Very nice video! I completely agree. I really wish animation would get the same appreciation as live-action film. Google "Nimona Theatrical Release October 2023" and maybe we can convince Netflix to release Nimona into theaters.
I've heard Nimona described a lot of ways, gremlin or goblin are pretty common, but I think "lovable little dickhead" has to be my favourite so far. She really is.
It's now my daughter's favorite movie, so of course I've seen it 11 times. The animation is phenomenal, there are a ton of Easter eggs (Including what I'm pretty sure is a Kick-Ass reference), and it's a story that feels both huge and small at the same time. It's so good.
Nimona was SO lovingly made--I've read interviews with the directors and design team, and all their aesthetic choices (like making characters look less detailed the further away they get, or staging lighting to put the Institution in light and Ballister/Nimona in the dark) were all made with the themes in mind. Every detail in this movie has a purpose, and the more I watch it, the more artistry I see. It's such a joy to experience every time, because I pick up something new from the background or recognize an Easter egg, or make a connection I didn't before. The acting, the animation, and the writing are ALL beautiful, and it's a movie I know I'll keep coming back to when I need the reminder that there are people out there who understand what I, a queer and trans person, face in the real world. This movie is a reminder that I am seen, and I am not alone.
ND Stevenson's legacy continues to live on with the story that got him popular to begin with being made into this banger, one of the writers of She-Ra bringing us a great new Superman cartoon, and I even ended up loving Dial of Destiny. Barbie and Oppenheimer aren't even out yet. I'd say I've been eating pretty good recently.
Apart from its beauty as a work of art, Nimona gives me hope: if a movie like this can get made, and be released, and be liked, what does that say about common attitudes towards our corrupt and decrepit institutions? And about the possibility of radical change for the better? There must be an ever increasing number of people who are thinking: enough, this can't go on, revolution please. Nothing like this could have been made outside tiny, radical, arts communities in the 90s. Amazing. And so very queer.
you watched the movie, right? there isn't a revolution, there's barely a change. If you want revolution, go watch I'm A Virgo, Nimona is "all we have to do is convince people to stop being mean and they'll help defeat the singular antagonist!" Tell me, what even was the target of the movie? Who is the oppressed group? Who is the antagonist? What things in the movie is accepted as normal? Because what I see is a broad and vague metaphor that I don't relate to (i'm queer, people don't point swords at me bc they're scared, they make laws that fuck me over because they hate me), while capitalism went along in the background of the movie like it was nothing, Ballister being a commoner meant nothing past the first five minutes, they never even questioned the idea of having a queen it was just like "trust me, she's a nice queen". PLEASE, I am BEGGING you not to make this your standard for "radical" media
@@Heyfluffu I think you're taking Nimona too literally and thus misinterpreting it. Is it any kind of "standard"? No, of course not. It's an animated comic fantasy that kids can watch, as well as adults. It's meant to be a crowd-pleaser. Thematically it's about challenging the assumption that what's different has to be feared and excluded. It displays a changed mindset about what can done in this kind of animated film, compared to what you would have seen a few decades ago. That's a sign of hope. That's all I'm saying. No, it's not a depiction of revolution. It also doesn't show the complex ways oppression functions. It certainly has limitations. It does not critique capitalism. But for what it is -- I like it. I think it's funny and sweet and it says something kids need to hear in this near-fascist environment. You, of course, do not have to like it. But I will watch I'm a Virgo. Thanks for the recommendation.
I'm happy to hear you talk about Nimona! It's a great movie, and the Sea Beast is a regular in our house. I've only ever seen the Spanish dub though bc I watched it w my grandma and generally don't have much confidence in English speaking voice actors, but I'll give it a shot! I can't believe his name is Ambrosius though :/ the Spanish Ambrosio sounds better
"Absolute memory hole" is such a brutal insult to Out-Laws, gonna have to remember to use that one. Sold me on Nimona though, I had a similar thing of watching the trailer and being pretty "meh" on it, but gonna have to make sure I watch it. Also will have to watch The Sea Beast in a double feature, literally never heard of it until now.
