are one and the same."
amazing how small the difference between a tragic and joyful ending is
The difference between understanding and retreating to ones safe and flawed conception can appear so small on text
So small, but so massive. The little things change the foundation.
*starts sobbing*
The comic ends with him hoping Nimona saw him for who he was to her: a friend.
The movie ends with Nimona returning and knowing him for who he was to her: a friend.
True but in the book version they all didn't know what happened to Nimona in the end they always think if she's okay or not but in the movie version she comes back
You just made me freaking cry, god i remember when the comic was coming out and i read the first few chapters off a tumblr link and everyone just adored it but was so worried it'd just be abandoned one day and never finished- and it was for a while! There was this big hiatus at one point and everyone was so disappointed! But then the author came back and continued! Im so glad they did!
So the production behind the movie mirrors the comic, in a way!
+
Same genre as Arcane, I've heard it called "magitech"
One of the writers from riot must be a fan. Miko is very similar in concept to double trouble.
@@KusagrassYou talking about Neeko? She came out the same tear She-ra did and before Double Trouble debuted. A coincidence
She-Re's magitech elements were in the original series.
Also arguably Star Wars has that look, just with more guns that look like guns and not crossbows.
@suddenllybah personally I'd call Star Wars space fantasy
@kaleb2643
If Star Wars is space fantasy, so is She-Ra. There is plenty of space travel in spaceships and in the original series, her mother was an astronaut from Earth, and like, the new series doesn't discard enough of the look of the OG series to shed the vibes
13:16 “maybe it’s ok for someone not to be who you thought they were if that means being themself” im so emotional at this line as a trans girl only coming out at 19 after knowing for my entire adolescence
Don't know you. Love you anyways.
I'm a trans guy who came out at 18. I'm 21 now. Life gets so much better after you get to transition and find people who see you for who you truly are and love you for it.
Despite all the hurt and trauma I went through because of being different, both because I'm queer and because I'm autistic, it was worth it in the end, because I got to be myself and find my people. And I'm sure you'll get there some day, if you aren't there already. Don't ever feel guilty for being your true self
@@vinkei4521 I don't know you either. Still love you also anyways.
I'm also 19, I'm genderfluid, and it took me a long time to realize. I came out at 16 and lost most of my friends and things still aren't the same with (some of) my family, I don't think they ever will be. But that's okay, I like being me. Life gets better. It already has, for me, and I know it will continue to. I wish you all the best
I'm genderfluid and 21, I've only known I'm that way since I was 19 years of age. I just wanna say enjoy your freedom for yourself and everyone like me who isn't allowed to be themselves yet. It makes me hopeful seeing fellow trans people being happy and allowed to be themselves like you are girl. You're beautiful and you're not alone.
I really miss video essays like this, with narration that is dry and matter of fact, with no gimmicks or editing tricks, without even a single joke or distraction. It speaks to a deep trust in one's own work, and an understanding that if your argument is good enough you don't actually need anything else.
I think you can do both humor and essay, but yea it is almost nostalgic like the good old days and a breath of fresh air to see an old style essay no jokes no distractions. I swear ADHD and attemtion economy have ruined video essays. Oh well. I was gonna make a secondary argument that humor in video essays make more views but this video made a good amount of videos so I'm not sure anymore.
Disney has made a lot of poor decisions lately, but choosing to abandon Nimona is definitely up there as one of their worst 😟
oh definitely not they would've butchered it
I don't think they could have been as irreverent and self-aware as movie needed to be.
I dunno, hating what Disney makes may be sometimes valid but is mostly a trend, I think this movie would have gotten unnecessary hate if they made it, especially with the character design changes. (I saw in a video about it that Ambrosius movie design was inspired by his VA, that guy looks really sweet!)
They would've completely ruined it lol
Disney has lost their way.
I worked on Nimona, not a huge role, mostly technical, but out of all the films I have worked on so far, this one felt special
thanks for delivering us this masterpiece
@@GustavoIto I always hated the part when the two dudes kiss each other that's wrong that's totally wrong it would be a lot better if they did a high five instead
@@alissiaaldridgeYour comment was completely unnecessary.
@@purpledshadow it's true I always hated when two dudes kiss each other
@alissiaaldridge Sounds like you have some deep-seated issues you may want to discuss with a therapist. Because a nonviolent act between consenting adults, especially ones who don't even exist, should not cause you to feel hate.
