Disability and Queerness in Nimona

[@ichbinben.]

The line: "I don't know what's worse: The fact that the entire kingdom wants to put a sword through my heart, or the fact that, sometimes, I just wanna let them" has permanently burned itself into my brain. I love this movie so much.

[@elegantowl5971]

I don’t really cry at movies. But that line made me sob. It hit me close and made me feel so connected to Nimona’s story.

[@mothbutgay]

same bro that line hit SO DAMN HARD AAAAA

[@jacksparrowismydaddy]

after hearing her say that Bal's dad hug ripped out my heart. the apology too but the dad hug the most.

[@hydrofalls8154]

Everytime I watch the ending I just choke up

[@jacksparrowismydaddy]

@@hydrofalls8154 I know **hug** I laughed so hard when it ended on "HOLY SHI!!*" I knew she was coming back. I just really love how. hey does anyone know the name of the song Bal was listening too when she first showed up?

[@saladglove]

For me (as a trans man myself), I see the reason as to why Nimona is so ancient, their age truly unknown, even before meeting Gloreth, AND the reason as to why they return after "dying" is *because* their character is an allegory for trans people. We've always been here, and we always will be, no matter how much hateful people try to tear us down.

[@claran3616]

Frickin Well said.

[@LAWless_Nonsense]

Wow that is such a valid take and fits SO WELL, it makes so much sense I feel so stupid for not noticing that XD

[@Jasmin-lg3gf]

For me, Nimona is much more of an allegory for furries. I mean, she literally turns into her fursonas.

[@Zapporah85]

That's such a lovely point of view. I'm going to view it that way too I think ❤

[@boop-9167]

@@Jasmin-lg3gf She can be a trans furry

[@shinkoryu14]

Honestly the "allegory" of the transness in this movie was so in your face it might as well have been explicit, lol. The number of times Ballister calls Nimona a "girl" and she retorts something to the tune of "I'm not a girl", for example. The time she shapeshifts into a waif boy and he remarks "And now you're a boy" to which she responds "today!" The fact that there is an honest to god trans flag in the neons in the background of the "I sure wouldn't be livin'" scene!!! I also love the way they characterize Ambrosius, because it's pretty illustrative of the way conservatives in our society have tried to convince gay people that other queers- trans ones in particular, but asexual, bisexual, pansexual, and etc as well- are the enemy. That they can have acceptance if they turn on those OTHERS. That even if you are part of one minority group, that does not make you immune to propaganda or being a bigot towards other minority groups. This is what makes Ballister's brief turn on Nimona near the end resonate and not feel forced, because it's so realistic. Breaking free of social brainwashing is a process, especially when people you yourself care about are trying to reinforce that status quo. I really liked your point about how the movie handles the angst (or lack thereof) around Ballister's disability. That being that the focus is less on "you're disabled now and that's tragic" and more on "someone you were very close to badly hurt you and you are entitled to have complicated feelings about that and express those feelings, actually." Nimona has been down this road of someone she was close to hurting her before, albeit less literally, and is practically begging Bal to be angry about it because SHE is angry both for herself and on his behalf. It makes the "then let's break stuff" scene SO cathartic, because Ballister does finally let himself be justifiably angry. I have a Lot Of Feelings about this movie, clearly, ahaha. The one big gripe my friend who watched it with me and I had was that we wish Ambrosius had more of a solid redemption in the movie and less of a... he realizes the director was wrong and is all forgiven now. An apology for all the nonsense he pulled would've been nice, at least. But the way both Nimona and Ballister were handled was spot on, and I'm super glad this movie exists.

[@BAVy11037]

>it might as well have been explicit We should not have to search for a trans flag in a background of one shot in order to get explicit trans rep

[@shinkoryu14]

@@BAVy11037 As someone who is both trans and asexual, believe me, I get it. I will never not be a bit bitter that both Steven Universe and The Owl House, shows otherwise praised to high heaven for their excellent, in your face and unapologetic representation, had characters that were apparently supposed to be asexual the whole time, but we wouldn't know that without word of god. To the point that the whole fandom ships Peridot with Lapis and flagrantly ignores her canonical asexuality because it wasn't clarified until after the show had wrapped. And the fact that there are people out there who completely missed Nimona's obvious genderfluidity is demonstrative of the fact that we need in your face, loud and explicit representation, because any shred of deniability will be grasped by anyone with an agenda to do the denying. That does not negate the fact that this movie is SO steeped in trans culture and the trans experience that it means a very great deal to a lot of people, myself included. And I've known people like Nimona who don't identify as cis, but refuse to label their gender otherwise, and that's completely valid. To conclude, yes, I 100% agree with you, but I still love this movie for what it is.

[@mothbutgay]

I totally agree with your last point but I guess technically we could imagine that he properly apologized in the timeskip but yeah I do still wish we saw it and yeah your other points are so good and real!!

[@iluvchess14736]

"And you're a boy now." "I am today" What a lovable little gremlin

[@BAVy11037]

@@shinkoryu14 oh yeah, for sure, it's a great movie. Among other things, I like how it shows that NB people can use binary pronouns, and that doesn't make them not NB. In shows like SU, TOH, SPOP for example, NB *people* use only they/them. Idk who was supposed to be ace in TOH, but in SU, I think Peri not wanting to fuse with anyone is supposed to mean that she is ace, right? And she can still be shipped with Lapis, since she's not aroace, is she? This does not extend to people who ship them and then also imagine/draw a fusion of the two.

[@Yourlocaltrashgoblin]

Another thing to acknowledge, ND openly admitted it’s an allegory for his own transness. I don’t think it’s allegory for allegory in the way many writers do but instead a fantasy. Another good example of this is double trouble from spop, I adore them, and find a lot of enby fans do, shapeshifting is such a power fantasy i find even in explicitly queer stories, trans writers will often use shapeshifting for enby/trans characters because of that aspect. Because it doesn’t feel written in a way to hide it but instead to most outwardly express it, it doesn’t feel particularly annoying or painful to watch.

