Crazy how some of the best animated movies of the year didn't even come from Disney or Dreamworks, y'know, the two companies famous for their animated films.
And to think the animated movie version of Nimona was almost this close to being shelved if Netflix had not picked it up.
Yes, it’s good. It’s very good. I’ll let other people talk about the plot points, the characters and the pretty nifty soundtrack. (Santogold? Yes, please.)
I am here to talk about the animation.
Watching this movie made me realize what I don’t like about Pixar movies lately. Yes, Pixar’s the king of realism. And, yes, Nimona is way more design simple compared to Pixar. But the one thing Nimona has over Pixar is how the characters move.
Pixar characters don’t really move. Yes, they walk. Yes, they gesture. Yes, they will do things.
But they don’t “act.”
For example, there are many parts of Nimona where you could turn off the sound and still follow the story like it was a silent movie of old. The characters’ body language and facial language tell a story on their own. They fill up a whole screen with their mannerisms. This is Buster Keaton. This is Charlie Chaplin. This is Harold Llyod.
You don’t really get that with Pixar. And while that was fine years ago because everyone was striving for realism and Pixar was showing everyone how to animate hair, now, it’s.....boring.
Realism isn’t the end goal anymore. It’s a one trick pony that really should be out to pasture. Now people want to see what else you can do with animation. Spider-man: Across the Spider-verse showed that there are a wide range of styles you can pull from. Even taking ideas from Impressionism, Modern pop art (Check out Jean-Michel Bisquiat) and commercial art (See Bollywood film posters for example). Nimona is now showing how much acting range you can get from their animation. I’ve already watched it twice. Once for the story. The other just to watch the characters “act.” I’ll probably watch it a few more times because that animation, THAT ANIMATION!
In light of the trailer Kung Fu Panda 4 being released, I thought I'd share my thoughts on one of favourite scenes in the whole franchise.
In the previous scene, Tai Lung tries to demean Po by calling him a "big fat panda," an insult that Po heard throughout his entire life. And how does Po respond: HE FRICKIN' OWNS IT!!!!!
That's what's so poignant about the message of the movie: it not about changing who yourself, it's about changing how you see yourself. Po's journey was about realizing that the qualities that OTHER PEOPLE saw as burdens, weaknesses, and faults (particularly his appetite and body shape) WERE IN FACT HIS GREATEST STRENGTHS, THINGS THAT ULTIMATELY HELPED HIM SUCCEED!!!!! As Po's father beautifully put it, "to make something special, you have to believe it's special!"
It's a beautiful message, and as someone who's an aroace autisitc, it's one that resonates with me that much more!