History WesternAnimation / Nimona2023

* GlowingEyes: Nimona's eyes glow a pinkish white whenever she uses her powers. She also seems to have tapetum lucidum, as during the scene when Ballister is begging Goldenloin to believe him that he wouldn't kill the queen, a stray searchlight hits her face and her eyes light up, causing Goldenloin to visibly recoil.

* AbsurdlyExclusiveRecruitingStandards: The Institute guarding the CitadelCity is an elite group of knights that draws its membership solely from noble families, all of them descended from the fighting force established by the legendary hero Gloreth to protect the kingdom from the monsters lurking beyond the wall. As such, controversy ensues when Ballister Boldheart - a commoner - is allowed to undergo the trials and become a knight of the Institute, facing discrimination not only from within the Institute but also from without, with numerous citizens claiming that his ascent is "not what Gloreth wanted." In the face of Ballister's success, [[HopeSpot the Queen decides to dissolve the Institute's restrictions on membership]]... only to be assassinated in such a way that Ballister ends up getting the blame. [[spoiler: The culprit is none other than the Institute's Director.]] Later in the film, it's revealed that [[spoiler: Gloreth herself was just a peasant girl who actually befriended [[PrimalPolymorphs one of the so-called monsters]] before circumstances drove them apart, drawing the validity of the Institute's purpose and membership even deeper into question.]]

* AdaptationalHeroism: Downplayed with the Institute, as they're still an elitist antagonistic organization that upholds the Kingdom's xenophobic propaganda. However, a number of examples of their corruption from the graphic novel such as [[spoiler: mistreating the homeless, attacking rioters, stockpiling Jaderoot despite being the ones to make it illegal, experimenting on Nimona on two separate occasions and their ableism]] are AdaptedOut. [[spoiler: Overall, the Director appears to work alone for most of her crimes in the movie. And unlike in the graphic novel where the Institution's rank and file are loyal to her and consider Ambrosius a traitor, in the movie, Ambrosius is at multiple points able to convince Institute guards to side with him against her.]]

* CommonalityConnection: The reason why Nimona chooses Ballister as the perfect candidate to serve him as a sidekick (a.k.a. to befriend him) is because both of them are wrongly accused of being 'villainous monsters' for reasons beyond their control (Ballister [[spoiler: was framed up by the Director for being a commoner knight]] and Nimona for being a shapeshifter).

* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler: Nimona seems to perish after she sacrifices herself to stop the Director from firing one of the wall's cannons into the kingdom, but she reappears at the end of the movie, to Ballister's joy.]]

* EngineeredPublicConfession: [[spoiler: Nimona and Ballister pull this on the Director when Nimona pretends to be Ambrosius, even managing to avoid any [[MorphicResonance tell-tale give-aways to the audience]] before "Goldenloin" starts an over-dramatic death scene upon getting impaled clean through. [[DeconstructedTrope Unfortunately]], this makes it likewise possible for the Director to turn the same tactic back on them, making a public announcement that the "her" that confessed was actually a disguised Nimona, using footage of her shapeshifting to [[ParanoiaGambit further drive fear and suspicion amongst the populace]] and utterly derailing the duo's plans. It's implied that she also used this same claim to convince Ambrosius of her "innocence" after finding ancient proof that Nimona was Gloreth's monster to convince him of her "evil plans"]].
* EtTuBrute: When it becomes clear that Ambrosius believes that Ballister is responsible for the Queen's death, Ballister is devastated, and becomes bitter and cold towards Ambrosius for the rest of the movie. [[spoiler: The epilogue, however, shows they were able to patch things up.]]

* EvilPlan: [[spoiler: The story begins with The Director framing Ballister for regicide and then hunting him down, simply because he was a commoner trying to be a knight, which offended her sense of the kingdom's status quo. She seeks to make an example of him so no one will try again.]]

* HeelRealization: [[spoiler: During the final fight, Ambrosius and the other knights see Ballister stop Nimona by simply being kind to her, and getting her to return to a human form. They realize that she didn't actually attack the city; all of the damage was done by ''them'' firing at her and knocking her into buildings. They then all turn on the Director when she insists they fire a cannon on Nimona, despite the damage that would do and the knowledge that Nimona's no longer a danger.]]

