‘Nimona’s Trans Allegory Feels Like a Radical Queer Revolution

There’s a scene in Netflix’s new animated movie, Nimona, in which protagonist Ballister Boldheart tells his new shape-shifting sidekick, Nimona, that he thinks it would be easier for her to be a girl.

“Easier for who?” Nimona—voiced by Chloë Grace Moretz, and currently in the shape of a towering silverback gorilla—throws back him.

“For you!” Ballister insists, before adding, “A lot of people aren’t as accepting as me.”

Oof. Don’t worry, Nimona puts him in his place, and Ballister learns his lesson. But that conversation is no doubt all too familiar for trans and gender-non-conforming cis folks, who have spent countless hours defending their right to exist. And it’s just one of many ways that Nimona, which began streaming on Friday, codes its eponymous character as trans, and celebrates her trans-ness.

Based on the popular 2015 graphic novel—created by trans artist and author ND Stevenson—the Nimona movie has had a long journey to the screen. Originally intended for release in 2020 by the former Fox subsidiary Blue Sky Studios, the movie was killed by Disney after the mega-company shut down Blue Sky following the Disney-Fox merger. Former Blue Sky staffers have said they received pushback from Disney leadership on the film’s same-sex romance between Riz Ahmed’s character, Ballister, and another male knight named Ambrosius (voiced by Eugene Lee Yang). Then Netflix rescued the film and kept the LGBT themes firmly in place. But while Bal and Ambrosius’s smooch is very adorable, it’s Nimona herself that feels like a radical queer revolution.

Nimona is a shapeshifter feared by humans who consider her a “monster.” She finds herself drawn to Ballister after the former knight is falsely accused of slaying the queen and forced to go on the run. Nimona sees Ballister as a kindred spirit. They are both outcasts unfairly shunned by society, so, Nimona figures, they might as well rage against the machine together. But while Nimona has had years of practice as an outsider, Ballister has had a taste of acceptance, and he wants it back. He doesn’t want to rage against the machine—he wants to be a cog in it. It’s not a stretch to see this dynamic as a metaphor for queer community’s relationship with the “T” in LGBT. Trans folks have often felt that, despite their willingness to be there for cis-gendered gays, they don’t receive the same support in return—in part because it’s more difficult for them to “pass” in straight society.

Ballister may consider himself “accepting,” but when he first meets Nimona, he can’t understand why she doesn’t assimilate, as he did. “What are you?” he asks her, more than once. “I’m Nimona,” she responds, defiant. But Ballister isn’t satisfied with the answer, because Nimona doesn’t fit into any category Ballister knows.

“How did you get like this?” he presses, unable to accept that she was never “normal.” Nimona feeds him a made-up story about a magic wishing well. “And I made a wish…”—she pauses for effect— “…to one day be trapped on a subway with an uptight knight asking me small-minded questions.”

To Ballister’s credit, he makes an effort to stop being so small-minded, especially after Nimona seriously explains to him that it is physically uncomfortable for her not to shape-shift. Could she remain a girl forever, in order to make those around her happy? Only if she’s willing to sacrifice her own comfort to alleviate the comfort of others. “You know that second right before you sneeze?” she says, attempting to explain the “itchy” feeling of remaining a human girl. “That’s close to it. Then I shapeshift, and I’m free.”

And just in case you somehow missed the very obvious metaphor here, there is also a scene where Nimona turns into a boy. “And now you’re a boy,” Ballister sighs. Nimona chuckles, and replies, “I am today!” Yes, Nimona—like her creator—is trans. Yes, being trans does make her life harder, but it also makes her life freakin’ awesome. Her ability to shape-shift might scare some small-minded people, but it’s also the reason she is able to kick ass. It is undeniably metal. And it’s a million times better than feeling uncomfortable in her own skin.

Trans youth are hungry for representation in the media right now, as evidenced by the popular fan theory that Gwen Stacy is trans in the recent Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse movie. Given the deluge of anti-trans legislation being pushed by Republican lawmakers across the country—many of which are aimed specifically at trans youth seeking gender-affirming care—it’s no wonder that trans kids want to see themselves in a positive light on screen. Nimona offers them an indisputable trans icon. Nimona knows who she is, and she loves who she is. Despite the other turmoil she endures, that is never in question. She’s Nimona, and she’s free.