I had a very… bad night before watching the Nimona movie for the first time, and the scene with Ballister confronting Nimona in dragon-form was so ironically similar to my situation that it left me speechless and makes me cry every time I think about. Such a good movie.
I wish you well
(essayist narration slowly transitions into Ballister's narration) "...or maybe the story is not over yet"
Me: (SUDDENLY SOBBING)
THE LAST LINE HIT ME LIKE A TRUCK OKAY????? INSTA TEARS??
me to, me too
I came to say the same TEARS
Oh wow. WOW. I’d never considered the idea of Nimona herself being aware of the different story, and how the process of adaptation parallels reincarnation.
I love the way you structured and delivered your deductions in a parallel way, highlighting their similarities using the same subtextual tools that you pointed out. Brilliant. Your video functions as cinema in its own right.
this ^
Excellently written essay! I actually had never read the original comic but absolutely loved the movie, so I didn't know how different the narratives were. Your use of flipping the theming around by changing the description of Nimona was really great too.
I read the webcomic after seeing the movie, and I was blown away by how starkly different they were in narrative, but how perfectly they made the best of their mediums to convey the same core. They are both some of my most treasured pieces of media.
One example of what I feel is a good "bodysnatcher" trope use is in wolf 359 (spoiler warning). It is revealed that one of the characters is an alien, a perfect clone with the memories of the original. The thing is, she DIDNT know. She thought she was the original. However, the villain did know, and used that information to attempt to get her allies to distrust her. Instead, her allies trust her the same. Instead of the horror of your allies being replaced being used as the main fear here, it instead is her lack of identity and her OWN fears of being manipulated. Everyone around her has no issues with her, except herself
The game Bug Fables also uses a similar concept! Spoilers obviously:
Lief thinks at first that he was in some sort of coma or something for years and just has to deal with outliving his entire generation, which is bad enough. But then it's revealed there was no coma - Lief died, and a cordyceps created to study immortality took him over and lost that memory over time. There's never any questioning that Lief is a good guy, considering the other cordyceps are essentially zombies, but he suddenly finds out that even the attempts to pick up the pieces were a lie, and the cordyceps stole a life neither had any right to.
Lief realizes he might be a fungus wearing a mask for rather selfish ends(discovering a family, friends, continuining the original Lief's oath), but uses that legacy for good since it would be even worse to give up out of guilt.
BUG FABLES MENTIONED AWWWW YEAH! Took the words right out of my mouth about Leif, his story was one of the highlights of the game IMO. His identity was completely turned upside down, and the realization that his memories and past were stolen remnants of the moth he thought he was (and whose dead body he is currently purporting around) was devastating. But all of the choices he had made to do good, the friendships he formed, the people he helped-THAT belonged to him, and that is what ended up mattering. “Even though I’m not Leif, we’re still…Leif.” Amazing stuff. It’s great to se someone mention Bug Fables in the wild
I remember loving the movie as I was watching it. The whole climax was what made me truly love it. I think I loved this part the most because I understand the feeling of being in a world where everything and everyone just hates you for being you. But then realizing that, not everyone hates you, and knowing you’re not the only one feeling this way.
I was also able to see why Nimona felt this way, even though never going through a similar thing. I was genuinely crying while watching it
One of the most powerful effect Nimona film has as a queer story is this ability to allow people to empathize with the feeling of ostracization
This was fantastic in how the two halves mirror each other. Really good writing.
I'm struck by the section you draw on body snatcher tropes and refugees. I remember coming across an essay on the Simpsons (I think it's in Leaving Springfield: The Simpsons and the Possibility of Oppositional Culture) that talked about the impact of the Cold War upon the American consciousness, and while I didn't really see it at the time, I think I notice more and more how much Cold War aesthetics and concepts inform fiction from the US. It's also interesting as you point out the way this folds back into 9/11 and the resurgence of paranoia and tropes from previous wars.
Another good video that goes over how both the cold war and 9/11 shaped American media is Ahoy’s Nuclear Fruit. Just be warned that the video is an hour in length.
13:16 "Though maybe it's okay for someone not to be who you thought they were if that means being themself" is such a poignant statement
I’ll second it, I cried at this video essay. It’s really good!
I missed the nimona train before the movie, but the story of nimona means a lot to me.
Ooooh that last line with the reiterating of the ‘a friend’ thing got me right in my squishy heart!! TEARS!!
One tiny thing: from what I’ve seen (and I haven’t seen a lot, to be fair) Ballister is actually supposed to be east asian in the comic? If I’m remembering correctly from the thing I saw? But of course with the original art style it wouldn’t be obvious either way.
