Netflix Picks Up ‘Nimona’ After Disney Shelved the LGBTQ+ Animated Family Film

Samantha Bergeson
·2 min read

Netflix has officially acquired the animated “Nimona” adaptation after the project, originally set up at Blue Sky Studios, was shelved by owner Disney in February 2021. Netflix is now partnering with Annapurna Pictures to bring “Nimona” to the streamer in 2023.

ND Stevenson, who wrote the book on which the film is a based, tweeted, “Nimona’s always been a spunky little story that just wouldn’t stop. She’s a fighter…but she’s also got some really awesome people fighting for her. I am excited out of my mind to announce that THE NIMONA MOVIE IS ALIVE…coming at you in 2023 from Annapurna and Netflix.”

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The animated fantasy film stars Chloë Grace Moretz as gender-non-conforming teen Nimona, who is the only person who can save a knight after he is framed for a crime he didn’t commit. However, Nimona may be the knight’s target he’s sworn to assassinate.

Nick Bruno and Troy Quane direct the feature, which is being produced by Roy Lee, Karen Ryan, and Robert L. Baird. Megan Ellison, Andrew Millstein, and Julie Zackary serve as executive producers.

“Nimona” started production again early last year with DNEG Animation.

Blue Sky Studios executives claimed earlier this year that “Nimona” was “75 percent” completed before Disney allegedly had “pushback” on the LGBTQ+ themes central to the story, which was adapted from a webcomic and 2015 graphic novel.

The character voiced by Riz Ahmed, Lord Ballister Blackheart, reportedly shares a same-sex kiss with Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin, voiced by Eugene Lee Yang. Disney has not commented on the matter.

One former Blue Sky staffer told Insider, “We need more queer stories, but we also need to call out how nefarious it is when you don’t tell queer stories. When the biggest entertainment company in the world creates content for children and systematically censors queer content, they are pushing queer children to dark places.”

“Nimona” made headlines amid the news that the Walt Disney Company financially backed Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, which prohibits “classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity” in Florida primary schools. Select Disney employees organized walkout protests and CEO Bob Chapek vowed to fund “inspiring content” for the LGBTQ+ community.

The Walt Disney Company has since slammed the new Florida law, saying it should “never have been passed.”

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