You ever watch something and halfway through you’re like… wait a damn minute, this is gayer than I expected? That was me with Nimona (2023), the Netflix animated movie that somehow flew under a lot of radars but absolutely wrecked the lesbian corner of the internet (rightfully so).
Let’s get one thing straight – well, not straight – Nimona is dripping with lesbian energy from the first scene to the last. And no, I’m not just projecting because I’m a hopeless sapphic who sees gay in everything (though let’s be real, I am). This movie hands you the lesbian allegory on a flaming pink platter and then dares you to look away.
First of all: Nimona herself. Pink hair? Check. Shapeshifting into whatever the hell she wants because gender is a construct and so is everything else? Double check. Zero respect for authority and a burning desire to watch the world burn (or at least the oppressive Institute)? Honey, that’s lesbian culture in a nutshell. She’s chaotic, she’s loud, she’s unapologetic, and she refuses to be anything less than completely herself even when the entire kingdom wants her dead for it. Sound familiar? Because that’s literally every lesbian who’s ever been told to “tone it down” or “act more feminine” or “maybe don’t kiss your girlfriend in public.”
Then there’s the dynamic with Ballister Boldheart (yes, the name is ridiculous and I love it). The way Nimona latches onto him the second he becomes the kingdom’s most wanted? The way she calls him “boss” in that flirty, teasing, I-would-die-for-you-but-also-roast-you voice? The way she keeps shapeshifting into cute animals just to mess with him? That’s not sidekick energy. That’s “I have a crush the size of a dragon and zero chill” energy. And Ballister? Bro is going through it – framed, exiled, questioning everything he ever believed – and Nimona just shows up like, “Hey disaster knight, let me be your emotional support gremlin.” Tell me that’s not the most lesbian meet-cute ever.
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People keep calling it a found-family story or a platonic soulmate thing. Sure, Jan. You can headcanon whatever you want, but when I saw Nimona literally sacrifice herself and say “I see you, Ballister” while turning into that glowing phoenix thing? My gay little heart heard wedding vows. That’s devotion. That’s “I would burn the world down for you” energy. That’s the kind of love lesbians write fanfiction about at 3 AM while crying into iced coffee.
Even the visuals scream lesbian. The color pink is basically a main character. Nimona’s punk-goth aesthetic? The way she rocks that cropped wolf-shirt look? The sword fights that feel like foreplay? I’m telling you, this movie was made by someone who gets it. (And shoutout to the trans and non-binary voices behind the original graphic novel – we love to see it.)
Look, I know not everyone is gonna watch this and immediately yell “LESBIANS!” like I did (I paused the movie multiple times to scream into a pillow). Some people will just see a fun, rebellious animated flick with great animation and a killer soundtrack. And that’s valid! But for those of us who grew up feeling like shapeshifting monsters because we didn’t fit the perfect knight-in-shining-armor mold… Nimona feels like coming home.
She’s the lesbian representation we didn’t get to have as kids – the loud, angry, pink-haired disaster who doesn’t beg for acceptance. She demands it. Or she just blows the whole place up and calls it a day.
So yeah. If you’re queer, if you’re a lesbian, if you’ve ever felt like the villain in someone else’s story just for existing as you are – watch Nimona. Watch it with your girlfriend. Watch it alone and text your group chat “I’m not okay” 47 times. This one’s for us.
And if anyone tries to tell you it’s “just a kids’ movie”… smile, nod, and then show them the scene where Nimona turns into a giant demon version of herself and screams while everything explodes. That’s lesbian rage, babes. And it’s beautiful.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to rewatch it for the fifth time and cry again. Pink-haired solidarity forever.
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