Ambrosious is the asian guy, played by Eugene Lee Yang
@@GustavoIto correct! He was not however, played by *anybody* in the GRAPHIC NOVEL, which is what I was taking about
After seeing Netflix upload the entire movie on RUclips I've finally gotten to see how amazing the film is, and this essay gave this whole franchise so much more depth. Your writing is feels so sophisticated and your transitions from the source to the film are flawless. I loved this essay overall, and am absolutely going to read the graphic novel.
It was up for like a week and then got taken down. What was the fucking point?
Nimona is the most important movie for a child to see, I think. It doesn't do a "one of the good ones" narrative. It genuinely dismantles the idea that outsiders are bad in a way that extends beyond the film
Why?
@@harkaway9006 You've got to be taught to hate and fear
You've got to be taught from year to year
It's got to be drummed in your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught
You've got to be taught before it's too late
Before you are six or seven or eight
To hate all the people your relatives hate
You've got to be carefully taught.
- Rogers & Hammerstein's "South Pacific", 1944
(The subject being interracial marriage, still illegal in many states at the time)
@@warheadsnation I've always been a transphobe. No one had to teach it to me.
@@harkaway9006 Perhaps some are irredeemable. All the more reason to get to as many of the others as possible before they/you do.
I watched the movie and then returned to the comic and i love how well put all your thoughts are! I feel like i’m constantly saying that a “faithful” adaptation doesn’t make it good and it’s so lovely to hear thoughts about two different versions of a story that isn’t about upholding one or the other!!! wonderful work !!!!
I think this is the first time I've cried about a video essay
I saw the film and was deeply moved and captivated by all of the quiet parts that were not said out loud but that I was allowed to see and experience and draw my own conclusions about.
As I heard somebody else say: it's important to note that most of the destruction of the city (if not all) at the end of the movie is caused by the Militarized State Police Forces and not Nimona herself. She just wanted to grant the misguided citizens their wish and die by the sword, not to destroy the city.
Loved your video essay and I'm glad to know there was a graphic novel before the movie, thanks!
I never read the original comic, I only watched the movie when it came out. I loved the movie, but I got more appreciation and love for Nimona after watching this lovely video essay. I especially admire the process of how Author wrote his stories. It's raw and I sympathise with it. I really find the connection, similarities and using some ideas in another story very neat. I like seeing bits of behind the scenes, even if it's the tip of the iceburg. I haven't felt these particular feelings from a video essay in a while. Had my full attention from start to finish, feeling different and inspired. It makes me think about some stuff about writing. Very cool! I truly enjoyed the video, the way you wrote and narrated made my brain and heart tingle in a good way. I hope you enjoy your work and know that this is some amazing stuff. You're doing it!! :]👍✨️
This is a wonderfully put-together video, but just a correction: Ballister isn't white in the graphic novel. ND Stevenson has said multiple times that he was intended as East Asian, but it doesn't come across very well in the art style. He's also said that Ambrosius was very intentionally designed as a white man as a commentary on white privilege, although him being Asian works in the movie because it utilizes his character rather differently than the graphic novel.
Gonna be honest, it took me a while to realise film-Ambrosius was supposed to be Asian. I feel like the film's art-style doesn't signal it that clearly, until you've seen a few other male characters and notice what sets Ambrosius apart.
@@tbotalpha8133 as asian-american, I did notice Ambrosious as asian and I loved it :D but it is subtle, yes
Noelle Stevenson. She's a woman.
As someone who read the original comic and then the movie, I have to say that this is quite an emotional essay for me
Beautiful work!
im glad it changes, the way you pointed things out, it feels special. Like a shift of the atmosphere of the world now, vs how it used to be. I feel like it makes sense with Nate's coming out. To one that was gone and repressed to one that is open and true.
I was lucky enough to read Nimona back in my highschool days, the original comic. I don't remember too much about the story itself but I remember the twist. I remember that ending. It's stuck with me
I like calling this sort of setting Sci-Fantasy (where Sci-Fi meets Fantasy). A unique opportunity for similarly unique stories to be told. Nimona will always have a part of me break whenever I see it, ready to cry at a moment's notice, but I'm glad that this story was one of Adaptation, 3 times over. Once in the original comic, once in the animated film, and once more in our own narrative, the struggles made from its humble BlueSky beginnings to the Netflix masterpiece it has proven itself to be.
oh my god the ending of this essay is so powerful! I know this doesn't have to do anything with the subject, but this was a really good essay, big respect!
i love the ending, it perfectly parallels the tragic tale that was the first story. you orchestrated this video so well this channel needs more views, more attention
Oh my GOD, INSTANT SUBSCRIBE, YOUR READ OF THIS IS SO WELL DONE. Integrating shape shifting into the discussion of adapting from a novel to a movie?!! BRILLIANT!!
