Memorable quotes for
The Secret of NIMH (1982) More at IMDbPro »

Mrs. Brisby: You keep making all that noise, and Dragon's sure to hear you, if he hasn't already.
Jeremy: Wouldn't you sing too? I mean, if you felt...
[laughs]
Jeremy: if you felt the call of the wild?
Mrs. Brisby: I would not, if I knew there was a cat nearby.
Jeremy: But she's out there, somewhere. And when I find here, I'll feel it way down in my wish bone. I - -What cat?

---

Jenner: I learned this much: take what you can, when you can.
Justin: Then you have learned nothing.

---

[Presenting Mrs. Brisby with a glowing amulet]
Nicodemus: Courage of the heart is very rare. The stone has a power when it's there.

---

Mrs. Brisby: Auntie Shrew what's going on?
Auntie Shrew: Indeed!
Mrs. Brisby: Please come back inside.
Auntie Shrew: Not for a king's ransom. I just have one thing to say
[pointing at Martin]
Auntie Shrew: that child is a brat.
Mrs. Brisby: Yes, I will speak to him.
Auntie Shrew: I came here to inform you that the frost is off the ground, and moving day is at hand. Prepare to move your very very odd family. Good day.

---

Nicodemus: We can no longer live as rats. We know too much.

---

[Mrs. Brisby reads the inscription on the amulet]
Mrs. Brisby: You can unlock any door, if you only have the key.

---

Jenner: Hear me! The Thorn Valley Plan is the aspiration of idiots and dreamers! We...
[sees Justin]
Jenner: We were just talking about you.
Justin: That's refreshing, Jenner, usually you're screaming about us.

---

Cynthia: Oh! The poor turkey fell down!

---

Jeremy: If I was anywhere near a cat, I'd be sneezing my brains out. You see, I'm alergic to KAAAH!... I'm alergic to KAAY!... I'm alergic to...
[prolonged sneezing fit]

---

Great Owl: Step inside my house.
[Brisby hesitates]
Great Owl: Come inside or go away.

---

Timmy: Momma I'm tired of being in bed. I wanna get up.
Mrs. Brisby: Well, you're not getting up.

---

Auntie Shrew: Cast not pearls before swine, I always say, and that includes insolent piglets!

---

Jenner: With Nicodemus out of the way, what's to stop us from taking over?
Sullivan: Jenner, you can't kill Nicodemus.
Jenner: No taste for blood, eh? They've taken the animal out of you.

---

Jenner: Listen. The Brisby house is a large cement block. In the moving, what if it should fall?
Sullivan: An accident?
Jenner: Of course! Cut the lines, and the weight of it will crush his bones!
Sullivan: It's risky.
Jenner: Once rid of Nicodemus, the plan will die. We can stay her as long as we like.
Sullivan: What about Justin?
Jenner: Leave him to me.

---

Auntie Shrew: Run! The plow is here! Run for your lives! Run! It's moving day!

---

Justin: It's Jenner. He's at it again.
Mr. Ages: There blows an ill wind!
Justin: He's before the Grand Council now. This time he's attacking Nicodemus openly.
Mr. Ages: And the plan, no doubt.
Justin: Nothing will come of it. I'll pass.
Mr. Ages: Beware, boy, he's dangerous! He'll be the undoing of the rats of NIMH.

---

Jeremy: Hey, there's a cat out there!
Mrs. Brisby: Quiet! Does he see you?
Jeremy: No.
[whimpering]
Jeremy: Yes!
Mrs. Brisby: Stand perfectly still.
Jeremy: Everything's fine. He's headed right for us!
Mrs. Brisby: Don't panic. Fast or slow?
Jeremy: Medium. Make that fast, very fast - I have to go now...

---

Nicodemus: Johnathan could not tell you about us because the injections slowed the aging process. You see, you would have grown old, while he remained young.

---

Mrs. Brisby: If you're going to feather a nest, you've got a lot to learn about how to treat a lady.
Jeremy: Right. When you're right, you're right, and you're right. None of the girls I meet wanna get serious.
Mrs. Brisby: I doubt they'd survive.

---

Nicodemus: Johnathan, wherever you are, your thoughts must comfort her tonight. She will be waiting, and you will not return.

---

[repeated line]
Jeremy: Excuse me, pardon me.