[@kiwipomegranate]

!!! I was about to comment about this! Also I love Double Trouble I wish I was them :((( Also heads up ND Stevenson uses he/him pronouns now and not they/them anymore :) not trying to be rude or anything, I also just found out recently too lmao

[@Yourlocaltrashgoblin]

@@kiwipomegranate oh! Thx wasn't sure where he stood anymore but I know for a long time they them was a consistent pronoun so I used it imma fix the post lol

[@vilmublues752]

Yeah, Nimona's character was basically his way to explore stuff he did not yet realize about himself when he was younger. The allegory was made more explicit in the movie years later, because Nate now understands what that was about. And yeah, he has talked about how he has always loved shape-shifters. For example, he really liked that random shape-shifter bounty hunter (Zam Wesell is her name) that appeared in one of the Star Wars prequels and Double Trouble was partially inspired by her. I understand it's frustrating when trans and non-binary characters often are allegorical fantastical beings and stuff, but many of them are not that way just for the comfort of cis audiences and the creators have talked about how it's a cathartic way to express their own identities (like Nimona's fluidity and the Gems from Steven Universe being non-binary women.)

[@saltydinonuggies1841]

@@vilmublues752 Yeah I can definitely see the reasons people (including non-binary people) dislike Double Trouble, and there is something to be said about so many of them being shape-shifters, but I'd take that choice of power any day tbh.

[@Spagettigeist]

@@saltydinonuggies1841 As an Enby I would LOVE to have shapeshifting powers. So I don't really mind if the characters are shape shifters instead of humans. Not to mention... the majority of people in that She-ra serie are NOT human, so it doesn't really make Double Trouble an other, just because they are able to shapeshift.

[@BaobhanloreArt]

I think the fake out death works in this case because Nimona isn't just a character in the movie but a representation of the concept of otherness, primarily transness. Her coming back doesn't necessarily undermine the sacrifice, because she seems to have been gone for quite a while so was likely injured, but it also represents how the trans community will always come back. No matter the hardship, trans and genderqueer people will always exist and though it takes time for the community to heal, they aren't going anywhere.

[@TheQuietTyper]

Nimona is 100% gender fluid.

[@lake4433]

"And you're a boy now." *"I am today* 😈"

[@stardra]

Honestly, I haven’t seen much genderfluid representation in the media, so seeing Nimona made me so happy! Of course it wasn’t directly stated, but it was implied enough that I’m sure everyone could tell.

[@Cottencandyfago]

As a gender-fluid person I agree

[@phoney2627]

Yeah aside from the time she's pretending to be Bal I think it's pretty heavily implied that her shapeshifting abilities are not her pretending to be something she's not. When she's a shark she's literally a shark. When she's a whale she's literally a whale.

[@justagoofyahhusername]

@@lake4433 i'm surprised that not many people are pointing out that line

[@elegantowl5971]

The amount of allegories you can read into Nimona is amazing. It made me feel seen both as a autistic person and as a queer person. I love the movie so much, it has latched onto my heart and I’m never letting it go.

[@ohrats731]

That is one upside to the subtleness of the allegory is that anyone with similar feelings can relate for different reasons. Nimona’s character definitely felt like a warm hug for the “weird” folks 😌

[@itsblitz4437]

How many allegories are we talking about?

[@iclynnx]

Yes! Exactly how I felt, too. When Nimona explained how it felt to hold back from shapeshifting, I related so hard, not with just being queer and hiding it from people in my personal life, but with my autistic quirks. Even just today, I felt like a little bit of the odd one out in a group. I'm just me. Back as a kid I didn't feel comfortable being me. I held back, even just 2 years ago. So Nimona's quotes hit me in the feels.

[@Spirals_of_change]

⁠@@iclynnxyup as an autistic person I relate to the experience of not quite fitting in within a group

[@ronjaj.addams-ramstedt1023]

* solidarity fist bump * from an AutDHD & agender Finn

[@kikurosai]

It may be possible that I'm reading too deeply into it, but I like to think that Nimona coming back after her sacrifice is a means of showing that we'll always be here. We've always existed, and we're always going to exist. No matter how many of us are "eradicated," we will always be here, we will always come back, and we will always exist. It's simply a part of being human.

[@bpblitz]

As a person with a tangentially related disability, Nimona's "Did they let you keep the old one" had me in stitches. I've always been very cavalier about my disability.

[@stick3448]

I really like Nimona's death fake-out actually because we see the society *change*. We see that they become better and less hostile to her before she comes back out. She leaves a world that hates her, and by the time she comes back, they have already put in a lot of work to change and grow - into being a safer place to live authentically.

[@antonemberbroque4452]

I think another part of Nimona's age appearance is how many people percive queerness to be something now/young when in reality its been a part of humanity for a LOT longer.

[@myStitch11]

I randomly had a disabled door dasher joke about his disability in a way I was glad he made the joke himself. He was someone missing a hand, it was a big order, and our door is heavy/difficult to open. Knowing this I rushed over and opened the door to help so he wouldn’t have to juggle everything (I have held the door open frequently for people who would struggle with the door without someone with them to help.) I said something along the lines of, “let me get that for you.” Without missing a beat he said, “Thanks, I could always use a hand!” waving his nub with a big smile.

[@VoidStaresback]

On the joking about your disability part: I enjoy it a lot. Yesterday I was so worn down from walking two km that I could barely stand for an hour (I have a mythocondrial variant/decease that makes my muscles wear themselves down if I push myself too hard) and my mom pulled out a chair so I could watch her pick plums and we joked about the situation. It honestly made the nausea and muscle pain feel easier to deal with.