I've said it before: I watch new videos from Dan Drambles as soon as I can, and when Dan tells me to go watch something, I watch it. Also I'm already subbed/rung the bell/liked the video, so here's a comment to boost potential algorithmic success as much as I can,
So I managed to see the New York premier of Nimona, and after the movie, they got a bunch of people involved up and had a little interview with them. One of them was ND himself, who was one of the writers of the movie. One of my favorite memories though it one of the directors saying "Pirate it if you want to, I do not care. Do whatever you need to in order to watch it."
Hey Dan, love the video and so glad to have you back mate! Animated works have always been ignored outside of devoted fan communities even though they continue to produce such amazing masterworks. For example, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is still considered by many to be the best Batman film ever made. Same with the Spider-verse films. And tbh Transformers: The Movie (1986) with all of its faults is still better than any of the live action films we've gotten. And can you think of any war film that captures the true horror of war better then Grave of the Fireflies?
I love how concise and well articulated this review is- there's so much analysis and depth to it, while still managing to be relatively short. You did a really wonderful job, honestly. Definitely underrated
Ok, Dan-o! I've been in burnout for quite awhile, so sensitive as flux. How many times are you gonna bring me to tears this year? Though, this time it is the film. Wow! It took 3 tries to finally watch it (sober), and my heart is shaken. You keep building, I'll keep.... erm, watching! 🥰
There were at least 4 great animations during 2023, Nimona definitely being one of them. My order is: 1. The Boy and the Heron 2. Nimona 3. Suzume 4. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse And I'd list them all in my top 10 movies of 2023, just below Oppenheimer (No 1) and Poor Things (No 2) (I've not yet seen Barbie, but I doubt that it could knock off my top 4).
This is the 2nd time I've watched this. I was drunk as funk the first time. I'm drunk right now, but not as much (I think). You know after Alice in Borderland, I'll follow my Pied Piper anywhere. Gonna try to watch it tonight, and hopefully, I'll remember it. ❤🔥 Big Love to U, Oh Danny-boy!
I (kinda, to an extent) understand why boomers don't understand MMT; they were around when America went off the gold standard, and that's what pretty much all the economics they learned about were based on. MMT doesn't work on fixed exchange rates, and they try to bring that kind of thinking into the today's money. Of course, that's no excuse to not learn the modern stuff either
I think this movie is great, and its themes are fantastic but I can understand why it hasn't quite generated the types of conversation that its peers has. Strip it down to its bare bones and it's a fairly bog standard fantasy tale. Its message is clear, and relatable, (doubly so for queer audiences) but there isn't as much depth to it as there could be. Again, I really enjoy this movie, and I really think it deserves even more respect but I also understand why the conversation around it is fairly surface-level and not as widespread.
I get that, but for me a good story isn't on its plot beats but in how it's told. The way this film is animated, its performances, its explorations around systemic issues etc, all ascend it to far beyond its standard fantasy tale bones. You can strip a lot of things to their cores and come to similar conclusions, e.g. John Wick is a standard revenge story, Rocky is a standard underdog story, Lord of the Rings is the most standard of standard fantasy tales, but obviously they all build on these cores with aesthetic and character and themes to ascend past that base level. Nimona is kind of that for me. Appreciate the comment though, good point and well made.
@@DanDrambles I totally agree, i think its just the world we live in where movies that don't have Keanu star power, the legacy of lotr, or the rose colored glasses of Rocky have to do so much more to 'earn' a dominant place in the public consciousness. Nimona could have acheived that if there was more to dig into, more questions raised, more lore given, etc etc. Without more to sink our teeth into conversations are relatively shallow, focusing on things like the humor, and lgbt themes. Half of said discussion is dominated by nut balls. Either way, this was a good vid. Let us hope the positive reception Nimona has earned will help green light more akin to it.
It's a bit difficult, but ya gotta not refer to Nimona as "her", they make it pretty clear the little girl form isn't their "true" or "original" form, but just another shape they shift into sometimes. Part of the movie is people wanting Nimona to just chill and stay as the young girl form because it's easier and less complicated, and Nimona is NOT about that. A weird dancing shark is equally Nimona as a little girl or a copy of the knights.