---

Jeremy: I think I have real potential. I mean, girls go for the athletic type, don't they?
Mrs. Brisby: Jeremy, you're stepping on my tail.
Jeremy: Oh, yeah! Excuse me, pardon me.

---

Jenner: The plan is nothing but folly, a doddering old fool's fantasy! Nicodemus would have us destroy this colony only to lead us to starvation in some wilderness!
Justin: He! Good old Jenner.

---

Jeremy: You can't leave me here like this. There's a ca-cat... there's a ca-ca... he's very big, and he might... and he might... Ungh!
Auntie Shrew: Good! Good riddance. Teresa! Martin! That's the least you deserve.
Teresa: Auntie.
Auntie Shrew: There you are! Keep an eye on this hooligan, make sure he doesn't get away until I can get help. And as for you, you black buzzard, I wouldn't try anything. I shall return.

---

Martin: Well, I guess we better untie him.
Teresa: Martin, I don't think...
Martin: Hey! Mom helped a crow in the field the day before yesterday.
Cynthia: He's trying to talk.
Teresa: He looks like a loony.
Martin: He even took her to see the Great Owl.
Teresa: So?
Martin: So this could be the same crow.
Jeremy: That's me! I'm the crow. Untie me quick. I can't stand it!
Teresa: What are you doing here?
Jeremy: Good question, but don't ask. The legs. The legs! The leeegs!
[Falls down]
Cynthia: Aw, the poor turkey fall down.
Jeremy: I'm not a turkey! Your mother...
Teresa: Where's our mother?
Martin: You black buzzard! Tell us where she is...
Jeremy: Stop tickling me!
Teresa: I'll tie you back up...
Jeremy: She went to see the rats!
Teresa: You took our mother to the rats?
Martin: I'm gonna go look.
Jeremy: No! Wait! the rats, good, Stay. They're coming here to move your house where it's safe! Understand? The Owl says they're good and smart! Get it?
Martin: You're right. He's a loony.

---

Mrs. Brisby: Jeremy?
Jeremy: Shh! I'm being followed.
Mrs. Brisby: Followed?
Jeremy: A crazy lady with a hat! She has big teeth, she tied me up, and...
[Sees Mrs. Brisby's amulet]
Jeremy: Ooh! oh-oh-oooh! A sparkly!
Mrs. Brisby: What?
Jeremy: You're wearing a sparkly! Can I have it? Can I?
Mrs. Brisby: Pay attention.
Jeremy: [still mesmerized by the amulet] Wow.
Mrs. Brisby: I need you to get some string.
Jeremy: Str-ing...
Mrs. Brisby: To move the block.
Jeremy: Move... the block. Hey! I've got string! I've been saving them.
Mrs. Brisby: You do?
Jeremy: Oh, yes. Red ones, blue ones, green, yellow...
Mrs. Brisby: Good. Bring all the string you can.
Jeremy: Okay... that'll take all day.
Mrs. Brisby: Good! Get going.
Jeremy: Just thought I'd mention in passing... I've always wanted a sparkly of my very own.
Mrs. Brisby: Will you get going?
Jeremy: Oh! Excuse me, pardon me. Bye.

---

Mrs. Brisby: [Confronted by a large rat with a battleaxe] H-hello. I was sent here to find Nicodemus. Are you Nicodemus?
[the rat swipes at her]
Mrs. Brisby: Please, I need help.

---

Mrs. Brisby: Pardon me, but I couldn't help noticing that you're limping.
Mr. Ages: That is none of your affair. Now, to what you are about to see and hear you must swear absolute secrecy.
Mrs. Brisby: Yes, I understand...
Mr. Ages: Swear it!
Mrs. Brisby: I swear.
Mr. Ages: If word were to get out, we'd have all of humanity here to-to blow the place apart.
Mrs. Brisby: Is it always this dark?
Mr. Ages: We're down three feet.

---

Justin: [Sneaks up behind Mr. Ages and covers his eyes] Reveal thy name.
Mr. Ages: Justin, you featherhead! Get your hands off me!

---

Jenner: Friends, we cannot move the Brisby home.
Mr. Ages: We-we can't just leave it here, in the mud.
Jenner: The equipment is a shambles. One day we will journey to Thorn Valley, just as Nicodemus wanted, but not now. Come, let us return to the rosebush, where we belong.

