The Secret of NIMH is one of my favorite animated movies. Characters such as Mrs. Brisby, Justin, Jonathan and Sullivan move me the most. The first movie will always be my favorite. It was well written and well animated. Dark background and semi bright foreground. Some parts of the movie looked more real than animated.
In the sequel, Mrs. Brisby a young adult field mouse tries to save her son Timothy who is ill with pneumonia. She asks an elderly Mouse named Mr. Ages for help. He gives her some medicine in a small package to give to her son. It seems like Timothy will be all right, though moving day was near. A day which the farmer of the field plows his farm land and destroys many of the homes of the animals that live there. The key to remember when the time is near is when the frost is off the ground. Mrs. Brisby then gets advise from the Shrew, telling her to see the Great Owl for what to do in regard to saving her son and her home. The Great Owl then tells her to go see the Rats, the Rats in the rose bush near the Fitzgibbon home. The Owl told Mrs. Brisby to ask them to move her house to the lee of the stone; meaning the safer side sheltered from the wind. They are highly educated Rats with much history that Mrs. Brisby would soon find out. Most surprisingly to her, is that her husband was once apart of them.
There's much more to the story than this, but if you haven't see it, I'd recommend you check it out.
The Sequel - The Secret of NIMH 2 (1998)
In the sequel, many fans of the Secret of NIMH were disappointed. The animation and the plot of the movie wasn't all that great. Don Bluth was not the original director of NIMH2, so many things were changed.
The story starts off with Timothy (now grown a little) with his brother Martin racing in walnut shells pulled by rabbits in the Fitzgibbon's farm. Timothy hits a bump and falls off. He takes a short cut and wonders into a Mouse trap. Martin hears Timothy's cries for help and rushes over to free him. He does so just in time before the head scientist Dr. Valentine and his assistant arrives. Dr. Valentine is certain that he must have caught a Rat from NIMH, as only they could have been smart enough to escaped.
Once back at home Martin, Mrs. Brisby, Teresa, Cynthia and Auntie Shrew get ready to say bye to Timothy as he was told a while back that he must leave for Thorn Valley; as it's his destiny. Jeremy then flies Timothy to Thorn Valley where Timothy is greeted by many Rats. After the celebration, he stays in the Valley for about a year, (which puts him in adult hood in Mice years) One day Justin invites Timothy along on a collecting expedition to the city. Timothy meets a Mouse named Jenny McBride there and was amazed that she, an ordinary Mouse could read. Turns out she was apart of the six lost Mice that all the Rats presumed had died when they tried to escape from NIMH many years ago.
The story goes on how the Mice survived all their years at NIMH and how much worse the place has become. It was the prophecy of Nicodemus that one day NIMH would once again threaten the Rats, and Jonathan's son Timothy would rescue them. Thus the adventure starts when Timothy, Jenny and a few of their friends help rescue the lost Mice at NIMH. The danger is much worse, when Timothy's own brother tries to destroy him and Thorn Valley itself.
Even though most NIMH fans don't like it much, check it out for yourself. If you don't like it maybe some children you know will.
Voices of the Original Movie
| Mrs. Brisby |
Elizabeth
Hartman |
| Martin Brisby |
Wil Wheaton |
| Teresa Brisby |
Shannen Doherty |
| Cynthia Brisby |
Jodi Hicks |
| The Great Owl |
John Carradine |
| Auntie Shrew |
Hermione Baddeley |
| Farmer Fitzgibbons |
Tom Hatten |
| Mrs. Fitzgibbons |
Lucille Bliss |
| Billy Fitzgibbons |
Joshua Lawrence |