Oh for sure, but I thought they made it clear in the film that they were happy for Ballister to use she/her pronouns for them if I'm not mistaken? I took it that they were non-binary but happy with she/her/they/them, is that not right?
Kids movie is not an insult. Lots of wonderful, complex, vividly detailed and thematically rich movies are kids movies. Star Wars was made as a kids movie, Marcel the Shell is a kids movie, Spiritied Away is a kids movie. Kids movies are great and can be enjoyed by any age.
the movie was kinda funny, the animation was good, it was gay, but the movie makes you think it has anti-authoritarian message when it DOESN'T. It has a generic ass message of "don't treat people bad because they're different", when it spends the first half of the movie (seemingly) setting up themes of class and does ABSOLUTELY nothing to pay it off. Capitalism, Monarchy, and Class go UNQUESTIONED for the length of the movie and Unchanged by the end. Nimona is not an anarchist character, and the creator's use of an anarchy symbol at the end is fucking insulting. The movie was mid as fuck.
ALSO, the wall was set up throughout the entire movie for nothing. You'll never guess what's on the outside of The Big Scary Wall. It's outside. "Whats on the outside of the wall?" Outside. Outside is outside. Nature is outside of the city.
last thing, but it really fucking bugs me that Nimona is 100% the only "monster" in the entire world, no others are ever shown, sympathized with, or even mentioned. She's supposed to be a metaphor for being a member of a systematically oppressed group, right? Particularly queer people. So why is she alone? One of the greatest joys of being a marginalized person, is knowing that there are others just like you and that they fucking love you, and I feel that was sorely missing from Nimona
Okay a fair perspective but wasn't the whole fact that there was nothing outside of the wall the whole point? The wall is a system of fear that keeps everyone in line in a way that they do not question it for fear of their own safety, the wall is institutional politics, the all is the police, the wall is closed borders. The wall is there to "protect us" and then the films reveal that there's nothing outside of it is the movie's way of communicating "from what?". The masses of the public in Nimona fear the outside of the wall because they are told to fear it, through the media, through "us and them" messaging that puts everything within the walls as "us" and everything outside of it as "outsider", it doesn't matter that there's nothing there, that there's nothing to fear and the reveal of the nature outside of it is played like a removal of the blindfold moment. If there's just scary monsters outside the wall they have to worry about then the film proves the institution correct. Similarly I understand the criticism of Nimona missing other monsters and we only see her and that community is a huge important part of marginalised group but in terms of storytelling and metaphor her story needs to see her feeling isolated to begin with and finding community, which no she doesn't find in other monsters, but she does find in another marginalised community member will Ballister who's class is an obstacle for how he's perceived by everyone but Nimona and Ambrosius and is the reason he is framed for crime in the first place.
Some biiiiiiiiiigggg things coming up on the channel soon. Like oh my goodness.
Apologies if this seems too much, but I feel that way about every upload. I genuinely needed those wholesome halloweens.
Very nice video! I completely agree. I really wish animation would get the same appreciation as live-action film. Google "Nimona Theatrical Release October 2023" and maybe we can convince Netflix to release Nimona into theaters.
I'm hyped. I love your vids :)
I've heard Nimona described a lot of ways, gremlin or goblin are pretty common, but I think "lovable little dickhead" has to be my favourite so far. She really is.
An agent of chaos.
It's now my daughter's favorite movie, so of course I've seen it 11 times. The animation is phenomenal, there are a ton of Easter eggs (Including what I'm pretty sure is a Kick-Ass reference), and it's a story that feels both huge and small at the same time. It's so good.
Next to Across the Spider-Verse, this is among the absolute best animated films of the year
Puss in boots too
I've watched it every other day since it came out. Still makes me cry, every time.