Making me cry more than the og comic did drawing all these threads togather. Tysm. Sharing this with my neurospicy forum 😊
This is quite possibly the most beautiful video essay I’ve ever watched, I cried like a baby all over again Thank you for this masterpiece
by far one of the best video essays i have ever watched. it definitely helps that nimona is an amazing story. but you took it to a whole new level
I love your comparison of ND’s works and how they compliment each other! Another fantastic video
Noelle Stevenson.
This was an amazing essay, the way you speak and write is so smooth with subtle emotion and the transitions are amazing! genuinely love this video you did a wonderful job
I never read the comics (nor knew it was an adaptation going in), I just got drawn in by the interesting art and figured ,''Why not? It looks pretty cool.'' Walked into the movie without much expectations but from the word go, I was hooked. I think I was genuinely surprised just how well they handled the plethora of complex themes in what looked like 'just another kid's film', but now having the context of it being an adaptation and how they built off of it and somewhat did their own thing, I have a new found appreciation for the film.
This video essay was excellent and honestly feels like a necessary add on to both the movie and the original artist in general. It's not often I retread media, so I'm often really thrilled when there's content that meaningfully contextualizes (or recontextualizes) something I enjoyed. Definitely earned a sub and I'll be checking out your stuff both past and future.
This is so brilliantly thorough.
I hadn't thought about it nearly this much, but definitely got the impression that differences in presentation and tone between the novel and movie were representative of not just the change in audience rating but also ND Stevenson's perspective on how much *he* had changed since writing the character.
Noelle Stevenson. She's a woman.
i let out a banshee screech at the last line oh my god this video SLAPPED
this is my favorite video essay ever omg, i adore nimona and all the depth from both the graphic novel and the movie. Great work!
I read the comic and was so excited when the movie came out, both are amazing, its not a plot adaptation, its an emotional adaptation
hey i loved this video, you have a great way of putting subtext into words, you have a great voice and i love the connections you bring across. it's all so soothing. you're doing great work
You want to know how Nimona shapeshifts because you want it to make sense. I want to know how Nimona shapeshift, because I want to do it too. We are not the same.
This video was so good, I wish it was 3 times as long!! Can't wait to see more from you!
This is a brillant piece of work. Thank you for such a gorgeous analysis of Nimona.
What a brilliant video essay on two masterpieces, you just made me appreciate them both for what they are!
The ending of this essay gave me genuine chills. The structure and buildup of the thought process behind these ultimately intertwined narratives was shown so flawlessly. Highlighting adaptations as a whole and how both pieces of media are so distinct yet so powerful as a pair is so interesting. This is probably one of my favorite video essays ever I loved this
Wow, this is wonderfully written. What a compellingly conveyed analysis.
I really admire how Nimona the film adaptation critiques power structures in a way that little kids can understand. They probably won't be able to apply that lesson to the world they live in until they're much older, but the very clear argument that the Institution is inherently, PURPOSEFULLY flawed and needs to be torn down, rather than being purified of a few bad apples, is so punk, and so queer, and so very, very needed for anyone who belongs to an oppressed group. I hope that little seed planted in the minds of a new generation helps them see the world for what it is, rather than what power structures TELL them it is.
That ending made me tear up, that was beautiful.
sobbing rn, i'll be right back----
That last line brought a tear to my eye, beautiful video
Im crying, omg, i cant see nimona's story without doing so, great analysis!!
Hands down one of the best video essays I have ever seen in my entire life.
That's the first video essay I've ever seen that actually made me cry, holy crap this is amazing.
I can’t believe how beautiful this video is. Amazing work
I gotta say your writing is top notch the ending almost made me cry
This reminds of a light novel I read, although with very different themes.
One of the characters was a shapeshifter prowling the forest, thoughtless. They stumbled upon a small girl and ate them, taking her form.
With the assumption of her form came sapience and wrenching guilt. She took the life of the girl and decided to live it for her.
Eventually, when she was found out, the people feared and despised that monster.
The last part of your video made me cry.
You got my sub.