[@odditycat2716]

I have absurd and often vulgar verbal tics. I always encourage people to laugh at them, but they always apologize anyway. I mean sure, I wouldn't want strangers doing it, but I don't even have to know you that well, I just have to know it's coming from the right place and we're chill.

[@myaltaccount4438]

"How many of us need to die before you bring the empathy you do to our memorials to our lives." Is such a beautiful yet tragic line and I'm going to use that.

[@JesusMartinez-rr2ry]

The medieval/futuristic hybrid setting acts as a metaphor for how the society had technologically advanced, yet still retained the close-minded medieval mindset of villifying anything they find strange, including Nimona.

[@julhol7482]

Arm chopping is not a love language Unless you're Raeda, apparently

[@marisokami5259]

nimona's description of what it feels like if she doesn't shapeshift is also identical to tourrette's tics, "the moment right before you sneeze, that's close to it". i think nimona is a good allegory for ND things too, her shapeshifting is a good allegory for genderfluid expression but also age regression and confusion that comes with looking like an adult but not quite feeling like you really are one yet because you can't do the things other adults can, nimona can just shapeshift into what she wants herself though to get around that. also the shapeshifting feels also as an allegory for stimming to me because it's something people freak out about but she must do it or she wouldn't be truly alive. also not being quite like other 'humans" but not being accepted for what you are is a common thing that happens to young autistic kids, there should be more movies that do better and show human people who are us doing things that aren't about just surviving discrimination, although it would be refreshing to see a movie about an autistic person where discrimination is acknowledged. i do think that nimona is radical enough that i don't mind it not going all the way, it goes a long way and it's ok to acknowledge that. balistar should've gotten a montage of getting some sci fi stuff to heal faster but the fact that he is a disabled hero that is accused of being a villain is genius to me because it points at that a lot of villains in kids movies look villainous because they look disabled. the guy with the eyepatch is never the good guy. so having balistar look like he could be the villain but then the movie is all about him obviously being innocent is gonna make young people realise things about that trope, as well as the nice slow buildup of balistar learning that all knights are bastards and that he can't nor doesn't really want to be one anymore. it's really gonna help people figure things out, i also find it beautiful how they achieve a balance between that people will not change their minds even when they see evidence and changing society is hard, but it can still be done. there's flaws with the movie sure but i think this'll really open the door for other creators to push further.

[@IDKwhatimdoing-b5h]

Yesss! I view myself in Nimona in terms of being neurodivergent.

[@Anonymous_Gambito]

Yeah, Nimona works as a metaphor for various forms of neurodivergency, both in the movie and the comic (which has some plot points that hit close to the themes of psychiatrist abuse that really got to me) and it makes sense that it does since the author is bipolar (and possibly ADHD??? He never made that clear) and poured so much of his feelings at the time into her. Also, yeah, the fact that Ballister is design to have a lot of "stereotypical villain traits" that just boil down to discrimination against certain groups of people is a great choice. Like, he's a scarred, disabled, queer person of color and in the movie there's also the thing with him being the first commoner to train as a knight. He's the kind of person society chooses to see as a villain.

[@adamaris1760]

Yeeeees. No notes. Just agreement. I love how there are layers in this story.

[@robbietheweirdo]

definitely strikes me as autistic

[@felispolyglottos]

SO TRUE!!

[@yuugosvida]

I love this film especially with polish dub/translation bc Nimona uses our version of they/them pronouns and it's extra important fact bc those pronouns are still viewed as weird, tough to use, used only to degrade queer folks etc bc polish language is extremely gendered - every noun and verb is labeled male/female so it's sooo cool that Nimona uses it/its pronouns bc it normalises those pronouns and all

[@keith720]

That's super cool

[@nectarinn3]

Oh yo they did that? That's awesome, I'm polish but only saw the english versiom

[@yuugosvida]

@nectarinn3 i recommend seeing it in polish! The dub is super nice

[@journey_to_chaos7313]

I’m agender and the, “but I’m not a girl, I’m Nimona” is just like, YES. THAT is how I see myself😁

[@pemanilnoob]

It is SO relatable The AMOUNT OF TIMES I’ve told people who questioned me that “I’m a person” is abhorrent

[@Toon_Topaz]

My agenderness is more “I have no gender so technically I could be any gender, idc really”, but I agree it’s so annoying when people just can’t grasp that no gender means NO gender

[@nothingposted9056]

I want to say that it could take a while to replace the billboards if this is a highly bureaucratic state, where every little thing has red tape unless you know the right people. The billboard they were taking off was probably low priority, since it didn't seem to have Ballister's face, so...maybe they left it for later?

[@aliciacordero8399]

It does have Ballister's face, but it's from when he was a kid rather than the adult that most people know. So I think you might be right.

[@sakuraice22]

The billboard has young Ballister (along with the other knights)

[@trashcatlinol]

So, i got to thinking, not as many people consider needing glasses a disability. But imagine if all prisoners had to surrender their glasses when arrested.... or contacts.

[@ramsiethegremlin4310]

Sometimes they do. If they feel the glasses can be used as a weapon they will take them away. I remember asking about that when I was younger when we had officer’s at my school. When I asked what they would do if the person genuinely couldn’t see without them they said “they shouldn’t have committed the crime if they can’t handle the consequences.” It made me mad as someone with glasses because the crime could be as little as theft all because someone *might* use the glasses to harm someone else.

