Movie review
June 23, 2023 · 99 min · PG
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Nimona is a 2023 animated movie about a commoner knight framed for killing the queen who teams up with a wild shapeshifting teenager to clear his name in a kingdom that blends old knights with futuristic tech. The story follows their adventure while exploring friendship, proving innocence, and what it means to be seen as a monster or outsider. It shows a central romantic relationship between two male knights and has the shapeshifter character say she is not a girl but simply herself as she pushes to be accepted for being different.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Nimona.
Woke representation / casting
Casting places performers of diverse ethnic backgrounds in prominent lead roles and centers an explicit gay male romance between characters played by South Asian and East Asian actors; the shapeshifting protagonist visually and verbally embodies fluid identity, supported by several LGBTQ+ voice actors in key parts.
Woke political dialogue
Scenes include the shapeshifter explicitly rejecting binary gender labels ("I'm not a girl") and affirming personal identity on her own terms, paired with conversations about prejudice, conformity, and accepting differences that echo modern identity messaging.
Identity-driven story themes
The narrative centers personal identity, rejecting societal labels and conformity, and acceptance as an outsider or "monster"; shapeshifting serves as a direct metaphor for queer and gender-nonconforming experiences, with creators intentionally emphasizing these themes for LGBTQ+ resonance.
Western institutional / cultural critique
The kingdom's Institute of Knights and its traditions are depicted as a rigid system built on fear-based propaganda about monsters and outsiders to enforce conformity and control; the story frames blind adherence to these norms as harmful and celebrates questioning them in favor of individual acceptance.
Production
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. The film adapts the graphic novel's pre-existing queer romance and identity elements without new identity-driven reinterpretations or swaps to non-queer source characters or figures.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
User reviews and online commentary criticize the prominent gay romance, gender-fluid self-identification lines, and acceptance messaging as overt woke propaganda or forced inclusivity that prioritizes agenda in family animation.
Creator track record context
Core source creator ND Stevenson is a trans creator whose career emphasizes queer representation and gender themes; director Troy Quane has a pattern of norm-challenging, pro-LGBTQ+ animation work; production choices amplified these identity-focused elements from the source.
