Movielogr
The Secret of NIMH (1982)
Directed by Don Bluth
Twitter Facebook Google+Animation | Science Fiction | Fantasy
Most recently watched by tylermager, themarc
Overview
A widowed field mouse must move her family—including an ailing son—to escape a farmer’s plow. Aided by a crow and a pack of superintelligent, escaped lab rats, the brave mother struggles to transplant her home to firmer ground.
Rated G | Length 83 minutes
Actors
Elizabeth Hartman | Derek Jacobi | Arthur Malet | Dom DeLuise | Hermione Baddeley | Shannen Doherty | Wil Wheaton | Jodi Hicks | Ian Fried | John Carradine | Peter Strauss | Paul Shenar | Tom Hatten | Lucille Bliss | Aldo Ray | Norbert Auerbach | Dick Kleiner | Charles Champlin | Joshua Lawrence | Philo Barnhart
Viewing History (seen 1 time)
| Date Viewed | Device | Format | Source | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05/22/2015 | Computer | DVD | Owned | 4 stars |
| (Average) 4 stars |
Viewing Notes
When I was a kid, we had a lot of VHS tapes and basic cable, so we taped a lot of shows off cable to watch later. The Secret of NIMH, Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan, and Amadeus used to all reside on the same VHS tape. I had an interesting childhood cause I’d regularly watch all three. This was one of those go to films for me and my sister. It was one we could both agree to watch and loved the hell out of it. We even had a cat that was clumsy as hell we named after the crow in the film. While it doesn’t hold quite the same magic for me as it did as a kid growing up watching it, it’s still a great film and one of my favorites from Don Bluth.
The film is an adaptation from the novel Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH which I will have to admit to having never read. They changed the name of Mrs. Frisby to Mrs. Brisby but other than that I don’t know what else was changed. Mrs. Brisby is a mouse living in a farmer’s field, having turned an old cement block into her home for the winter. She’s a widow and never really knew what happened to her husband, but her youngest son has become deathly ill and she goes to another mouse, Mr. Ages, to get a cure. On the way home she meets a rather exuberant and clumsy black bird named Jeremy who ends up helping her as much as he’s hindering her in getting the medicine home before getting devoured by the farmer’s cat, Dragon.
Timothy can’t be moved which is a real problem as Moving Day is at hand as the farmer is going to start plowing the field where they live and her home is right in the way of the plow. She heroically disables the tractor, but is at a loss until she goes to see the Great Owl who recommends she visit the rats living in the rose bush near the farmers house. He believes that they can help her move her home and keep her son safe. The rats are harboring a secret that humanity would like covered up and only a few of the rats are willing to work with her.
While this is set in more modern times, it blends some science fiction as well as a heavy dose of fantasy into the mix to really give people watching it a sense of wonder about everything going on. It’s a great blend and nothing feels out of place. The characters are deep and wonderful despite some of them not getting much development and you’re definitely rooting for Mrs. Brisby all the way through.
While I don’t recognize everyone who voices characters in this, there is no mistaking Dom De Luise as the clutsy black bird and Peter Strauss I recognized from Spacehunter Adventures in the Forbidden Zone who plays Justin, the Captain of the Guard for the rats. The rest of the voice cast is pretty good as well, but those were the standouts for me. Jerry Goldsmith does the music for the film and it really reminds me of his Star Trek scores in a lot of places throughout which isn’t a bad thing at all.
This is a Don Bluth film so it oozes his design style and look which is very much like Disney of that era and in the same way not at all. There are a lot of great moments in the film and even when it’s a bit slower there’s a sense of wonder about what we’re seeing on screen.
I actually only own this on DVD and even then it’s the full screen version which watching now has me thinking I need to track down a blu-ray and widescreen copy. This was a staple from my childhood and it’s one of those that hasn’t really tarnished with age like some of the other tv shows I watched as a kid. Very easy to recommend, there’s something here for young and old alike, but this is definitely geared more for the young at heart.
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