[@trashcatlinol]

@@ramsiethegremlin4310 does not surprise me in the slightest. Though weaponized contacts are an interesting concept XD

[@Joy-zz8wz]

Wow that officer sounds like an asshole

[@SolarSeaSlug]

HELLO i use a non-yt app to watch yt because i started getting some absolutely awful ads but like, i re-installed to hunt down your comment because this is one of the best ways to explain alternate ways of thinking about disability, especially the social model of disability!! It's really exciting to see people out their starting to make these connections on their own--poor eyesight _is_ a disability! it can impaor ones ability to perform certain tasks, and make wearing certain headgear, like dafety goggles or helmets, more difficult. It can also make certain physical activity impossible without potentially breaking them. But, a lot of the reason we dont think of this as a disability is because we have transitioned to a normalization of slightly or somewhat poor eyesight (at least, up until the point of being legally blind, or near that.) It's now common sense that someone who needs glasses but doesnt have access to them would perform worse in almost every area. It isn't weird or out-there to see characters wearing glasses in media, even main characters. And, of course, it feels absurd to demand someone take out their contact lenses after imprisoning them! Most of society can correctly identify ableism (both systemic and individual) as the real problem. This is the basic idea of the social model of disability. disability is created by the barriers around the disabled person that makes them disabled. understanding this, we should let these disabled people innquestion kead the charge against ableism, so that we can give them what they need to thrive. The social model acknowledges that people with poor eyesight who need glasses or contacts _can_ thrive as they are, without needing, say, eye surgery. Now, most disabilities are ones that are not normalized, lets say for myself that's chronic pain. the medical modle of disability identifies the probpem not as being the barriers I face, such as a building with another floor i need to access but no elevator, or a workplace refusing accomodations without like 8 abled doctors saying i definitely have the thing, but it says the problem is my own body, and its attempts lt protect itself from long-gone threats in the form of pain. The medical model says that as a result we can't trust disabled people tonhave knowledge of their own disabilities, be independent, or succeed under the right circumstances; under the medical model, society at large believes I should find a way to cure my own chronic pain, rather than be accomodated for a permanent fixture only body and its workings. this is oversimplified of course--some disabilities cannot, in fact, be cured by removing all ableism. Like, having many types of chronic illness still sucks even in an ideal world that is extremely accomodating of that disability. but yeah, its that medical model that identifies prosthetic users as inherently other, not to be trusted withnthe management of their own disability, compounding with societal conceptions of criminality, and therefore having the dehumanizing outcome of police _taking away their limbs!_ long 3 am ramble, but like, yeah. really cool to see people starting to connec tthe dots on their own! its noce to remember epople can learn and change and grow and i can be optimistic and look toward a world that is less ableist. I recommend reading up more on disability if you read this all the way through! the sociology and politics of it is fascinating, and only becoming more relevant.

[@helloIisperson]

I'm asthmatic, I dont remember a time I haven't been, its annoying, I kinda hate it but I live w/ it. That being said I let my close friends call me lung-struggler 😂 they dubbed me w/ the term & I wear it like a fxcking badge of honor, they let me joke w/ them about their pacer test scores (I tend to get 1 or 2 more laps than my bff)

[@ronjaj.addams-ramstedt1023]

* solidarity fist bump * from an asthmatic in Finland, EU

[@MythicalHex]

I too am asthmatic and used to get within the top 6 of my class with the pacer test, though now as an adult I can't really run anymore xD

[@SamRegan610]

One detail about the death fake-out that I found really interesting is that we don't actually see Nimona at the end, only hear her voice. My headcanon is that the Nimona that Ballister reunites with at the end has taken on a new appearance. She now presents as an adult, but is still completely recognizable as Nimona

[@bearberserker]

I do love Nimona! I am glad it survived BlueSky Studio's closure much like the Phoenix that Nimona turned into.

[@pemanilnoob]

Nimona is so obviously gender fluid it’s insane

[@Spirals_of_change]

Yup

[@LauraPoulter]

🤡

[@pemanilnoob]

@@LauraPoulter hello there clown, how are you today

[@pemanilnoob]

@@LauraPoulterwow so nice of you to show me a self portrait of yourself

[@doraps4764]

also, as sad as it is, dead heroes are more appreciated in society and harder to villify, and its easier to drive home the impact of the point of their deeds

[@anokartist2352]

This is genuinely one of the best movies this year, and we got ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE. You get attached to the characters and relationships immediately (like the second embroshous started talking to bal i was screaming "GAY! GAY! YOU'RE BOYFRIENDS!!" before even knowing anything about it lol) the story was amazing and the visuals 😍. You can tell everyone working on this loves their craft. So glad it survived blue sky Studios shutting down.

[@trixxart777]

I swear this year has been soo good for animated movies we've got Nimona,the new TMNT movie,Spiderverse 2. There's probably more.

[@anokartist2352]

@@trixxart777 YES the last few years in particular have given us so many animated movies that have pushed the media.

[@trixxart777]

@anokartist2352 hell I know people hate on Pixar and Disney's stuff recently but I really like most of their animated stuff. It's why I am excited for Wish because it looks pretty interesting.

[@anokartist2352]

@@trixxart777 you and me both, with the exception of movies like Wendy Disney and pixar are still really good, even if they aren't lion king and toy story good

[@aldenheterodyne2833]

I had never heard of this movie, but a cishet friend put it on for our weekly digital movie/game night. That was unfortunate for me. Everyone there except for me is cishet and I'm closeted to half of them. When I said that Nimona was quite obviously about nonbinary trans people, one went ".... I think it _could_ be interpreted that way, yeah. I think the beauty of it is that it's vague enough that you can have it mean whatever you want it to mean." And oh boy, that really ground my gears. I couldn't just say "no, trust me, it's definitely about trans people. I should know, I'm trans" because I honestly don't like coming out to people. And as much as I love my friends, I'm a anarcho-communist ace, bi, poly, ADHD/autistic, disabled trans man in a group of neurotypical-passing, relatively affluent liberal-to-slightly-conservative friend group. There's just so much of my experience that they just don't have the context for and I don't have the energy to hold their hands and walk with them towards understanding.

[@sabotabby3372]

Reading this drained my social battery I'm so sorry for you

[@Phoenix_Wright2]

I mean, as a trans guy I agree that Nimona could be interpreted as a trans allegory but it can also be an allegory for any other social issues where other groups of people are discriminated against.

