'Nimona' and 9 Other Best Animated Shapeshifters in Movies

Don't turn into something that can't watch these movies.

Shapeshifting is a concept that has been around since the dawn of storytelling. The idea of a being changing forms, be it to human, animal, or even rocks and plants, has resulted in countless characters, including cunning tricksters and divine beings wishing to test humanity. With the release of Netflix's Nimona, shapeshifting is still alive and well in the age of streaming services.

Animation is the best medium to bring shapeshifters to life thanks to how stylistic and fluid it is, and for not being held down by the same laws of reality. Some animated shapeshifters can turn into multiple forms, others only change into one, but they are always sure to leave an impact on audiences.

Following a failed coup against King William (Dakin Matthews), Rothbart (Jack Palance) was stripped of his magic powers and banisehd. Before leaving, he vowed that one day he would get his power back and take everything William loves. He eventually makes good on that promise by killing William and stealing his daughter, Odette (Adrian Zahiri and Michelle Nicastro), to marry her.

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Rothbarts magic can be divided into three branches: creation, change, and destruction. He enjoys demonstrating the power to change in-battle by making himself into a hybrid of eagle, bat, and lion, called the Great Animal. Sadly, he only takes it two times in the movie, and most of his magic is used summoning illusions or turning Odette into a swan.

As the goddess of chaos and discourse, Eris (Michelle Pfeiffer) is always looking for a way to make the lives of mortals more difficult. Her current plan involves getting the thief Sinbad (Brad Pitt) to steal the Book of Peace for her. When Sinbad changes his mind, she steals it herself and frames Sinbad for the theft and murder of a guard.

Eris' average character writing is made up for in her beautiful and creative animation. She moves with the fluidity of smoke, constantly re-shaping herself into different sizes and positions. Her method of turning into Sinbad is a highlight of the film: she creates a physical copy of him and then slips it on like it was an outfit.

In ancient times, Merlock (Christopher Lloyd) combined his magic talisman with a genie's (Rip Taylor) lamp to get unlimited wishes. After destroying Atlantis and Pompeii, the lamp was stolen from him, but not before he was able to wish for immortality. When Scrooge McDuck (Alan Yong) finds the lamp, Merlock relentlessly pursues him to regain his limitless powers.

Merlock's talisman allows him to shapeshift into any animal he pleases, including mythical ones like griffons. Combined with his immortality, it allows him to be a very proactive villain, as even when in vulnerable forms like a rat or a cockroach, he can go on dangerous infiltration missions. It's also hard to go wrong with Lloyd as the voice.

Meilin "Mei" Lee (Rosalie Chiang) is a thirteen-year-old who struggles between living up to her mother's expectations and indulging in her love of boybands with her friends. Things get even more tricky when a family blessing activates, transforming her periodically into a giant red panda. While her mother prepares a ceremony to remove the panda, Mei gets more comfortable with it when she uses her panda to get money for a concert.

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Mei is a pretty accurate representation of pre-teen girl energy. She's the right level of confident, carefree, and reckless without getting annoying, and loves her family while not being afraid to stand up for herself. Her panda form is used as a metaphor for puberty and leads to an effective moral about embracing yourself.

Luca (Jacob Tremblay) is a sea monster who lives off the coast of Italy with a fascination for the surface world. This fascination is fanned after meeting a new friend named Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer), who shows Luca how to take human form when out of water. Together, the two decide to try and get a Vespa in order to travel across Italy and see the surface world together.

Luca uses his shapeshifting to experience a new world and experience a coming of age story. He starts off more timid and reluctant to stand up for himself, preferring to run from his problems than confront them. With the help of Alberto and a human girl named Giulia (Emma Berman), he learns to stand up for himself and his friends.

The ruler of the Systar System, Queen Watevra Wa'nabi (Tiffany Haddish) wants to end the five-year war between her people and the inhabitants of Bricksburg. To do so, she sends her servant, General Sweet Mayham (Stephanie Beatriz) to kidnap a number of Bricksburg's master builders, who she tempts with their favorite things. Finally, she proposes a marriage between herself and Lego Batman (Will Arnett).

In a movie that is all about showcasing the creative power of LEGO, it's only natural that there's a shapeshifter. The animation on her transformations is almost hypnotic due to how smoothly it's accomplished, and the various forms she becomes are creative without straying from what could be created with LEGO. The revelations of her origins also serve as an effective twist that ties her into the film's major themes.

In a futuristic city, Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed) is chosen to be the first commoner to receive the rank of knight. During the ceremony, his sword kills the Queen (Lorraine Toussaint), and he is forced to go on the run. Ballister is soon found by Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz), a mysterious shapeshifter who teams up with him to cause violence and mayhem.

Related: 'Nimona's Main Characters, Ranked by Likability

Nimona personifies the chaotic nature of shapeshifting. Persecution has left her cynical and rebellious, so she goes to the beat of her own drum and is always eager to take the establishment down a peg. Still, she knows how to let loose and have fun, especially in animal form.

Beyond a hidden door within a boarding house called the Pink Palace lives the Beldam (Teri Hatcher). An ancient and evil creature, she tempts children who live in the palace to come into her world by offering them their heart's desires. Should they stay, she sews buttons onto their eyes and claims their souls.

The Beldam uses her shapeshifting powers to take the form of her victim's mother and presents herself as the most loving parent that a child could ask for. She caters to their every desire and then uses it to try and guilt them into accepting her offer if they try to back out. If the children continue to make her angry, her disguise slowly erodes to reveal her true, spidery self.

Using his magic to see into the future, Merlin (Karl Swenson) deduces that a young boy named Arthur (Rickie Sorensen, Richard Reitherman, and Robert Reitherman) will be influential in ending the dark ages. As such, he appoints himself as the boy's tutor. Rather than just educate him with books, Merlin uses his magic to turn himself and Arthur into animals to explore the world through different perspectives.

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The greatest display of Merlin's magical talent comes from his Wizards Duel against his rival, Mad Madam Mim (Martha Wentworth), where they transformed into animals to fight one another. While Mim picks animals based on size or power, Merlin's are small and versatile. His strategy showcases how when shapeshifters are more intelligent and creative, they become even more dangerous.

Within the Cave of Wonders (Frank Welker) is a magic lamp containing a Genie (Robin Williams). A near-omnipotent being who can see across time and space, he is bound to grant three wishes to whoever holds his lamp until someone wishes him free. So far nobody has done that, but a street urchin named Aladdin (Scott Weinger) promises to do so after Genie makes him a prince.

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Making the Genie a shapeshifter was a stroke of genius. It allowed supervising animator Eric Goldberg and his team to bring Williams' rapid-fire comedy to life with the perfect visual representation for his hilarious impressions. They also managed to slip in a fair number of references to older Disney films.

Next: 10 Iconic Movie and TV Shapeshifters, Ranked by Power

Tyler B. Searle graduated with a degree in Journalism Web and Print in 2017 and Television Writing and Production in 2018. He has been a lifelong fan of storytelling, particularly in the realm of animation and fantasy stories. The Disney Renaissance is his favourite era of Disney, and his favourite non-Disney animation company is DreamWorks. Don Bluth is his favourite animator. When not writing lists, he is enjoying a fantasy novel in his home in Ontario, Canada.