The Secret of NIMH (1982)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Don Bluth

Writers:

Don Bluth (story)
Will Finn (story)

Release Date:

2 July 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Drama | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Right before your eyes and beyond your wildest dreams.

Plot:

To save her ill son, a field mouse must seek the aid of a colony of super-intelligent rats, in whom she has a deeper link to than she ever suspected.

Plot Keywords:

Rat | Farmer | Farm | Rose Bush | Owl

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Derek Jacobi	...	Nicodemus (voice)
Elizabeth Hartman	...	Mrs. Brisby (voice)
Arthur Malet	...	Mr. Ages (voice)
Dom DeLuise	...	Jeremy (voice)
Hermione Baddeley	...	Auntie Shrew (voice)
Shannen Doherty	...	Teresa (voice)
Wil Wheaton	...	Martin (voice)
Jodi Hicks	...	Cynthia (voice)
Ian Fried	...	Timothy (voice)
John Carradine	...	Great Owl (voice)
Peter Strauss	...	Justin (voice)
Paul Shenar	...	Jenner (voice)
Tom Hatten	...	Farmer Fitzgibbons (voice)
Lucille Bliss	...	Mrs. Fitzgibbons (voice)
Aldo Ray	...	Sullivan (voice)

Also Known As:

Mrs. Brisby and the Rats of NIMH

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:F (Ontario) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Brazil:Livre | Finland:K-10 (1982) | Finland:K-8/5 (1988) | USA:G | Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-8 (1994) | South Africa:A | South Korea:All | Australia:G | Portugal:M/6 | France:U | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:U | West Germany:6

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Techniques used on this movie which had not been used extensively in other animated features included split exposures to create shadows and translucency, diffusion in conjunction with split exposures to create reflections, color Xerography for the creation of cels and painstaking color orchestration. Newer techniques included the use of video animation for testing and backlight. The use of multiple exposure techniques was probably the best indication of the time and effort taken with the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Mrs. Brisby puts down the envelope to help untangle Jeremy, there is no opening flap visible. On all later scenes the envelope is lying flap side up.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Nicodemus: Johnathan Brisby was killed today while helping with the plan.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Elm Chanted Forest (1986)

Soundtrack:

Flying Dreams

Decent animated film, with a heavy-going plot but good features along the way.

In the early '80s a group of Disney animators, headed by Don Bluth, decided to break away from the Disney studio. The Secret of NIMH was the first film they made. Based on a semi-classic children's book entitled "Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien, the film emerges as a decent little animated feature. The story is a bit on the sombre side - probably a bit too serious and complex for really young viewers - but the animation is of a superb quality and the characters are very nicely voiced.

Field mouse Mrs Brisby needs to move her family from their home in a farmer's field, as it is almost time for the farmer to gather his crop with the combine harvester. Inevitably the Brisby home would be destroyed and anyone in it killed during the gathering of the crop. Unfortunately, one of her children, Timmy, is suffering from pneumonia and couldn't possible survive the move. Mrs Brisby is advised to contact the rats of NIMH, a group of hyper-intelligent rodents, to ask for their help. Apparently, her late husband Jonathan was a close friend of the rats and they held him in such high regard that they will do anything to help a member of the Brisby clan.

The story is told mainly through talk, with occasional bursts of action. As already pointed out, this means the film doesn't really lend itself to a very young audience. But older kids, especially those who are willing to listen with the appropriate degree of attention, will find the story interesting. There are other plus points - Jerry Goldsmith's rousing score; Dom DeLuise's amusing vocals as an accident-prone bird; and some very well-conceived "baddies" in the shape of rat conspirator Jenner and savage farm-cat Dragon. The Secret of NIMH is a moderately successful film - no masterpiece, true enough, and not really a serious challenger to the Disney dominance over the genre, but definitely a film that every child should see at least once.