[@lolcandyyy]

Idk, ur friend didn’t say your interpretation was wrong or bad, they said it was possible and cool. That’s kinda how most art works, the meaning for the author can be different from a spectator. No matter who creates it, it can be art that relates to anyone. I personally love allegories, it makes me feel like no matter what routes we take, we can reach the same points in life, makes me feel like we’re all connected in some way.

[@ayceinquisitor190]

whatever their interpretation, can't erase the fact that Nimona's creator stated that Nimona the character was an exploration of their own transness. and can't erase how explicit some of her dialogue is. Like Oakwyrm said, "anyone who tries to argue it's not a trans narrative is being willfully ignorant" (and ofc Nimona is about more than nonbinary trans people so I don't think I personally would say it's "quite obvious")

[@ayceinquisitor190]

also maybe work on getting other friends cause that group sounds super draining when you're unable to relate to them about key parts of your life experience and thus have to consciously restrict what you say (if you'd describe the experience as feeling unsafe, that's a pretty strong hint)

[@arohamumberry7324]

You cannot even conceive of how quickly I clicked on this when I got the Notif lol. Nimona was such an incredible film

[@thewitchescatt]

same lol

[@CrowTR0bot]

2:01 Jessie Gender made the case for this stylistic combination. It wasn't just for rule of cool, but symbolic of the values of the past (time-honored, toxic traditions) and the future (open-mindedness) clashing with each other.

[@TheRoomforImprovement]

The fact that this film got made in spite of Disney’s corporate BS is miraculous.

[@ernie39]

afaik Nimona was made by Blue Sky Studios (also known for Ice Age, Rio) before the studio's parent company, 21st Century Fox, was acquired by Disney and the audio ultimately went under. Disney didn't have a whole lot to do with the making of it -- they did fuck with the initial distribution of it though.

[@TheMushroomStudio]

I think what made me really upset after the movie was the fact that Netflix tagged this movie as ‘monsters’.

[@Astercore_3]

I read the book as a kid and the movie is one of the better adaptions of books I’ve seen and I’m gonna be honest… not only did this hit home for me because I’m autisic and trans but also because I’m Mexican. The xenophobia and racism in America and the whole wall thing in nimona just hit so hard. It’s a lot to take in when your considered a monster or an alien to society

[@aquaticcatfey]

Interesting detail: if you watch the film with audio description on, Nimona is referred to exclusively with singular "they." I liked that.

[@atlasllm]

truly the most horrifying part of ballister is him eating greasy pizza with his prosthetic hand 😭😭

[@ohrats731]

“And now you’re a boy” “I am today” made my nonbinary heart happy 🥰 My boyfriend and I loved this movie so much (he’s trans too 😍). I would love to see movies with more obviously trans stories, but I think Nimona is good progress. Even as someone who’s not physically disabled, it did seem weird how quick the turnaround was with Ballistar getting a prosthetic. Heck it felt like blink and you miss him losing his arm (yes I actually had to rewind cause I got distracted by a text and missed it 😅🤣). It seemed like a footnote, but I guess they had to include it from the graphic novel but wanted to go a different direction. Maybe it’s “too many” main themes to delve into in the same movie, but I think they could have done more to make it a realistic experience for Ballistar. But that’s just my 2 cents. Awesome movie!!

[@WorldWeaver]

I think Nimona is genderfluid, mostly bc of that part where she turns into a little demon boy and knight-guy is like "You're a boy?" and she's like "For now."

[@pemanilnoob]

“I am today”

[@jonasscheftner8545]

there is so much i could write about but i will try to keep myself short. Thank you for this video. I watched the movie and read the comic and i have to say that i prefer how the movie handeld a lot of things. but i never considered the fact that nimona looking like a teenager might have something to do with a stunted emotional growth. i just chalked it up as "she's a potentially immortal being so of course the aging process would be slowed down". but we do know that she can take the shape of an adult. she does so at least twice, one time posing as Goldenloin while confronting the director. but she stays a mystery to the end, we never find out where she came from or what she is, except for her being herself. in the comic she tells a story about being made into a shapeshifter by a witch but it's unclear whether that is true. and in the end it doesn't matter, she's Nimona. I love the story and the artwork. one last thing though: i don't think that her ressurection has anything to do with the shape she took. i think she's just immortal. you can hurt her, you can kill her but she won't stay dead. she might retreat to lick her wounds but she will come back someday and won't fall for that trick again. just like queers might be beaten down and hurt and killed, but always return again to fight for their rights.

[@Anonymous_Gambito]

She made up the story about the witch, Nate said so in a very old post. Nimona's language around it is weird though, it makes me think that she might have _made_ herself believe it at that time

[@ramsiethegremlin4310]

I love how everyone is essentially like “ARM CHOPPING ISNT A LOVE LANGUAGE!” And ballister is just like “sorry too focused to give a shit about your love language.” Edit: as a trans man when I came out to my family it very much so did feel like I became like a boogie man to my family. I was no longer the little girl they raised I was this grown man. I didn’t change as a person but for some reason it felt like I did. It was always my fault for how my parents felt but much like nimona describes how she feels not shape shifting is pretty close to how I felt pre T. Something was wrong inside and I needed to do something about it. Instead of shape shifting it was starting hormones. Now I feel closer to me that itch inside isn’t as strong but it definitely still shows up now and then.

[@Dustinlove102]

There's also a trans flag in the background of the scene where he pulls the arrow from her leg 💙💕🤍💕💙

[@emberfierce2819]

I didn't see that, that's so cool

[@laraprisma6381]

this movie was beautiful! my sister and I saw the movie when it first came out and she was thrilled! she's only 13, she's bi and ace and she's a big fan of lgbt representation in the media, seeing her having fun and loving the dynamic of Nimona and Balaster in the movie was really cool to see.

