Nimona is the long-awaited animated adaptation of ND Stevenson's comic of the same name. Growing from a high school invention to a career first step that led to further success with comics like Lumberjanes and animated shows like She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, the story of the "villainous" shape shifter Nimona and her unexpected friendship with a fellow outcast remains a deeply personal story for the creator. Now, the film is set to finally debut on Netflix and bring an entirely new audience into the fantastical world of a "punk-rock" twist on the fantasy genre.
During a presentation to members of the press -- including CBR -- ahead of Nimona's premiere on Netflix on Jun. 14, creator ND Stevenson delved into the origins of the character, highlighted the biggest changes from the comic to its cinematic form, and why it was vital to keep the story so deeply focused on the "monster girl" at the heart of story.
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ND Stevenson's Nimona originated during his high school days, proving to be a perfect outlet for the future creator during adolescence. Stevenson explained how his time in high school was a time when he began having big feelings, noting that being a shapeshifter was a big fantasy for him at the time. Stevenson stated, "I really wanted to be able to change my body and my presentation at will, to be everything that people wanted me to be, but also aggressively the opposite of that as well. Nimona became an outlet for that. She was this punk, just like a total rebel, total rule breaker, always doing the first thing that she thought of, always following her heart and just becoming this creature of any size, any level of power. This character grew a lot over the next few years of my life. As I went to art school, she continued to exist on the pages of my sketchbook and become more and more of -- I started to hone in on who this character was."
As Stevenson continued honing his craft at the Maryland Institute College of Art, the character morphed into an entire setting for a grander story -- leading to further expansion as he developed as a comic creator.
"I had this idea for this world that was a sort of modern future [mixed with] medieval," Stevenson recalled. "At first, it started with just her. As I started getting more interested in comics, I also started getting more interested in the dynamics of heroism versus villains and our ideas of what those characters mean, and our ideas of how those stories should go. So that's where these other characters came into being around Nimona, and she was sort of the element that didn't fit in that world. She disrupts the balance between good and evil. As I was finding my voice as a storyteller, these characters became my way of doing that."
Nimona evolved from a webcomic into a senior thesis, was eventually published, and eventually went on to become an Eisner Award winner. An adaptation of Nimona has been in the works for years, originally with 20th Century Animation. But the company's acquisition by the Walt Disney Company initially seemed to kill the film while it was still in production. However, Netflix and Annapurna Pictures picked up the project and helped ensure it reached completion. Reflecting on the growth of the project from comic form to animated film, Stevenson noted that, "In the adaptation, I knew that things were going to change. But it was always really important to me that Nimona herself remain the center of this story.
"That the things that made her were not removed or sanded down or simplified too much. One of the things that was really important to me was her body type. She's chubby, and she's curvy, but she's never sexualized, and she's gender non-conforming. She has her own unique style. She chooses to look this way. That was something that I just really wanted to make sure [of], [that] no matter how much it might change in the adaption, that was something that stayed true. So it was really -- honestly, it was very emotional to me to be able to see her come to life and to see her this way and be like, that's her. [Nimona's] powers were something that I found so -- it was such a power fantasy for me. For lots of kids, they'll feel the same way. She can't be confined. She can't be constrained to any form. She is completely free, and she's able to be something as big as a dragon or as small as a mouse. She can make that change in seconds. I'm really, really excited for kids to be able to see themselves in that power fantasy."
One of the other elements of the original comic that goes through more change in the film is the role played by Nimona's boss, Ballister Blackheart. His relationship with Nimona is far more comical in the original comic, with his "villainy" being far more overt. The film adds more layers to his initial ambitions to be a hero, and introduces further complexity to the relationship between him and Goldenloin. Those relationships are a key part of the story according to Stevenson, and something that was vital to the adaptation. "It's all about her relationships to the other characters. Ballister Blackheart is her opposite. He's very rigid. Even though he's a villain, he conforms to the rules. He has his ideas of what right and wrong. He always follows his own moral code, even when that means that he's cast in the role of the villain. He accepts that. When Nimona meets him, he's kind of in a rut, and she breaks him out of that."
