Good evening everyone! Today, we are going to be diving into the world of animation once again! This time, we will be reviewing an animated film that is much older. In fact, just a few months before The Last Unicorn (which of course I rewatched, and reviewed earlier this year) was released, the summer of 1982 also had some kid/family friendly films as well, such as E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial, and today’s film that’s being reviewed, The Secret Of NIMH. Now, just a quick backstory, The Secret Of NIMH was directed by former Disney animator, Don Bluth, who decided to start his own animation company after apparently being dissatisfied with the direction that Disney was going with their animated films, and taking a few Disney animators with him (or so the story goes). Not to mention that actors like Dom Deluise seemed to kick off his voice acting career with films like this one. So, with that in mind, here is my review for what may be one of the more darker, and possibly more mature animated films, The Secret Of NIMH.
Plot: Springtime has come, which means plowing season is ready to begin. This means that a widowed mouse named Mrs. Brisby (Elizabeth Hartman) must move her family, herself, and her four children, and their home to a new location. The only problem is that her youngest son, Timothy (Ina Fried), is sick with pneumonia, and can’t be outside because of that, due to the chill in the morning air. But when she hears about an intelligent group of rats, called the rats of NIMH, whom Mrs. Brisby’s late husband, Jonathan, worked for, and can help move the Brisby home, can they help her move the home before their home is destroyed by either the plow, or any other human object?
Okay, when I was a kid, I surprisingly never heard of this film at first. In fact, much like The Last Unicorn, I don’t recall even hearing about this film until I was maybe 7 in the year 1995. And yes, there is a bit of a story to that. Basically, when I was a kid, my family, and I bought a VHS copy of an MGM cartoon called The Pebble & The Penguin. Included in the trailers before the film, they showed mini clips of films from other MGM family films like The Black Stallion, The Wizard Of Oz, Getting Even With Dad, All Dogs Go To Heaven, and, surprisingly, The Secret Of NIMH, among a few other films. Well, even though I had seen some of those other films that I mentioned, I never recalled seeing the film. So one night, my family, and I rented The Secret Of NIMH from one of the local Blockbuster video rental stores near us. I have to say that I remember enjoying The Secret Of NIMH. Now, that I’m finally rewatching this movie all the way through for the first time years later, does it hold up? Miraculously, it does. In fact, I was surprised by how well done The Secret Of NIMH is. First of all, it’s great to have a story about a widowed mother as a main character, and her children. Yes, this kind of character was done in Disney’s The Aristocats back in 1970. However, the way that it’s handled here is much more well done. Not to mention that The Secret Of NIMH had a better plot, and a stronger story, amongst other things, than The Aristocats. Anyway, the characters stand out really well. I mean even Mrs. Brisby’s kids, who do not share as much screen time as Mrs. Brisby, or some of the other main characters, are very well fleshed out. What also makes a film like The Secret Of NIMH stand out from other animated films is that this film could have easily made all of these characters human. Okay, yes, that is with the exception of the comic relief character of this film, Jeremy the crow, who is voiced by the late Dom Deluise. He would likely not exist if the characters had been human. What I mean to say is that characters like Mrs. Brisby end up acting like a normal human mother, her children act like normal human kids, even though they’re mice, and of course there’s the rat wizard of this film, Nicodemus. Yeah, of course this has fantasy elements when it comes to the world of mice, rats, owls, and other animals. If these characters were human, chances are we might have had a full-on fantasy story like Lord Of The Rings, The Last Unicorn, or something like that. So, let me put it to you all this way! When this film is centered on the human characters, it’s almost like the film is set in the normal world. However, in the world of the animals, it’s almost like we have a Lord Of The Rings sort of feel. Oh, and one more thing to mention about the characters! Most, if not all of them are really, really memorable. They’re likable, have unique personalities to themselves, and overall have traits that make them stand out so well. And speaking of the fantasy elements, holy cow, that aspect of the film is handled really well. In fact, if this film had either been advertised more, or even not been released until say sometime in the 1990s, 2000s, or even this past decade, the 2010’s, I wouldn’t have been surprised if this film had made as much, if not more than animated films like The Lion King, Shrek, Zootopia, or some of those rather memorable, and popular animated films. The world building, especially when it comes to the world of the rats of NIMH, is so well done. The details are really good, and the animation is very well done for being released in the early 1980s. Sure, the animation would have maybe been more crisp if it had not come out until years later. Even so, there are moments where the animation comes close, if not quite being top notch, most notably when it comes to certain events that occur towards the end of the film. Same goes for the underground world, where the rats of NIMH reside. The lights are great, the courtroom, and all the other areas of the rats of NIMH’s lair is spectacular. I’m surprised by how much detail Don Bluth, and the animators put into animating that world, as well as the world above, with Brisby’s home, and things like that. The same goes with the detail of animation on the characters themselves. For crying out loud, there are characters like Nicodemus, and the Great Owl, that have glowing eyes, Mr. Ages acting like an elder rat, Mrs. Brisby of course being young, you name it. As for the story itself, for having a running time of only 82 minutes, it is surprising how well paced this film is. Sure, there were some times in the story, where some of the emotional moments, especially when it came to some of the tragic parts, might have felt a little rushed over. Not to mention that there were some moments that could have maybe had a little more closure to them. Besides that, however, there are some other scenes, like a scene when Mrs. Brisby, and the Great Owl encounter each other, that are short, but really good. It’s kind of like with the scene in 2016’s Zootopia, where Nick the fox, and Judy the rabbit have their scene with Flash the sloth. Again, short, but still well done. Yeah, how come we don’t seem to hear of scenes in many animated films that are short, but still well done besides animated films like The Secret Of NIMH, and Zootopia, and possibly a few others, you know? And another thing! It’s amazing how much effort, and heart was invested in the story, the animation, the characters, and other areas of this movie. Honestly, for being Don Bluth’s first animated film to direct, that’s quite an accomplishment, wouldn’t you say? Oh, and I can’t forget the score by Jerry Goldsmith. Okay, even though the score doesn’t seem to shine as much until around maybe the middle through the end of the film, it seems to be very phenomenal around then. I was surprised to hear that he also scored in Disney’s Mulan sixteen years later in 1998. Finally, The Secret Of NIMH provides good lessons about learning to show courage when one needs to, learning to do whatever it takes to help others in need, and things like that.
And that’s my review for 1982’s The Secret Of NIMH. I’m not sure if this film was ahead of it’s time, or something else. Regardless, this movie is so well done. It deserves just as much recognition as animated films like The Lion King, The Prince Of Egypt, Zootopia, and other classic, or underrated animated films. If you want to see a film that is well done, is likely a little darker than your typical animated film, and is much more unique than your typical animated film, most definitely see The Secret Of NIMH. You won’t be sorry for doing so. Yes, The Last Unicorn may have been a little better in terms of being slightly better paced, doing a little better in areas like the emotional moments, and things like that. Still, there’s no denying that The Secret Of NIMH is worth seeing, whether it be once, or multiple times.
Final Grade: A
Matthew’s Animated & Live-Action Movie Reviews 