---

[the phone rings in middle of night]
Farmer Fitzgibbons: I'm coming, I'm coming! Hold your horses! Hello? Who? NIMH? Oh, yeah, NIMH. You called about the rats. I don't know about any special behavior, but the traps sure don't work. Morning? Suits me just fine. No, no. You can buldoze that rosebush right out of here. I want those rats exterminated. Now, there's no charge, right? All right. I'll see you in the morning.
[Hangs up]
Mrs. Brisby: NIMH? They're coming here?
[gasps]
Mrs. Brisby: I must warn Justin!

---

Jeremy: Miss Briz! Oh, Briz! Where are you?
Mrs. Brisby: Over here.
Jeremy: [Arrives with bag of string] Well, here it is. I brought the whole nest. There's plenty more where this came from. I've got connections. Hey! Your house is moved. Oh, no! What am I gonna do with all this string?
Mrs. Brisby: You'll think of something.
Jeremy: [sigh] Ah, what's the use. What's a guy like me going to do with a love nest anyway?
[as he starts to leave Jeremy is knocked over by another crow]
Jeremy: Ow! Excuse me, pardon me.
Miss Right: Excuse me, pardon me.
Cynthia: Look mommy. Another turkey.

---

Auntie Shrew: The Great Owl would know what to do about this. You must go see him.
Mrs. Brisby: I couldn't do that. Owls eat mice.
Auntie Shrew: Well, my child, show a little courage. We're fighting for Timmy's life.

---

Nicodemus: Johnathan, your wife has come at last. Perhaps now I can repay you for your kindness to me, yet Mrs. Brisby may serve the rats of NIMH more than we her. Jenner, I fear, could do her harm. He is consumed by a lust for power. Thus far the amulet has remained safely hidden, but if he finds it... Heaven help us.

---

Auntie Shrew: Why me, that I alone should be responsible for the welfare of the entire field? It's monstrous!

---

[Mrs. Brisby listens to the farmer start the tractor]
Auntie Shrew: What did I tell you? Moving day.
Mrs. Brisby: It can't be.
Auntie Shrew: It certainly can. I don't supposed you've packed.
Mrs. Brisby: What about Timmy? The chill in the air could kill him.
Auntie Shrew: Well, child, that tractor surely will. For the last time, get your children out of here before it's too late.

---

Mrs. Brisby: I went to see the Great Owl.
Mr. Ages: Owl? You say you saw the Owl?
Mrs. Brisby: Yes. He told me to ask for Nicodemus.
Mr. Ages: Yes, I know Nicodemus.
Mrs. Brisby: He lives with the rats.
Mr. Ages: More specifically, he's the leader of the rats.
Mrs. Brisby: You know him?
Mr. Ages: [abruptly] No one has ever seen the Owl! And live to tell about it.

---

Great Owl: I must bid you good evening, Mrs...
Mrs. Brisby: Mrs. Brisby.
Great Owl: Brisby? Mrs. Johnathan Brisby?
Mrs. Brisby: Why, yes. He was my husband. But how did you know about him?
Great Owl: That is not important. I will say this: His name is not unknown in these woods.

---

Jeremy: So... do you like me?
Mrs. Brisby: Of course I like you. Bye now!
[resumes her journey home]
Jeremy: No, i mean... um, i mean... you don't think I'm clumsy or anything?
[loses balance, falls through hole]

---

Jeremy: [needs something to impress a female crow he just met] Mrs. Briz! Mrs. Briz! Gimme the sparkly! I gotta have the sparkly! Mrs. B, I gotta have it! Girls can't resist sparklys! Oh, please? PLEEEEEEEZ?
Mrs. Brisby: I gave it to Justin.
Jeremy: Justin? Who the heck is Justin?
Mrs. Brisby: The leader of the rats!
Jeremy: [sarcastic] The leader of the rats. How could you do this to me? What'll I say? Mrs. B... what'll I do?
Mrs. Brisby: Just be, um... be athletic!
Jeremy: Ah, hah! That's right! Athletic...
[gets up and starts running back to female crow]
Jeremy: I'll just be a little athl... AHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGH!
[trips over Cynthia]

---

Nicodemus: In the beginning, we were ordinary street rats, stealing our daily bread, and living off the efforts of man's work. We were captured, put in cages, and sent to a place called NIMH. There were other animals there, in cages. They were put through the most unspeakable torture, to satisfy some scientific curiosity. Often, at night, I would hear them cry out in anguish. Twenty rats and eleven mice were given injections. Our world began changing.

