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Pretty Good

From my favorite movies..

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Blistering performances.

We had to watch this movie in like middle school or something and its pretty good. Its a bit dark and a bit forgettable, but otherwise it doesn't do anything wrong and is very entertaining. I'd recommend watching.

That said, this movie is too dark and scary for young children ( I suppose that is why it is rated PG). The themes are very mature and I found myself explaining a lot of plot details to the kids. My children were required to read (or have read to them) The Rats Of Nimh, so we cheated and watched the movie. There is quite a departure from the book FYI. The kids love it but are confused by the ending. There were also elements that were confusing as well as elements that were so scary they left the room. Some unanswered questions remained. Did the rats get exterminated? I suppose we will check out the sequel. Mrs Brisby has been my hero since I was 9 years old and I am happy to share her braveness with my kids.

Back in grade 7 I read the novel 'Ms. Frisbee and the Rats of NIMH' but since the Frisbee toy company had the novel's film title changed over I hadn't heard of the film 'till recently. I thought it was going to be just some Disney-looking kid's movie, but no, it was beyond amazing.The story follows Ms. Frisbee, a little field mouse with several children, one of them with pneumonia. To find a cure, she sets off on an epic journey, meeting several friends and enemies, as well as a group of rats with strange powers. They gained these powers while escaping the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) where they were kept as lab rats for vivisection experiments. Frisbee falls into an adventure where humans and animals collide and a whole new world is portrayed, along with a strong message that raises awareness of inhumane animal testing. It doesn't get all dorky the way those stupid P.E.T.A. protests are, instead it shows the point of view from both humans and animals, leaving t up to the viewer to decide which side of the issue is the right one, if any, while also offering an exciting adventure. It was marketed for children but certainly too disturbing for most kids, it falls right into the group of movies that features Watership Down, Felidae and the Plague Dogs. Nevertheless, don't pass it up, it has great soundtrack and voice acting, an original plot, and a definite message.

This 1982 hand-drawn film is based on a book titled "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH", which tells the story of a field mouse named Mrs. Frisby. Unfortunately, the people at the Wham-O company (the makers of the Frisbee) were reluctant to allow them to use the name in the movie, despite the difference in the spelling. So instead, the name was changed to Mrs. Brisby. This alteration was made late in production. So rather than having the voice actors say their lines again, the sound editors carefully sliced out the "fr" and replaced it with a "br" from other lines from each character. But it sounds as if no change had been made.In the opening scene, we see these long-fingernailed, warted hands writing in a book. At first we think these are the hands of the villain, but he is actually Nicodemus, the wise leader of a group of super-intelligent rats who escaped from a science organization called NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health). He's writing about the death of Jonathan Brisby. There's dazzling animation on the magic that flows from the words he writes, effects that are unmistakably Bluth animation. Other animators would just settle for CGI.The animation of the entire film is simply magnificent. Bluth experimented with rotoscoping, tracing over footage, frame by frame, plus some cool backlighting techniques. With a variety of more than 600 colors, the color scheme looks dark and genuine. And it has sort of an 80s feel to it that I really dig. What could also be a Bluth trademark is that in backgrounds, there's always something moving.After the title appears, we meet the widow of Jonathan, Mrs. Brisby, who lives in a cinderblock with her family on the Fitzgibbons' farm. She's voiced by Elizabeth Hartman, who plays the character perfectly. Mrs. Brisby is searching for a grouchy, old mouse named Mr. Ages, who can give her a cure for her pneumonia-diagnosed son Timothy. Mr. Ages warns her that Timothy should stay inside for at least three weeks or he will die. As she heads home after receiving the medicine, she comes across a crow named Jeremy, voiced by the hilarious Dom DeLuise (may he rest in peace). Jeremy is a clumsy and whimsical feathered bloke who anxiously anticipates the day he finds true love. Mrs. Brisby befriends him after they escape the Fitzgibbons' cat, Dragon. I do not know why this cat roars.The next day, Mrs. Brisby wakes up to find that Mr. Fitzgibbons has started spring plowing early. She knows that they can't move because the chill in the air would easily kill Timothy, but the tractor would destroy their house. With the help of Auntie Shrew, she manages to disable the tractor. Auntie Shrew suggests that she go before the Great Owl, a wise creature living in the nearby woods. Jeremy flies her to the Owl's tree, where she asks him for advice for a new plan. At first, he tells her to move Timothy anyway. But upon hearing that she is the wife of Jonathan Brisby, he tells her that the rats living in the rosebush in the Fitzgibbons' front yard can help her move her entire house. He tells her to ask for Nicodemus.In the rosebush, Mrs. Brisby is surprised to find Mr. Ages there. When he hears that the Owl sent her to see Nicodemus, he introduces her to Justin, a kind and friendly rat who is the Captain of the Guards. The two of them show her the electricity and technology they and the other rats have obtained from the Fitzgibbons' house. They also tell her that they are ashamed of their theft, and are organizing a plan to move to a place called Thorn Valley to end it. But there's a power hungry rat named Jenner who opposes the plan.Just from seeing Jenner, you can tell that he is the villain, his hideous identity complete with sharp teeth and his apparel consisting of a long cape. I think this a dumb cliché in animated movies. Why not wait for us to find out that he is a villain when he explains his evil plan? In "Beauty and the Beast", Gaston was a handsome, normal-looking guy, though granted, that was what made him a great opposition to the beast.Anyway, Mrs. Brisby is taken to Nicodemus (or the rodent version of Moses maybe), who has her read the book he wrote in (Jonathan taught her how to read). As she reads, she finds out that her husband not only died, but was killed. You feel the emotion that she feels here as she almost starts to cry. Nicodemus then tells her the whole story, which we see in a flashback scene that has a curious sense of wonder. I think it best to leave it there and let you see it yourself. Now what surprised me is that there's a vicious sword duel toward the end of the film resembling the one in the 1938 "The Adventures of Robin Hood". A sword duel in this mostly calm, non-medieval movie felt a bit out of place. I also wonder how the rats got swords. Did they steal knives from Mr. Fitzgibbon's? If so, how could they get them to look like swords? Oh well.Despite its flaws, "The Secret of NIMH" is a miraculously animated movie with memorable characters and a well-told story. It does avert from the book in parts, but the dark wonder is still present. Young audiences may not understand it all, but the movie respects them enough to not tone down its subject matter, which is the great thing about the 80s movies directed by Don Bluth. This is his second best film.8/10 for "The Secret of NIMH".