[@stardra]

The part where you mentioned the society pausing Nimona’s growth because they ostracized her, actually kind of hit me. I have ADHD and have always kind of been off to the side and unable to make or keep many friends. It may be my ADHD or perhaps it is my trauma, but I don’t think I’ve made much progress, maturity wise, past 4th grade. I’ve been called a child, and treated like one even by those close to me, simply because they couldn’t understand my emotions. But I do relate a lot to Nimona aside from that. I’m genderfluid and it made me SO happy seeing representation for us, even if it wasn’t direct and was mainly used to umbrella all trans people. I wanna see more characters like Nimona in popular media, specifically genderfluid characters. I want to be seen.

[@gabriellaschakett5571]

another thing about the death fake-out here. She doesn't come back until we see almost all the symbols of the kingdom's hostility towards Nimona. the wanted signs are replaced with a memorial wall that children and adults all go to and contribute to, the cannon is taken down, and the wall is opened, and just before she comes back we see Ballister rip a poster of the director off the wall. She's back because she's accepted now and as an allegory for transness this can be read as her being the trans community and her ending being the hopeful ending. the movie seems to touch on infighting a bit and transphobia within the queer community with how the gays (ballister and ambrosius) struggle to accept her. Ballister struggles to unlearn his transphobia and Ambrosius doesn't accept Nimona at all. So in the end when Nimona sacrifices herself for them it's like how many trans activists were at the forefront for all the movements for gay rights. nimona's ending is like a hopeful future for the trans community where they are more accepted and safer and are able to thrive.

[@Sam-705]

Don’t know of someone else has mentioned it yet, but with the mural and painting over it is actually a very long process, I’ll say this now this is a second hand retelling. This was a talk I had with a mentor while I was under him explaining the process of putting up/taking down murals. It was years ago and I don’t remember much but this is what I do. Firstly it take average 2 months to get the paper work to even change it even if it’s government based or funded. knowing that that wasn’t the only sign since it’s government advertisement there’s probably dozens if not more which means it has to be brought to whoever manages finance to budget it within what city taxes allow and then to the people who deal with hiring workers and decide if they want to make it externally sourced (murals) or have it done internally (paint it white which leads to graffiti) or put up different advertisements. Seeing as they are painting over it artists must be involved, but it takes to find artists and the planning process which on the short end takes another 2 weeks to a month. Any priming doesn’t get done until the artists move in since you’d just have to re-prime most of the time to the right colour. This is government and the murder of the queen was caused by one person, the people were the queens people and she believed in this project so those photos weren’t coming down anytime soon aka no new ads it that spot. they have to budget it in so unless the lady planned that it too (which who would?) it would probably take at minimum 2.5 months closer to a year to get new replacements. Up until this point the place wasn’t really totalitarian at least that’s what my impression of it is so their not just gonna say throw a bucket at it and be done with it. Especially since some of the signage was most likely in influential or affluent neighbourhoods. Idk little bit of insight based on a single scene :)

[@spadeofpain24]

The prosthetic may be the result of a elective course(s) he took in scifi-and knight training. My guess would be some flavor battlefield surgery and mechanical engineering.

[@gailasprey7787]

I watched this before watching Nimona, the scenes of the betrayal of Ballister to Nimona, to the trauma she faced as a kid, to her attempted killing of herself and her sacrifice I knew were gonna happen, but I cried. Bad.

[@peggsnbacon]

YES as soon as I had watched this I was thinking "oh boy I can't wait for Oakwyrm to make an analysis on this"

[@lachlancampbell6328]

My gf is in a wheelchair due to her cerebral palsy. To the horror of most my pet nickname for her is "my paraplegic princess"

[@grodriguez7225]

Great vlog‼ Ps: hopefully ND Stevenson will make more projects, after the writers' strike is fairly resolved‼

[@voikalternos]

favorite youtuber on my favorite movie wooooooo

[@mk-aka-morgan8386]

My nephew and I had watched this movie and we LOVED it!!! It was so exciting watching it with him because I can talk to him about it being queer without him arguing with me (unlike quite a few of my older family members). I had been waiting for this movie for so long, I was PISSED when it got cancelled, I’m so glad we were able to get this movie even if it wasn’t the smoothest production. It felt so nice to have a movie that felt so real to the queer experience and have actual discussions on what it’s like.

[@StoryBird2]

Love a queer plot especially when it's also about the queers TEARING DOWN THE GOVERNMENT MWAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH /pos

[@ZhyrenStudios]

So glad NIMONA got revived. Yippie

[@theeemadimargarita]

5:10 Honestly ☝️ My dad was the only one who would joke about me with me about my eye, now that he's gone, the rest of my family just thinks I'm attention seeking and annoying and making it my whole personality when I make a joke of it, so it does suck not having anyone to laugh with anymore

[@baasparkopenings851]

I think the reason Nimona works so well as a trans allegory is because it's kind of...not an allegory? Like it is an allegory/metaphor, but there's only like, 1-2 layers of it. Like she also just kind of says she's trans (genderfluid specifically) even if she doesn't use the words specifically. Yeah it'd be nice if she could use the words specifically but I think it works well in this case.

[@ferntheinkling]

As a gender-fluid person I connected with Nimona on another level. I’ve been stuck living as a girl my whole life because I thought it would be easier, but in the end I just feel trapped. That part where they said they could choose not to shape shift they just wouldn’t be living… that hit home. I don’t want to be a certain gender, I just want to be me. But instead my family members are constantly reminding me that I’m a girl. Sucks man. 20:45

[@urahpoo5948]

this movie made me feel seen, had me sobbing lol. so im excited to watch this video!

[@willsith9762]

What I like about in this movie is that, while it does have quite a bit of allegory around queerness, it's not nearly as subtle as other stories with it's themes. It's very obviously about a broken, irredeemable system and Nimona even shifts into a boy at one point.

