The Secret of NIMH
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 "Right before your eyes, and beyond your wildest dreams."
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The Secret of NIMH is a 1982 animated dark fantasy science fiction adventure film directed by Don Bluth in his directional debut. It is an adaptation of Robert C. O'Brien's 1971 novel Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. The film stars the voice talents of Elizabeth Hartman, Dom DeLuise, Derek Jacobi, Arthur Malet, Hermione Baddeley John Carradine, Peter Strauss, Paul Shenar, Aldo Ray, and a young Shannen Doherty and Wil Wheaton.
Synopsis
The film follows Mrs. Brisby (her name was changed to avoid confusion with the new Frisbee toy) as she seeks out a group of highly intelligent rats to help save her family, (especially her youngest son, Timmy, who's sick from an illness of pneumonia) when Farmer Fitzgibbons threatens them.
Why It's the Key to Unlock Any Door
- The movie has stellar animation that uses lighting perfectly and smooth hand-drawn animation that fits well with the tone of the film and is ahead of its time. The character designs are all very detailed, the movements are fluid, and both factors combined cause the action sequences to grow somewhat a bit more intense (although, make no mistake, they would still be suspenseful regardless, but the animation serves a big help to this factor).
- The film has incredible vocal performances from the likes of the late Elizabeth Hartman as Mrs. Brisby, Derek Jacobi as Nicodemus, Peter Strauss as Justin, and John Carradine as The Great Owl.
- A large majority of the cast consists of amazingly likable and complex characters
- Mrs. Brisby is a brave and protective young woman who proves that she's willing to go to great lengths to protect those she cares about countless times during the film.
- Jeremy is a funny and clumsy crow with an allergy to cats. He serves as a nice comic relief as, unlike other comic reliefs, he doesn't drag down the story, provide unfunny jokes, throw in ridiculous pop culture references, or damage the tone of the film. And given how this movie has a darker and more serious tone than most kids' movies (especially at the time), that's a big relief and achievement.
- Justin is a brave and honorable young man who became the leader of the rats following Nicodemus' death.
- The film has a wonderful sense of mystery and wonder that any person can understand.
- The movie has a terrific and dark atmosphere that feels something like a drama yet still feels like an animated movie.
- Similar to movies like Coraline, The Dark Crystal, Watership Down, Return To Oz, and The Last Unicorn, this film has a very serious tone that doesn't talk down to children because it has a ton of pretty suspenseful scenes and has a pretty brutal death scene. It also has great faith and trust in its child audience's intelligence which is well-demonstrated throughout the entirety of the film, due to its dark tone and countless amount of dark, suspenseful, and emotional moments.
- The film has a well-told tale of the battle between science, nature, and the unknown. The rats of NIMH, after being subjected to much human experimentation in laboratories, gained intelligence and established their society.
- The film has a lot of intense moments that children can watch despite how dark they are. For example, the scene where Mrs. Brisby gets captured and has to escape by herself.
- The film has an exciting climax that we won't dare to spoil here.
- The film has beautifully dazzling music, which includes a fantastic score orchestrated by the late Jerry Goldsmith, and the emotional main song "Flying Dreams" which is sung by Paul Williams.
- Builds up suspense very well (as previously mentioned in WITKTUAD# 6).
Bad Qualities
- The experiments performed on the rats of NIMH are mostly glossed over here, and the book goes into much further detail. This could've made for some interesting plot points/details here.
- Jeremy, while likable, can be a bit annoying at times.
Reception
Upon release, despite being a moderate success due to poor marketing from the film's distributor, MGM/UA Entertainment Co., and Aurora, the film received critical acclaim from critics and moviegoers alike and to this day, is considered to be one of the greatest animated films ever made. The film has an approval rating of 98% on the review aggregate site, Rotten Tomatoes, based on 28 reviews. Doug Walker, the Nostalgia Critic, named it one of his favorite movies.
Trivia
- Mrs. Frisby's name was changed to Mrs. Brisby to avoid confusion with the new Frisbee toy made by Wham-O.
- The film was reportedly offered by Walt Disney Productions in 1972 but was turned down.