You Can Now Watch Netflix's Oscar-Nominated Animated Movie Nimona Free On YouTube

The 2024 Best Animated Feature Oscar race is in full force, and it is an interesting one. Once again, there is no Walt Disney Animation movie nominated, but an underrated Pixar gem instead. There's a sequel to a movie that already won an Oscar with "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," the latest (but seemingly not last) masterpiece from legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki, and a fantastic little indie dark horse in the form of the largely wordless "Robot Dreams." 

Then there's "Nimona," the latest Oscar-hopeful from Netflix. The film is not small enough to be considered a dark horse like "Robot Dreams," but definitely feels like an underrated contender considering it didn't get as much widespread attention as the other theatrically released films in this category. Still, "Nimona" is every bit as worthy of the award as the other nominees.

The movie is based on ND Stevenson's graphic novel of the same name. Set in a futuristic fantasy world, it focuses on a disgraced knight, framed for a crime he did not commit, who teams up with a shapeshifter (the titular Nimona) to prove his innocence. It features a great cast that includes Chloë Grace Moretz, Riz Ahmed, Eugene Lee Yang, and Frances Conroy.

While neither "Robot Dreams" nor "The Boy and the Heron" are easily available, Netflix is making the very smart choice of making "Nimona" as widely accessible as possible — by making it free to watch the movie on YouTube.

What's fascinating about "Nimona" the movie is that it went through a journey as incredible and full of twists and turns as the character does in the film. The movie was initially greenlit by 20th Century Fox back in 2017, with Blue Sky Studios in charge of the animation. Then, following Disney's acquisition of Fox, Blue Sky was unceremoniously shut down, and "Nimona" was scrapped like a movie under David Zaslav — reportedly at least in part due to the film's queer themes. But in 2022, Netflix and Annapurna Pictures joined forces to save the film, finish it, and release it. That's great news, too, because the movie rules.

"Nimona" depicts a unique world, a futuristic fantasy where flying cars and medieval castles go hand in hand, and swords and laser crossbows are commonplace. But its creative and gorgeous setting is just the backdrop for a heartfelt and extremely entertaining coming-of-age story that is queer as hell, with themes that are resonating with audiences.

All movies are miracles, but there's something about this one — a story about a queer shapeshifting girl going to hell and back — finally getting made, and eventually being nominated for an Oscar, that feels particularly miraculous.

You can watch "Nimona" in its entirety for free below.