[@adamnreader4599]

16:49 ok ok ok gonna point out one thing here. the pink shape is actually a phoenix!! and the end was literally foreshadowed the moment nimona shows up! it is obviously an allegory for how queer & trans people will always be there and have been there and i just love this bit so much!!!

[@Blue_Line_Lore]

I really appreciate your coverage of disability in this film. The themes around queerness and law enforcement in Nimona have both been covered extensively, and rightfully so, but this additional angle really enriches my appreciation of the movie. Thanks for the great piece!

[@KarolKaru]

God i love this movie, its beautiful and touching and fun... and such a FUCK YOU to just. everything we have to go through. its a heavyhanded rejection and refusal of the status quo because it just CANNOT continue like it has. the fakeout makes me so happy, and feels meaningful just like many in the comments have said.

[@quantummelody2959]

just watched the movie finally so I could watch this

[@kiramartinij]

I'm EVER so glad that you did a video on Nimona. Thank you for your care and your time. You were able to put so much of this into words when for a lot of us queer / neurodivergent / disabled folks we got hit by SO MUCH at once that it is hard to untangle. Thank you, thank you!

[@shadowwolf7880]

0:26 I laughed. I laughed because when I first saw the movie I needed literally few days to compose myself (?). I watched it in the morning/early afternoon and was bawling my eyes out for the rest of the day. Even my family noticed something wasn't right. I like how at the end of the movie there's a little ,,If you know someone who's struggling...". The fact that they put it at the end. While everyone was left shattered, crying their eyes out in their plushies or tissues or their own shirts. I loved that movie. I'll be watching it forever. What a masterpiece. I loved everything about it. I loved the screenplay. I loved that Bal's and Ambrosius' relationship was so *natural*. I loved every second of the movie. I wish there was a part 2 but at the same time they cancelled Paranormal Park, so- We'll see, I guess. Anyway, the best movie I've seen in my life. My trans friend says the same (We're both trans and gay guys).

[@katsmenagerie106]

I'm the proud older sibling of a trans kid, and I have not cried at a movie like this in a long, long time. I absolutely believe it's an allegory. Everybody should watch it.

[@windjager2177]

Fun fact nimonas refferred to as they in the audio description

[@Jeetaruey]

I definitely suggest checking out the comic as well. The plot is pretty different. I know we are just talking about the movie, but the timeline change makes more sense in the comics. Ballister was injured years ago and made a prosthetic over the years that works really well and was really into science and inventions, so it made sense. There are a lot more liberties needing to be made with it just happening and immediately creating a prosthetic.

[@HotDogTimeMachine385]

Nimona was so good. I'm so happy they saved it from deletion. We were so close to losing it.

[@rjtalley628]

I definitely agree with the idea that you shouldn’t take away mobility aids form prisoners but I think it’s important to consider that he is a career soldier who killed the head of state with a weapon concealed in a normal object. so it is kind of understandable that they might not want to give him back his handmade prosthetic even if it wasn’t directly hiding a weapon.

[@celestlian]

NIMONA YESSS I'm so glad you covered this movie!!!

[@jc_the_green]

I've been hoping for a video on nimona since I watched it !!!

[@fabianshedenhelm2986]

Nimona was relatable as an autistic trans masc person with uh abandonment issues due to friends in childhood finding out I was autistic. I saw my childhood reflected off of me, I just cried watching it.

[@JustASunflowerSeeD]

this movie had the most direct allegory for trans people I've ever seen. Nimona is a shapeshifter, a creature which is associated with gender fluidity a lot in media (both bc of gender goals and their convenience in physically changing their body), characters blatantly say to her "wouldn't it easier to just be a girl?" which is a phrase I'm sure most of us have heard, and she talks about shifting exactly like trans people talk about transitioning. if someone doesn't understand it they have to be extremely blind to the world around them.

[@IDKwhatimdoing-b5h]

I love Nimona so much, this movie is everything I ever hoped for when reading that book in high school. I relate to Nimona on a deep personal level, I’m neurodivergent, have a ton of mental health issues and am transgender. with all that going on I genuinely believe that I am a monster, I wish I could feel normal.

[@TheInfintyithGoofball]

I think what brought Nimona back was Ballister spending all that time in their hide out putting up all the puctures, morning her, loving her for who she is. Sure it was done in a montage but IRL that had to 've been atleast half an hour And by then she probably (my theory is that she's some spirit) found enough energy or "the love powered her" (obviously platonic love) for her to re-form. Did all the city morning her do anything? I doubt it honestly

[@rachelle5169]

There’s also the trans flag in the background of the “if i didn’t shift i sure wouldn’t be living” scene

[@carolinaazevedo2088]

I had a headache after watching Nimona because of How much I cried

[@cosmicvoidtree]

I’ve seen others already point this out but I wanna contribute as well, in addition to the queer, and especially trans, part of Nimona, I also feel like it’s a good allegory of neurodivergency. To be fair, queerness and neurodivergency have a lot of similar feeings to them so it’s easy to try to go for one and get the other with it. Still, especially the line “I wouldn’t die, die but I sure wouldn’t be living” feels like a direct reference to masking neurodivergence. Point is, Nimona hit two sides of my otherness (queer and neurodivergent, what a combo) and in general it seems like queerness gets much more of a spotlight (maybe I’m just not seeing much of the other side, that’s definitely possible)

[@eliotoole4534]

Nimona is canonically genderfluid. (Any/all)

[@azraelllll]

Honestly it’s such a small detail but as someone who had their arm mangled to the point of near amputation and a disability, the way Ballister handles his amputation is the exact same way I handled what happened to me. It made me feel seen and I saw myself in him. To not sugarcoat anything, I was left with missing tissue, nerve damage, and joint issues in that arm because of someone else’s negligence. I didn’t want to be angry at the person at fault, press charges against the police for believing the white person who was clearly at fault over a brown Asian, or sue for damages like everyone else was telling me to. I just wanted to move on with my life and get it over with.