* InterruptedSuicide: [[spoiler: Having crossed the DespairEventHorizon after Ballister's apparent rejection of her, Nimona attempts to stab herself through the heart with the statue of Gloreth's sword. Ballister stops her just in time.]]

* MeaningfulEcho: After running into Ambrosius, Ballister panicks and exclaims "Did you see the way he looked at me!?", worried that his boyfriend believes he's guilty of regicide. Later, Nimona repeats it [[spoiler: pronouns notwithstanding in regards to a little girl who responds to seeing her by grabbing a sword and threatening her.]]

** In the webcomic, Nimona's forms are still usually pink, but when shifting between them she becomes a shadowy black and white mass for a moment. This isn't present for most of the film as her changes are usually instantaneous, [[spoiler: but in the climax her monstrous {{Kaiju}} form has the same shadowy appearance as her in-between state from the original.]]

* ThePhoenix: At first mentioned by Nimona in a metaphorical manner, [[spoiler: before becoming literal in the finale.]]

* [[RedemptionEqualsDeath Redemption Equals Severe Injuries]]: Todd has been nothing but a JerkJock the whole movie, teasing and hating Ballister even ''before'' he was framed and continuing that attitude for most of the film. [[spoiler: After being thrown into a billboard during the final fight and seeing Nimona sacrifice herself to save the city from the Director, he clearly has a change of heart, and is seen (in a cast) leaving flowers at her memorial]].

* ShapeshifterStruggles: The title character is a powerful shapeshifter capable of assuming almost any form... but is unable to connect with anyone as a result. [[AnimalsHateHim Animals instinctively reject her]], humans accuse her of being a monster, and even [[InnocentlyInsensitive Ballister]] spends most of their early interactions asking her to be "normal" - not realizing that Nimona's shapeshifting is an integral part of her being and that not transforming is ''unbearable'' for her. In the finale, [[spoiler: all these rejections and more drive Nimona to a suicide attempt - though [[TalkingDownTheSuicidal Ballister thankfully saves her]] at the last moment.]]

* SupportingProtagonist: Just like in the webcomic, the story is really about Ballister Boldheart, with Nimona being his self-appointed henchwoman. [[spoiler: However this only really applies to the first two acts, as once the third starts the story switches from Ballister's attempt to clear his name to an exploration of Nimona's DarkAndTroubledPast and the centuries of deep seeded trauma and heart break it left her with.]]

* TownWithADarkSecret: Well, kingdom in this case. It's initially established that the Kingdom was founded by the legendary, noble heroine Gloreth, who, a thousand years ago, vanquished a "Great Black Monster" and enclosed the kingdom with a giant wall to protect it from the outside world. However, unbeknownst to everyone except [[spoiler: Nimona herself]], this is a giant pile of lies. In reality, [[spoiler: when she was just a child commoner, Gloreth actually befriended said monster, which is revealed to be Nimona, and even accepted the latter's shapeshifting abilities. However, once the grownups of Gloreth's village discovered their relationship and her powers, they immediately attacked Nimona out of fear of a being they didn't understand, and they accidentaly caused a fire that burned the entire village in the middle of the riot. When Nimona tried to reach out her friend, Gloreth, who had accepted her parents' hateful biases, betrayed her by picking up her wooden sword and pointing it at Nimona, banishing her by saying "Go back to the shadows from whence you came."]]

* VillainProtagonist: In the [[https://youtu.be/Vh0E3ZGvyc0 June 2023 Netflix preview]], Nimona proudly declares herself Boldheart's sidekick due to believing him to be a villain. Boldheart is quick to refute this claim. Downplayed in the movie itself, as, while Nimona loves causing mayhem, she isn't shown actively killing anyone but just loves to frighten people with the threat of it. In otherwords she's less this trope and more a rebellious teenager angry at the world, who hides her good [[spoiler: if [[HeartBrokenBaddass broken]]]] heart under an incredibly morbid sense of humor.

