More importantly, Nimona is a major accomplishment for family-oriented animated media. The plot is somewhat predictable (even where it diverts from Stevenson’s graphic novel), but the movie is ultimately so much fun that it doesn’t actually matter. Make no mistake: Nimona is an adventurous ride from the moment she enters the scene. Ambrosius complicates things in an interesting (if predictable) way and the secondary characters provide high-stakes pressure throughout. Together, Nimona and Ballister find a sense of peace, but that trust is hard-won on both sides of the relationship.

Meanwhile, Ballister wants desperately to belong in the society that once claimed him-until he discovers how quickly they turn him out for something that isn’t remotely his fault. Nimona’s arrival throws him off for a number of reasons, not least of which is that she’s the kind of monster he’s been raised to hate-but she doesn’t like to be called a monster, for good reason. He’s not evil, no matter what the conservative Institute that trained him claims, and all he wants is to clear his name. She’s disappointed to learn that what she thinks is a “murder wall” in his lair is actually an “innocence wall,” because Ballister is desperate to figure out who framed him and why.

The story follows an anarchist shapeshifter hellbent on destruction, who believes she’s found a kindred spirit in Ballister, who accidentally killed the queen during his knighting ceremony. Adapted from ND Stevenson’s Eisner Award-winning webcomic-turned-graphic novel of the same name, Netflix’s new animated film, Nimona, is a loving ode to its source material and a breathtaking sci-fi/fantasy story spotlighting the fluidity of identity, the danger of conservatism, and the importance of found family. From the moment Nimona‘s titular anti-hero (Chloë Grace Moretz) enters the hideout of the shunned Sir Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed), she models the kind of rebellion many “outsider” narratives only dream of embodying.

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