[@pandabanaan9208]

I kinda like sevika from arcane because the way they animated her prostetic arm kinda felt like it wasn't the same as an organic one(a bit more clunky with it clicking into place in some movements) while still being a fancy scifi arm though I'm not sure I have the proper knowledge to fully judge how true that is

[@hellostranger6267]

12:40 THE TRANS FLAG IN THE BACKGROUND!!!!!!!!!!!

[@27ratsinatrenchcoat90]

I would argue Nimona is not only a Trans narrative, but also a neurodivergent narrative. I'm a bit tired so right now it's hard to explain why, but i've talked to some of my neurodivergent friends about it and they all agree too. I guess there's something there that neurodivergent people recognize themselves in

[@novatheenby8779]

This was a very pleasant watch. Usually when people dislike things about media, especially popular queer media, they are very unforgiving and treat it as though you're just as bad if you like it anyway. You, though, expressed your moments of distaste with an expressive clarification that you're aware their yours and not meant to be taken as some kind of holy gay truth. I sincerely hope your SPoP video follows the same tune, as most queer people I know have a burning hatred for the series and refuse to acknowledge it as valid.

[@edlerlucasbarcellosdasilva3622]

I've been hoping for a video on nimona, nice!

[@coreDesignix]

I'm glad to hear that the movie handled its disability aspects well enough, since I was personally really dissatisfied with how She Ra handled it.

[@atlasllm]

perfect timing! i watched nimona over the weekend and quite enjoyed it :] i'm glad you covered ballister's disability, as i was hoping to gain some sort of insight as someone writing an arm amputee OC, though felt off that ballister just jumped into making a prosthetic for himself 😭😭 this video confirmed to me that he DID sorta speedran the recovery process, thank you so much for the insight!

[@kaitlynmcmurray2201]

One of the many reasons I like watching these videos is because you illuminate issues that are largely unseen by the general public. Like - should a criminal should be allowed to keep their prosthetic? That's a question I had never heard before. I agree though - absolutely YES! It represents something that is part of them no matter if it is removeable. Of course it does get complicated if bits of it are weaponized. That makes me wonder about Megavolt in the series Darkwing Duck. As an electric villain, he carries a portable battery pack which of course gets taken from him every time he's arrested. While he can get energy from other sources, he obviously NEEDS energy - he gets run down and lethargic. And the battery is important to him - he designed his suit around it. Does that count as a prosthetic?

[@thecolorjune]

I cried during this movie 😢

[@bdariamihaela]

I wouldn't really call that a fake-out death, Nimona died, at least that form of her. In the comics it is revealed that every time she shifts her entire body dies and it's reformed, she's not human for her death is not the end

[@clarahesse3970]

Honestly tho, a childrens movie that teaches kids to be gay, not trust cops and break statues is dearly needed❤️

[@hollowwoods7130]

You can't "teach" somebody to be gay they either aren't or they are

[@Let_Toons]

Could you review s2 episode 6 of helluva boss? You don't need to watch the rest to understand it's plotline, and the representation of this famous disabled character felt SO GOOD, from his healthy and sexualy active releationship with his husband, to how the origins of his disabillity shapes his previous friendship without making the character all about it I hightly recommend!

[@Eli_the_fiend]

Oh no people know this movie is queer, even homophobes, they actually see through it. And they hate it.

[@_kaleido]

Even if you somehow look past the obvious trans allegories there’s an explicitly on-screen kiss involving the protagonist and his same-sex love interest lol

[@rommdan2716]

Allegory? Nimona couldn't be more in your nose XD Which, I love

[@liquidjojo9085]

Another day Another oakwyrm slay

[@jackofalltradesE-IC]

I finally watched Nimona and I really relate to her, especially the itchy insides she describes. Both in terms of the gender allegory, as I am bigender and do (only on occasion, thank god) experience dysphoria, but also in terms of literal shapeshifting. I don't fully understand why or when it started, but I often experience physical discomfort that I can only describe as an urge to shapeshift. I've never felt comfortable having a human body and the majority of the time the discomfort with my body can be (mostly) fixed by wearing a pair of cat ears and a tail (which I have worn 24/7 nearly 356 every year for the past 5-6ish years, but did attempt to start doing all the way back in 1st or 2nd grade. Though that only lasted one day, since a classmate ripped my tail off and I was banned from wearing it again, and I wasn't able to try again until 7th grade) but sometimes the ears and tail don't work and I instead need to wear horns or wings or a centaur costume, etc.. None of which I currently have access to unfortunately. I did recently get a pair of pointed ears from hot topic so if I ever have a day where I need to be an elf, fairy, or vampire I can do that at least. Btw if anyone can think of what this might be please let me know. I briefly thought I was a therian but I've realized that doesn't really fit because a) not just one animal and b) not just animals, so I'm not really sure anymore.

[@rattuskid1931]

I was literally sobbing through the whole end of the movie, it really hit home for me

[@tinycrimester]

nimona did make me think quite a bit more than standard disney fare, and you pointed out a number of things. such as... i missed the fact that she came back because she died in the form of a phoenix (maybe)! that's so good!

[@Draconis_Eltanin]

Thank you for this video: it is good to learn more about disability representation in media and facts of life. Keep up the good work. Would you consider talking about the comic too or is it outside your scope?

[@BreadBot_]

Genuinely cryed watching the ending

[@mrsdiss]

i've got to admit that i didn't read Nimona as a trans allegory. though obviously it is that. instead, when i wrote my best friend after seeing Nimona the first time, i said "it's about monster pride!" "Monster" in the sense of being something which society excludes and others and makes impossible, monster in the sense of that which society has deemed monstrous - like Nimona. that includes my transness and queerness, but also includes my disability, and everything which sometimes leads to me feeling not human. so having a movie which so explicitly shows how being trans and being a monster are related, and how much pain it can cause to feel that you're a monster, that was really powerful!