“Nimona”: Read the script that turned a graphic novel about friendship and acceptance into an animated film

Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series, which highlights the year’s most talked about screenplays, continues NimonaBased on the 2015 National Book Award-nominated graphic novel by ND Stevenson, Netflix’s animated film is about finding friendship in the most unexpected situations and accepting yourself and others as they are.

Nick Bruno and Troy Quane (Co-Directors of Disguised spies) directed the film, which was adapted by Great hero 6 Author Robert L. Baird and Spies Co-written by Lloyd Taylor and featuring the voices of Riz Ahmed and Chloë Grace Moretz. Frances Conroy, Lorraine Toussaint, RuPaul Charles, Eugene Lee Yang, Indya Moore, Sarah Sherman and Beck Bennett also have voice roles.

A family-oriented film with authentic alien themes set in a vibrant techno-medieval world (courtesy of the teams at Blue Sky Studios and DNEG Animation). The plot centers on Ballister Boldheart (Ahmed), a knight in a futuristic medieval world who is accused of a crime he did not commit. The only person who can help him prove his innocence is Nimona (Moretz), a mischievous teenager with a penchant for mayhem – who also happens to be a shape-shifting creature that Ballister has been trained to destroy.

Baird and Taylor said their biggest challenge in adapting was staying true to Stevenson’s story while transforming it from the novel’s episodic form into a full-length narrative—itself a process of form-shifting that is one of the core themes which the novel reflects.

NimonaThe film, which was just nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Critics Choice Awards, still had a long way to go to have its world premiere at the Annecy Animation Festival in June, followed by a theatrical release before that will be released on Netflix on June 30. .

20th Century Fox’s Blue Sky originally optioned Stevenson’s novel the year it was released, and the project moved forward despite the Disney-Fox merger and the pandemic. But it almost didn’t survive a third blow: Disney closed and closed Blue Sky in April 2021 Nimona medium production.

However, Blue Sky directors Baird and Andrew Millstein continued to pursue the project and eventually found a partner in Annapurna’s Megan Ellison to advance the themes. Baird and Millstein became EPs and created Shapeshifter Films to complete the film, which then ended up on Netflix. The two have since joined Ellison in her company and founded Annapurna Animation.

Click below to read the script.