(LifeSiteNews) — This summer saw the Netflix release of Nimona, an animated fantasy movie that’s garnered attention for pushing LGBT themes more strongly than other so-called “family-friendly” movies of its kind.
“A Knight is framed for a crime he didn’t commit and the only person who can help him prove his innocence is Nimona, a shape-shifting teen who might also be a monster he’s sworn to kill,” according to Netflix’s official synopsis for the film. “Set in a techno-medieval world unlike anything animation has tackled before, this is a story about the labels we assign to people and the shapeshifter who refuses to be defined by anyone.”
The film is rated PG for “violence and action, thematic elements, some language and rude humor,” a standard set of descriptions for kids’ fantasy animation, though a more detailed rundown of the film’s content from the Internet Movie Database reveals it contains “some mild flirting between males, brief and not detailed nudity” of a male character with “no private parts on screen.”
The biggest reason for controversy is the pro-LGBT messages that the film conveys. Focus on the Family’s Plugged In review notes that the movie is based on a comic by Noelle “ND” Stevenson, a biological female who identifies as “nonbinary,” had her breasts removed to appear more masculine, and depicts her life story as “an almost superheroic battle against the gender essentialism of her Evangelical upbringing and our culture’s compulsory straightness,” according to Oprah Daily.
The titular character Nimona shapeshifts from male to female and dismisses questions about what that means for her identity as “small-minded,” two male characters are in a homosexual relationship and kiss on-screen, with a third male character expressing “feelings” for one of them.
“Nimona is about people in power oppressing those who identify as gender fluid—’those in power’ are part of a church-like monarchy who call such ‘shapeshifters’ monsters,” Plugged In’s Kennedy Unthank writes. “Nimona doesn’t just have a story to tell; it has an axe to grind and an agenda to push. It makes a valid point in that we should not treat anyone—no matter how much we might disagree with them—as monsters. But, in the words of Nimona, we should ‘question everything.’ And that means holding everything up to an objective standard, which can ultimately only be found through biblical scrutiny. And when stories run so counter to what we know to be true—especially stories designed for our children—we should kindly turn off the screen and gently show them the door.”
Interestingly, before being picked up by Netflix, Nimona was considered for release by left-wing entertainment company Disney through its acquisition of animation house Blue Sky Studios. Disney shuttered Blue Sky, best known for the Ice Age films, in 2021; a year later, former Blue Sky staffers alleged that Disney executives had been uncomfortable with some of Nimona’s LGBT content, including the homosexual kiss — an unusual revelation given Disney’s aggressive promotion of LGBT themes across its films, television, and parks in recent years.
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Netflix has gained some praise from conservatives in recent years for platforming figures such as comedian Dave Chappelle who are willing to challenge “woke” orthodoxy. However, it remains stridently left-wing in its overall content choices, including children’s cartoon Ridley Jones, which features a “non-binary” animal character, and the documentary Pray Away which presents a biased, hostile depiction of the “ex-gay” movement. The company has also publicly opposed pro-life laws.