I did a fairly broad literature review before my own video essay on Nimona, and I opine that yours is the best coverage of this lovely pair of tales on the Internet, bar none. Thank you for the poetic walkthrough of two wonderful pieces of media; it was so good I had to give you a shout-out in my own work. Have a subscription!
IMPECCABLE, IMPECCABLE, THIS IS SUCH A BEAUTIFULLY NUANCED REVIEW AND THE LAST PART MADE ME SQUEAL OUT LOUD, I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. Thank you for such a great video!! 💖
This video essay is a work of art.
Goddamit now im crying. Good video, starts off strong and ends strong
I absolutely love this! Wonderful writing and framing, excellent narration and insight. I cried at the end. So poetically wrapping it all up with a bow. Well done! ❤
I had no idea Nimona was a comic, I just knew it as a movie I loved. Thanks for opening my eyes so thoroughly
There's a special kind of analysis that lets me feel the emotions a work of art gave me more powerfully than the work itself. As if by unlocking some message in the work itself, it also unlocks the response to that message in me. All of which is to say, I loved watching Nimona, but it didn't make me cry until I watched this video.
Loved your interpretation of Nimona Movie!
Dude that's Such a good essay it's like poetry
I absolutely had tears in my eyes during the end
Wow I never really thought of it like this I’m so glad I watched this, it just makes me love Nimona even more
You’ve explained everything perfectly I’m bout to cry
The ending of the movie still breaks me everytime I watch it. Now you made it hurt more.
This was really well written. Thank you for the insight into the Nimona comic!! I didn't know that it ended so sadly and bittersweetly. I'm so glad the movie has a happier ending. Such queer joy was so needed.
SupersupersUPER cool lovely video essay and breakdown!! I found out about the original comic after watching the movie- and i didnt even know She-Ra was by the same creator! - and im just so blown away by the stories and the artistry and just everything!!!
This was very excellent! Wonderful work!
The movie makes me cry everytime, so surely a short video essay won't do the same right?
I have underestimated.
Damn the ending of your video was poetic
Great video. It shows that good adaptations must use the medium and the opportunity to tell a unique version of the story, developing the original themes further.
Damn. That was beautiful. Like woah. You just gave me a newfound appreciation for this movie.
Amazing, I instantly recognized the artist from "To Be or Not To Be", never knew he was behind Nimona as well.
The film always makes me cry. I relate so much to her just being tired of the hate and fear, and just wanting to end it
Loved that essay, instant subscribe.
Weirdly, I can actually think of ONE instance of left leaning body snwfatcher story.
Vee from the Owl House.
She a minor character that has voice line in a total of four out of the 46 episodes (and two are like one line, so really it two), who can shapshift and take the main protagonist place, Luz Noceda, on earth while Luz does stuff in an alternative dimension. It also of note, that the equivalent of the animal kingdom in said dimension call themselves Demons.
Anyway, in S2E10 Camila, Luz mom, desover that Vee has a) been impersonating Luz, and B) had been kidnap by a literal flat earther.
Despite all that working against Vee Camila fully accepts her, and in S3E1, has her own look. Unfortunately, do to Disney being dumb, the series was cut short to 2 full seasons and 3 specials for season 3, so any interesting plot from this had to be cut.
This is marvelous, thanks ☆
Now I now why this showed seemed so similar to me, it’s because I read that book when I was younger
Just gonna mark this one down as yet another video essay that made ME CRY WTF
0:17 it's Science Fantasy!
Amazing analysis of this beautiful piece 💖💖💖
Truly amazing video 💖💖
i read Nimona in middle school, it was so so good and so interesting and so deep and cool and sad and sweet. such a great great book
It was trash.
I remember reading the graphic novel in school, it was part of my teacher's personal library for his students(for me 8th grade)
And I loved it, I resonated with it for a reason I didn't understand at that time since it was before I realized that I was non-binary
But I tried looking for any sort of continuation or anything and never did. When I heard of the movie, I freaked out and ranted about it to anyone that would hear me out until I got to watch it. And for me, Nimona the movie is a perfect adaptation.
It doesn't follow the original too closely, but the way it FELT was like I was back in that little closet reading the novel. It felt like I had just been introduced to it again and that's what mattered most to me. It might not be 100% to the source material, but it's close enough to the story it gives the same feeling while inferring some things and adding onto others.
It didn't stray far from the source of the story.
This was so beautiful I have no choice but to subscribe and watch all your content
literally gonna cry thx
Good video, well made and good audio
i was not expecting tears today but here we are
Ah wounderfull essay. Thank you