* {{Weredragon}}: Nimona transforms into (among other things) a dragon in her comic at the start of the teaser. After cutting to her in real life, she sprouts an actual pair of dragon wings. [[spoiler: She later turns into a dragon mascot from a children's cereal ad to protect Ballister]].

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Despite playing an important role in Ballister discovering he was framed, the Squire doesn't reappear after Nimona and Ballister let him go. [[spoiler: Considering how he might have been punished if the Director learned that he knew, he might have gone into hiding.]]

* YouAreNotAlone: Ballister says this to Nimona while [[spoiler: trying to stop her from committing suicide.]]

** When Ballister tries to start a hijacked car, the car's radio plays Judas Priest's "Breaking the Law", in an otherwise medieval/sci-fi setting.

* DiegeticSwitch: "Breaking the Law" by Judas Priest is first heard inside the car Ballister hijacked. It then becomes background music during the fallout [[spoiler:of the Director's EngineeredPublicConfession]].

** Maybe don't base your entire culture on staying walled off from everything outside it, fighting off anything from outside that dares to show its face, and idolizing the people in charge of that.

** When shooting out ideas for what villainous plans she and Ballister could perform on their first meeting, one of Nimona's suggestions is destroying a village, laying low until they're almost forgotten about, then rising like a fiery phoenix from the ashes to overthrow the government. [[spoiler:To stop the Director from firing a WaveMotionGun that would destroy countless innocents, Nimona shape-shifts into a massive birdlike creature made of fire to charge into the weapon and blow both of them up, seemingly sacrificing herself in the process. In the film's epilogue, after the corrupt institution has been overthrown and the people are beginning to move away for their fear-driven teachings, Ninoma makes her survival known to Ballister, revealing that the flaming bird was actually a [[BackFromTheDead Phoenix]]]].

** After remembering Nimona's shapeshifting powers, Ballister instinctively reaches for his absent sword, forgetting it's not there, and Nimona shows genuine anger for the first time when he calls her a "monster". [[spoiler:In the third act, when Ballister finds out Nimona was the "legendary evil" Gloreth faced 1000 years ago, Ballister confronts Nimona and nearly calls her a "monster" again. When Nimona angrily demands he actually say the word out loud and begins to shapeshift, Ballister instinctively draws his newly returned sword. This time it causes Nimona to cross the DespairEventHorizon and flee.]]

The story follows Ballister Boldheart (Ahmed), a knight-in-training in a medieval/sci-fi universe who must team up with a spunky shapeshifter named Nimona (Moretz) [[ClearTheirName to prove his innocence when he is publicly framed for murdering the Queen]] (Toussaint). However, it soon becomes apparent to Ballister that his new companion might be the very creature he is sworn to destroy but with everyone out to get him, she's the best shot he has at clearing his name.

* ChekhovsGun: While Nimona is introducing herself to Ballister and admiring his evil lair, she spots a wicked-looking knife on a table and tucks it in somewhere behind her back. She never actually uses it to stab anybody, but she does pull it out and brandish it threateningly several times during the movie. When she first finds it, it looks very forlorn, dull and chipped; but later when she pulls it out, it gleams. She has clearly cleaned and sharpened it off-camera. (We also never see where she actually stashes it, she just pulls it out from behind her back as though sheathed.)

* AnAesop:
** People shouldn't be judged by what they are on the surface, and those who are wronged don't have [[ThenLetMeBeEvil to become what other people assume they are]].
** Trust is the foundation of any healthy relationship.
** It's important to embrace change and not let fear control you.
** Maybe don't base your entire culture on staying walled off from everything outside it, fighting off anything from outside that dares to show its face, and idolizing the people in charge of that.

* AnAesop:
** People shouldn't be judged by what they are on the surface, and those who are wronged don't have [[ThenLetMeBeEvil to become what other people assume they are]].
** Trust is the foundation of any healthy relationship.
** It's important to embrace change and not let fear control you.
** Maybe don't base your entire culture on staying walled off from everything outside it, fighting off anything from outside that dares to show its face, and idolizing the people in charge of that.