Nimona was SO lovingly made--I've read interviews with the directors and design team, and all their aesthetic choices (like making characters look less detailed the further away they get, or staging lighting to put the Institution in light and Ballister/Nimona in the dark) were all made with the themes in mind. Every detail in this movie has a purpose, and the more I watch it, the more artistry I see. It's such a joy to experience every time, because I pick up something new from the background or recognize an Easter egg, or make a connection I didn't before. The acting, the animation, and the writing are ALL beautiful, and it's a movie I know I'll keep coming back to when I need the reminder that there are people out there who understand what I, a queer and trans person, face in the real world. This movie is a reminder that I am seen, and I am not alone.
ND Stevenson's legacy continues to live on with the story that got him popular to begin with being made into this banger, one of the writers of She-Ra bringing us a great new Superman cartoon, and I even ended up loving Dial of Destiny. Barbie and Oppenheimer aren't even out yet. I'd say I've been eating pretty good recently.
Just FYI, ND uses he/him pronouns
@@juicybutterriblydrab Thanks! Corrected!
She*
I watched it after watching your video. You are 100% right.
So good
Apart from its beauty as a work of art, Nimona gives me hope: if a movie like this can get made, and be released, and be liked, what does that say about common attitudes towards our corrupt and decrepit institutions? And about the possibility of radical change for the better? There must be an ever increasing number of people who are thinking: enough, this can't go on, revolution please.
Nothing like this could have been made outside tiny, radical, arts communities in the 90s.
Amazing. And so very queer.
you watched the movie, right? there isn't a revolution, there's barely a change. If you want revolution, go watch I'm A Virgo, Nimona is "all we have to do is convince people to stop being mean and they'll help defeat the singular antagonist!" Tell me, what even was the target of the movie? Who is the oppressed group? Who is the antagonist? What things in the movie is accepted as normal? Because what I see is a broad and vague metaphor that I don't relate to (i'm queer, people don't point swords at me bc they're scared, they make laws that fuck me over because they hate me), while capitalism went along in the background of the movie like it was nothing, Ballister being a commoner meant nothing past the first five minutes, they never even questioned the idea of having a queen it was just like "trust me, she's a nice queen". PLEASE, I am BEGGING you not to make this your standard for "radical" media
@@Heyfluffu I think you're taking Nimona too literally and thus misinterpreting it. Is it any kind of "standard"? No, of course not. It's an animated comic fantasy that kids can watch, as well as adults. It's meant to be a crowd-pleaser. Thematically it's about challenging the assumption that what's different has to be feared and excluded. It displays a changed mindset about what can done in this kind of animated film, compared to what you would have seen a few decades ago. That's a sign of hope.
That's all I'm saying. No, it's not a depiction of revolution. It also doesn't show the complex ways oppression functions. It certainly has limitations. It does not critique capitalism. But for what it is -- I like it. I think it's funny and sweet and it says something kids need to hear in this near-fascist environment.
You, of course, do not have to like it.
But I will watch I'm a Virgo. Thanks for the recommendation.
I'm happy to hear you talk about Nimona! It's a great movie, and the Sea Beast is a regular in our house.
I've only ever seen the Spanish dub though bc I watched it w my grandma and generally don't have much confidence in English speaking voice actors, but I'll give it a shot! I can't believe his name is Ambrosius though :/ the Spanish Ambrosio sounds better
"Absolute memory hole" is such a brutal insult to Out-Laws, gonna have to remember to use that one. Sold me on Nimona though, I had a similar thing of watching the trailer and being pretty "meh" on it, but gonna have to make sure I watch it. Also will have to watch The Sea Beast in a double feature, literally never heard of it until now.
ITS SO SO GOOD
I've said it before: I watch new videos from Dan Drambles as soon as I can, and when Dan tells me to go watch something, I watch it. Also I'm already subbed/rung the bell/liked the video, so here's a comment to boost potential algorithmic success as much as I can,
Wow, thanks! Appreciate the support!
Okay I have to go watch this now. Dan has sold me on this movie.
So I managed to see the New York premier of Nimona, and after the movie, they got a bunch of people involved up and had a little interview with them. One of them was ND himself, who was one of the writers of the movie. One of my favorite memories though it one of the directors saying "Pirate it if you want to, I do not care. Do whatever you need to in order to watch it."
