The Secret of NIMH (1982)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Don't Believe the Hype

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

It is not Disney, so it didn't have a promotion as Disney have, and therefore it passed pretty much unnoticed and underestimated, but it's better than many Disney movies. It's too complicated for smaller children and has a couple of unexplained details, but essentially very nice and quite original cartoon.7/10

Once upon a time there was a man named Don Bluth, who worked for Disney animating movies like The fox and the hound (1981) and Sleeping Beauty (1959) however due to disagreements with how the studio was being run he would leave the studio in 1979 along with 9 ex Disney animators to create Don Bluth Productions. In 1982 The Secret of NIMH released to critical acclaim but mediocre book office returns (something of a running theme when it comes to Don Bluth's work) The Secret of NIMH marked the start of a dual of wits between the Disney and Don Bluth productions that would end in 2007 with Disney winning and Don Bluth leaving tradition animation and studio life for good. He would start up an indiegogo in 2015 to restart his career creating a dragon's lair movie which I presume is still being worked on today. So let's look at the movie that started it all.The Secret of NIMH (based off the Mrs Frisby and the rats of NIMH) starts with the recently widowed Mrs Brisby (Elizabeth Hartman) trying to get medicine for her sick son Timmy (Ian Fried) however when moving day (the day when the animals move out of the fields before the farmer begins harvesting the crops) comes earlier than expected Mrs Brisby has to seek out the help of the rats of NIMH to help her move house before moving day. The story at first glance appears to be a very simple "save my sick child" sort of thing but becomes something more with the idea of evolution and changing societal constructs inter cut with the mystical element of magic, there is a great atmosphere of wonder and discovery about the film that makes it a joy to watch for children and adults. The film is surprisingly violent (a stable of Don Bluth's early work however) with blood and death being shown for all to see, while nothing that would have incurred anything more than a PG rating it does stand out from Disney's less gory alternative.The animation too is fantastic the backgrounds are district and beautiful to behold, there is also some slightly disturbing elements to this movie (again nothing worse than a PG rating) regarding the animation (the spider and the majority of the third act comes to mind) but again it looks great. The use of lighting regarding the mystical figure of the film like Nicodemus (Derek Jacobi) helps create that sense of wonder and intrigue. The characters themselves are voice acted extremely well and animated very well; Derek Jacobi's voice acting lends further credence to the magical air around him. You feel in constant awe of him and he always grabs your attention. The character I would like to focus on regarding animation is Auntie Shrew (Hermione Baddeley), the way she moves makes her appear like she is always in a huff and it just makes me laugh whenever she is on screen. The way she moves is just hilarious to me.The Secret of NIMH is a wonderfully creative film, a true family movie that puts other children's films to shame.

When I first saw this movie, I was pretty young, like about 5 or so, and at first, I was kind of confused by what was going on, Then when I saw it later in life, like around 8 or 9 years old, I saw it in whole, and I liked it okay, But then when I saw it as an adult, I realized it's at least a hundred times Better than I remembered!Don Bluth's Work had always been a Mixed bag for me, But this is DEFINITELY his Greatest Work, The Animation is Very well done, and Not nearly as exaggerated as his style later became, namely in the facial features, they're still there, but not to the point where it's Distracting and uncomfortable. Mrs. Brisby herself is a very Lovely and charming Character. She's Frail and Vulnerable, But she does Pull through her turmoils and overcomes many terrifying obstacles to save her family, Namely her sick son, Timothy. And We easily root for her and feel for her every step of the way. Dom Deluise as Jeremy Really threw me for a loop, Him being a comic relief character, I had a special need to be very Judgemental against him, seeing as how they tend to be more annoying than funny, But I was pleasantly shocked to find that not only was he Funny, He was VERY Likable and comedic, I wouldn't see a character like him until I saw Olaf from Disney's Frozen.My favorite Character has to Be Justin, Captain of the Guard to the Rats of NIMH, and at the end, the new leader of the Rats, He was like an awesome guy to be around, and had a pretty playful sense of humor, but at the same time, he can also be pretty bad ass, particularly in the climax.Jenner, the Villain is Actually a Pretty amazing, criminally overlooked Villain. His design looks ridiculously over the top, but Paul Shenar's Performance Really made him work, giving him a charming, subtle, almost malignant personality and motive.I could go on forever about the characters and the story, But it would take up too much room to fill this review. So to end it, this movie is in my top 10, NO! top 3 all time favorite Movies.I loved it the first Time I saw it, and I only love it more and more Every time I see it again.

The Secret of NIMH is usually praised as a classic, a masterpiece, and the best work of Don Bluth. I enjoy The Land Before Time, another movie by him, so naturally I had quite high expectations for this movie. However, it was a big disappointment.Right from the beginning, the story has shown how silly it is. Somehow, the movie's heroine is willing to risk the safety of her three children, and waste a lot of time doing all kinds of dangerous errands just because 'the air is bad' for her fourth child. Why not just find a warm blanket, wrap him up and run? With all those people around, they could even carry his bed with him on it. That whole deal is clearly just a poor excuse to get the story going. And then things got worse. Characters just keep appearing out of nowhere with dim intentions and unexplained relations. What is the relationship between the Great Owl and the rats? What is the rats' plan exactly? What does the villain really want? How does NIHM know about their hideout? And what's so special about NIHM if normal mice like Mrs Brisby can do what those rats and mice from NIHM do anyway? Questions after questions about the plot keep popping up but never get answered. Finally comes the horrible ending which was just a total deus ex machina. The rats, who before that point were just intelligent animals that relied on technology, somehow managed to create magical artifacts, which the heroine was given for some unknown reasons, and then used to save the day. The end. An utterly terrible and lazy excuse of a plot.The animation, despite being quite good for its time, especially with the special effects, is still not really satisfying for me due to the simple and unimaginative backgrounds. And the sound editing is just terrible compared to Disney movies of the same period. To sum up, this movie may be good for the 1980s thanks to having a more complex plot than most other animated movies at the time, but judging from today's point of view, it's a very flawed and forgettable product.