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The subversive nature of his role as a "villain" carried over into his character design, which plays on historic portrayals of antagonists in animated properties. "I think seeing his design, there are so many tropes that we come to recognize from animated movies that signify a villain. To see those become a part of such a heroic and empathetic character was a big deal to me, and I think it's going to be a big deal to a lot of people who also feel like they are cast as villains in their lives. But he's such an amazing character, and Riz Ahmed absolutely brings him to life. That's the voice I hear now when I read the comic." This new approach to the original story carried over to the villainous figures in the film as well, with additional complexity afforded the comic's more vain Goldenloin, the villainous Director, and the mysterious Gloreth.
Stevenson noted, "Goldenloin has had quite a journey from page to screen. In the comic, he's [sillier]. He's more over the top. He really thrives in the performative aspect of heroism. He is almost a little similar to Nimona in that he projects his own reality, even when he's conflicted about whether what he's doing is right or wrong. He definitely got a glow-up, and the character started to grow and change a little bit. He is more of a noble character. Like Ballister, has a really, really strong moral code, a good heart, and he does what he believes is right -- but he's conflicted. He has the weight of heroism on his shoulders. He has the weight of expectations and legacy and bloodline. He has been told his whole life who he's supposed to be. So he is in a lot of ways very different from the comic. But I think that evolution was one that was very needed and has been incredibly cool to watch."
There are further changes made to the story's true antagonist, The Director. The character remains "a kind of a cipher. She represents mundane evil, the villain who's just kind of doing her job. She believes that the ends always justify the means. And you only see little glimpses here and there of her personality. In the movie, you see a little bit more, you see little glimpses of what she thinks is true, what she thinks to be right, and the emotion that she has around that. One character who is only touched on really briefly in the comic, but I thought it was really cool to see her journey to screen, is Gloreth. She represents the perfect hero. She is not alive for the events of the comic, but she's a figure that's hanging over every character. One thing that was really cool about the production and the development of this movie was that she was always a character I'd wanted to explore more and didn't really, you know, have the chance and have the real estate on the page."
It isn't lost on Stevenson how close the film came to never being released. Seeing the film come to life remains an incredibly emotional experience for the creator. "The journey to the film was quite a rollercoaster. So much happened in that time, and there were a lot of times when it seemed like maybe the movie wouldn't happen. But ultimately, I think that what is so cool about the movie at this point is that the comic was defined by a lack of limitation. And the movie, while it had a lot of limitations, while there were a lot of obstacles it had to overcome, it still has that punk rock spirit. You can still see the ways that the comic's continued to grow in the hands of [Directors Nick Bruno and Troy Quane] and all the designers and all the artists, everyone who brought this movie to life. And there are these moments where you can see the ways that those inform each other directly, a conversation that's being had across time.
"It's just really awesome to even see it in this, to know that we made it and that we're here. One thing that I think is really important about this story for me, and it was important to see in the movie, was the darkness at the heart of it. Nimona is not just quirky, she's not just fun, she's not just a cool kick-butt protagonist. She has a lot of fear and a lot of pain at her heart, and that comes out as anger. That was something that I found very cathartic at the time. I was looking for an outlet, for my emotions. I felt like I wasn't really able to express them. But through her, I could do that."
"That was something that I really needed to see. And it was kind of a hard sell for a female character then and now. [The filmmakers] absolutely stay true to that and brought that to life. They even took that further to show she's not a problem to be solved. She's not someone who needs to be fixed. You don't have to understand her to love her. And that is something, I think, that's going to mean so much to so many people. The book is dedicated to monster girls. I think there are so many girls, boys, and beyond who are going to see themselves in her."
Nimona debuts on Netflix on Jun. 14