---

Jenner: Nicodemus is cooperating beautifully.
Sullivan: Jenner...
Jenner: Standing in just the right spot.
Sullivan: Jenner, I... I can't...
Jenner: When the block reaches the middle, you cut the line.
Sullivan: I...
Jenner: [Holding a sword to Sullivan's throat] Don't get any ideas, my friend. You're in this up to your neck.

---

Mrs. Fitzgibbons: Dragon! You lazy kitty. Go chase some of those rats out in the barn. I've never seen a cat sleep so much.

---

Mrs. Brisby: Please. I would do anything for Timothy. Anything.
Great Owl: There is a way. Go to the rats.
Mrs. Brisby: But I don't know any rats.
Great Owl: In the rosebush.
Mrs. Brisby: Oh, yes. Near the farmhouse.
Great Owl: Go there. Ask for Nicodemus.
Mrs. Brisby: Nicodemus? But how can they help?
Great Owl: They must move your house to the lee of the stone.
Mrs. Brisby: No rat could move my house. It's a...
Great Owl: They have ways.
Mrs. Brisby: I don't understand, but I will do as you say.

---

Teresa: Oh! Auntie Shrew!
Cynthia: Oh, Auntie!
Martin: Oh, no!

---

Martin: I'm not afraid of the dark!
Auntie Shrew: Martin!
Martin: I'm not afraid of the farmer!
Auntie Shrew: I can't hear!
Martin: I'm not afraid of Dragon. I'm not even afraid of... of the Great Owl!
Auntie Shrew: Oh, hush up!
Martin: Ah, you hush up!
Auntie Shrew: Precocious monster!
Martin: Bossy bullfrog!
Auntie Shrew: Spoiled brat!
Martin: Loudmouth!

---

Jeremy: Well, uh, let me explain! Oh, what a lovely hat you're wearing!
Auntie Shrew: Don't you sweet-talk me!

---

Auntie Shrew: You think the world owes you a living, right?
Jeremy: Right!
Auntie Shrew: Wrong!
Jeremy: Wrong! Oh!

---

Jeremy: Nice evening, huh? I told you you'd love flying.
Mrs. Brisby: I don't know how I let you talk me into this!

---

Jeremy: I haven't found Miss Right yet, but when I do,
[sings]
Jeremy: the whole world will hear us singing!

---

Jeremy: Hey, you were a girl once. Maybe you can teach me how to... you know, how to, uh...
Mrs. Brisby: Behave yourself?
Jeremy: I'm not that bad. I just need a few pointers to polish my style.
[trips and falls down]
Jeremy: Oof!
Mrs. Brisby: Jeremy, I've got to go home.
Jeremy: Uh, let me fly you home. We can talk on the way.
Mrs. Brisby: No, thank you. I'm afraid of heights.
Jeremy: All right, so we'll walk.

---

Mrs. Brisby: You're in great danger. NIMH is coming!
Jenner: [quickly] Come come, let's return to the rosebush...
Mrs. Brisby: NIMH is coming!
Rat 1: NIMH!
Mrs. Brisby: In the morning!
Rat 2: NIMH!
Mrs. Brisby: Yes. You will all die unless you leave the farm tonight.
Jenner: Lies!
Mrs. Brisby: Please! You must believe me!
Rat 1: What if it's true?
Rat 2: We'll all be killed!
Rat 3: Don't panic!
Jenner: Don't listen! She's hysterical!
Mrs. Brisby: Get out now... Auughhh!
[With a vicious backhand, Jenner sends Mrs. Brisby flying. He shucks his cape and draws his sword]
Jenner: You get out! I've had enough!

---

Justin: It was you. You did it. You killed Nicodemus. That was no accident.
Jenner: Yes. I killed him.

---

[Jeremy sneaks up behind her wearing a human blouse like a large hooded robe - he pulls the "hood" back]
Mrs. Brisby: [surprised] Jeremy!
Jeremy: Shhhh!
[whispering]
Jeremy: I'm in *disguise*!
[laughs]

---

Auntie Shrew: I shall... return!

---

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

---

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