THE SECRET OF NIMH (1982)

The Secret of NIMH (1982)
Directed by: Don Bluth
Written by: Don Bluth, Gary Goldman, John Pomeroy, Ken Anderson, Robert C. O'Brien, Will Finn
Starring: Arthur Malet, Derek Jacobi, Dom DeLuise, Elizabeth Hartman, Hermione Baddeley, Ina Fried, Jodi Hicks, John Carradine, Lucille Bliss, Paul Shenar, Peter Strauss, Shannen Doherty, Tom Hatten, Wil Wheaton

THE SECRET OF NIMH (1982)
Directed by Don Bluth
On Blu-Ray from Eureka Entertainment

A widowed field mouse named Mrs Brisby fears for the safety of her children as harvest season approaches. With son Timothy incredibly sick and unable to get out of bed, the family are unable to move from their breeze block home and, with Farmer Fitzgibbon readying the plough, its only a matter of time before they’ll succumb to the deadly machinery. Seeking help from the fearsome Great Owl and Nicodemus, the wise, old leader of the rats, Mrs Brisby clings to the hope that her family will somehow be able to move and survive the harvest. As friends of Jonathan Brisby, Mrs Brisby’s late husband, the rats feel compelled to help the woman and her children but it seems that their own survival is at risk when an old name from the past makes a reappearance: NIMH

THE SECRET OF NIMH is a mesmerising piece of cinematic animation from legendary animator Don Bluth, who left Walt Disney Productions in 1979 and set up his own animation studio with several other former Disney employees. This labour of love, an adaptation from Robert C. O’Brien’s children’s book Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, is a joy to be behold as it tells the story of family, love, courage, honour and determination, as these wild animals join forces to preserve their lives.

As a kid, I was a big fan of Don Bluth’s The Land Before Time, which told the story of several young dinosaurs of different species who must overcome their differences and work together to reunite with their parents after they’re separated during a T-Rex attack. Seeing The Secret of NIMH further fuelled my appreciation for the classical animation art style. The backgrounds are jaw-dropping and the fine attention to detail in the character and the environment design really breathe life into the world Bluth and his animators have created from O’Brien’s work. Just like stop-motion animation, traditional animation has a magic that simply cannot be replicated. Computer animation, in my opinion, cannot hold a candle to it.

On the surface, this is a tale of a single mum doing her best to protect her family but there’s so much more here, such as the risk to other creatures on the farm through something called NIMH.

NIMH is what really makes things interesting and even political as animal experimentation is explored – something I would never have thought to see in a movie for kids. We see how the caged animals are test subjects for science projects orchestrated by humans, before one of their experiments renders some of the creatures with enhanced capabilities. Utilising their newfound intellect, the lab rats and mice make a break for it. With their intelligence now exposed, the rodents’ lives are at peril.

This exploration of animal experimentation and the scientists’ desire to extinguish it when the subject becomes too strong or clever for their own good, is such a dark, adult world to enter. I was half expecting the film to explore the after-effects of this in greater detail on Fitzgibbon’s Farm but, alas, the film focuses on the bid to escape. The rats have enough of their plate though anyway, what with trying to help Mrs Brisby’s family relocate, evading Dragon the Fiztgibbon family’s savage pet cat, and a plot from one of the rats who isn’t so keen on Nicodemus’ plans.

Although aspects of the film can be quite heavy, there’s plenty of comic relief, particularly in the shape of a clumsy crow named Jeremy who longs to find himself a mate he can settle down with and start a family. He enjoys helping Mrs Brisby out, whether she wants it or not, but Mrs Brisby realises he has good intentions and does her best to ensure he keeps himself out of mischief and prevent them getting into more trouble. Then there’s Auntie Shrew who badgers the Brisby kids. They’re not at all keen on Auntie Shrew and their mischievous antics wind her up, no end, though she has the concern of the farm’s wellbeing at heart.

As a whole, The Secret of NIMH is a wonderful experience, backed by a terrific score by Jerry Goldsmith, though it feels like it holds back in the story department and touches on plot points so lightly rather than exploring them in greater detail. This made the film hard to fully invest in at times and made me yearn for more development and depth of both the story and its characters. However, the lavish animation I was utterly absorbed with and is something I think will continue to capture the hearts of many viewers, young and old alike, decades after its initial release.

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