Nimona (2023)

Nimona is the rare animated adventure that feels both wildly fun and quietly brave: a medieval-futuristic romp with laser lances and castle intrigue, powered by a big, beating heart. The animation pops with color and attitude, and the movie’s humor has a mischievous snap, but it never uses jokes to dodge the real feelings underneath—especially as Riz Ahmed’s upright, wounded knight and Chloë Grace Moretz’s gloriously chaotic shapeshifter spark off each other in a buddy-movie rhythm that keeps surprising you. It playfully pokes at hero-and-villain mythology while staying sincere about what it means to be labeled, feared, or misunderstood, and that emotional honesty sneaks up on you in the best way. Fair warning: it can get intense for very young kids and it wears its themes on its sleeve, but if you want an action-comedy with real soul, Nimona earns your time.

Nimona is aiming for a big, crowd-pleasing mix of sci-fi fantasy adventure, goofy comedy, and a sincere story about outsiders being feared and misunderstood, and when it clicks it’s genuinely heartfelt. The problem is the tone can feel like it’s sprinting in three directions at once—one minute tender, the next loudly chaotic—with pop-culture gags that may pull you out of the world rather than deepen it. Visually, it’s energetic and distinctive, but some stylistic choices can look a bit uneven, like the movie can’t decide whether it wants sleek epic or scrappy sketchbook. If you want a tightly plotted, consistently toned family film, this might frustrate you; if you’re up for a messy-but-meaningful ride with strong voice work and real emotional payoff, it’s worth the time.