Love that.
Okay, I watched it! Amazing! You're recommendations are a gold mine.
Hey Dan, love the video and so glad to have you back mate!
Animated works have always been ignored outside of devoted fan communities even though they continue to produce such amazing masterworks.
For example, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is still considered by many to be the best Batman film ever made. Same with the Spider-verse films. And tbh Transformers: The Movie (1986) with all of its faults is still better than any of the live action films we've gotten.
And can you think of any war film that captures the true horror of war better then Grave of the Fireflies?
"I'm not a girl. I'm a shark! *snap snap*" - I love this movie :-D
Looks good. You steered me to Fear Street so I'll give it a go.
I love how concise and well articulated this review is- there's so much analysis and depth to it, while still managing to be relatively short. You did a really wonderful job, honestly. Definitely underrated
Thank you so much!
Awesome video.
Best film I've seen this year to date. It's wonderful. On every level.
I enjoyed Nimona more than the Sea Beast honestly. But they are both bangers
Ok, Dan-o! I've been in burnout for quite awhile, so sensitive as flux. How many times are you gonna bring me to tears this year? Though, this time it is the film. Wow! It took 3 tries to finally watch it (sober), and my heart is shaken. You keep building, I'll keep.... erm, watching! 🥰
Yay Drambles!
There were at least 4 great animations during 2023, Nimona definitely being one of them. My order is:
1. The Boy and the Heron
2. Nimona
3. Suzume
4. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
And I'd list them all in my top 10 movies of 2023, just below Oppenheimer (No 1) and Poor Things (No 2) (I've not yet seen Barbie, but I doubt that it could knock off my top 4).
Completely agree, this is an amazing film! Any chance we could convince Netflix to get it into theaters? Even if only for a weekend?
Has an axe to grind, can shapeshift-- chooses to sneak around in the shadows and wait to become a SIDEKICK...?
Welp, I've seen all I need to.
The voice actress who played nimona is great, but I think a another option would be the one who played tiny Tina in borderlands 2!
This is the 2nd time I've watched this. I was drunk as funk the first time. I'm drunk right now, but not as much (I think). You know after Alice in Borderland, I'll follow my Pied Piper anywhere. Gonna try to watch it tonight, and hopefully, I'll remember it. ❤🔥 Big Love to U, Oh Danny-boy!
Still waiting on Alice in Borderland part 2 but know now if Dan says watch this then you watch it
This movie left me crying in fetal position for about 20 minutes.
I (kinda, to an extent) understand why boomers don't understand MMT; they were around when America went off the gold standard, and that's what pretty much all the economics they learned about were based on. MMT doesn't work on fixed exchange rates, and they try to bring that kind of thinking into the today's money.
Of course, that's no excuse to not learn the modern stuff either
I think this movie is great, and its themes are fantastic but I can understand why it hasn't quite generated the types of conversation that its peers has. Strip it down to its bare bones and it's a fairly bog standard fantasy tale. Its message is clear, and relatable, (doubly so for queer audiences) but there isn't as much depth to it as there could be. Again, I really enjoy this movie, and I really think it deserves even more respect but I also understand why the conversation around it is fairly surface-level and not as widespread.
I get that, but for me a good story isn't on its plot beats but in how it's told. The way this film is animated, its performances, its explorations around systemic issues etc, all ascend it to far beyond its standard fantasy tale bones. You can strip a lot of things to their cores and come to similar conclusions, e.g. John Wick is a standard revenge story, Rocky is a standard underdog story, Lord of the Rings is the most standard of standard fantasy tales, but obviously they all build on these cores with aesthetic and character and themes to ascend past that base level. Nimona is kind of that for me. Appreciate the comment though, good point and well made.
@@DanDrambles I totally agree, i think its just the world we live in where movies that don't have Keanu star power, the legacy of lotr, or the rose colored glasses of Rocky have to do so much more to 'earn' a dominant place in the public consciousness.
Nimona could have acheived that if there was more to dig into, more questions raised, more lore given, etc etc. Without more to sink our teeth into conversations are relatively shallow, focusing on things like the humor, and lgbt themes. Half of said discussion is dominated by nut balls.
Either way, this was a good vid. Let us hope the positive reception Nimona has earned will help green light more akin to it.
Up
Though it is three decades late for my childhood, I expect to love this movie in my nonbinary, anarchocommunist adulthood.
Now the spiderverse movies are undeniably brilliant but I will not sit by and tolerate the disrespect shown to spiderman homecoming.
I like the MCU Spider-Mans a lot actually! They just aren't Spider-Verse.
@@DanDramblesobjection withdrawn 😂
It's a bit difficult, but ya gotta not refer to Nimona as "her", they make it pretty clear the little girl form isn't their "true" or "original" form, but just another shape they shift into sometimes. Part of the movie is people wanting Nimona to just chill and stay as the young girl form because it's easier and less complicated, and Nimona is NOT about that. A weird dancing shark is equally Nimona as a little girl or a copy of the knights.
Oh for sure, but I thought they made it clear in the film that they were happy for Ballister to use she/her pronouns for them if I'm not mistaken? I took it that they were non-binary but happy with she/her/they/them, is that not right?
Please, don't call it a kids movie. Kids will not begin to understand this movie. I'm 74 and this is not a kids movie. Stop it.
Kids movie is not an insult. Lots of wonderful, complex, vividly detailed and thematically rich movies are kids movies. Star Wars was made as a kids movie, Marcel the Shell is a kids movie, Spiritied Away is a kids movie. Kids movies are great and can be enjoyed by any age.
the movie was kinda funny, the animation was good, it was gay, but the movie makes you think it has anti-authoritarian message when it DOESN'T. It has a generic ass message of "don't treat people bad because they're different", when it spends the first half of the movie (seemingly) setting up themes of class and does ABSOLUTELY nothing to pay it off. Capitalism, Monarchy, and Class go UNQUESTIONED for the length of the movie and Unchanged by the end. Nimona is not an anarchist character, and the creator's use of an anarchy symbol at the end is fucking insulting. The movie was mid as fuck.
ALSO, the wall was set up throughout the entire movie for nothing. You'll never guess what's on the outside of The Big Scary Wall. It's outside. "Whats on the outside of the wall?" Outside. Outside is outside. Nature is outside of the city.
last thing, but it really fucking bugs me that Nimona is 100% the only "monster" in the entire world, no others are ever shown, sympathized with, or even mentioned. She's supposed to be a metaphor for being a member of a systematically oppressed group, right? Particularly queer people. So why is she alone? One of the greatest joys of being a marginalized person, is knowing that there are others just like you and that they fucking love you, and I feel that was sorely missing from Nimona
Okay a fair perspective but wasn't the whole fact that there was nothing outside of the wall the whole point? The wall is a system of fear that keeps everyone in line in a way that they do not question it for fear of their own safety, the wall is institutional politics, the all is the police, the wall is closed borders.
The wall is there to "protect us" and then the films reveal that there's nothing outside of it is the movie's way of communicating "from what?".
The masses of the public in Nimona fear the outside of the wall because they are told to fear it, through the media, through "us and them" messaging that puts everything within the walls as "us" and everything outside of it as "outsider", it doesn't matter that there's nothing there, that there's nothing to fear and the reveal of the nature outside of it is played like a removal of the blindfold moment. If there's just scary monsters outside the wall they have to worry about then the film proves the institution correct.
Similarly I understand the criticism of Nimona missing other monsters and we only see her and that community is a huge important part of marginalised group but in terms of storytelling and metaphor her story needs to see her feeling isolated to begin with and finding community, which no she doesn't find in other monsters, but she does find in another marginalised community member will Ballister who's class is an obstacle for how he's perceived by everyone but Nimona and Ambrosius and is the reason he is framed for crime in the first place.
No
I genuinely cannot wrap my head around how anyone older than like, 6, could enjoy this movie. People seem to, but I just do not understand it.
🗑️
No this movie is not worth to watch