Mrs. Brisby is my favorite female protagonist in all of fiction. She is obviously not cut out to be doing all of the insane shit that she does throughout the movie, and yet she DOES IT for the sake of her family. So much of the stuff in this movie is terrifying, and she is obviously terrified of all of it, and yet she faces it all.. This movie brings tears to my eyes.
This was always one of my favorites when I was a child. No matter how many times I watch it, I still get tense and worried when they try to move the house and Jenner attacks and they're running out of time. And then the house slips and begins to sink. Oh, heart-stopping. But never underestimate the heart of a mother. One thing I always liked about Bluth's cartoons is that they never really leave you. They leave big impressions, with their unique look and all those emotions they don't shy away from. The world can be a dark place and kids know this. Fairy tales and fantasy stories acknowledge this, but say, "Hey, the darkness isn't all that's out there." Maybe that's one reason his creepy, wonderful stories were successful. C.S. Lewis wrote, "Since it is so likely that (children) will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. ... "For in the fairy tales, side by side with the terrible figures, we find the immemorial comforters and protectors, the radiant ones ..." Mrs. Brisby was definitely a radiant one. It didn't occur to me until you were describing Nicodemus that maybe he was drawn that way because elderly people in general can be scary for children. Maybe there he was drawn that way partially as a nod to fantasy wizards and partially as a way to let kids know that old and different doesn't mean bad. Just a weird theory that popped into my head while you were talking.
If only I'd never seen the live-action Thumbelina in a movie about Santa Claus getting stuck in Florida. Bluth's stories had light and darkness but that live-action... thing... only had darkness. If one of Bluth's legacies could leave me, I wish it would be that one.
I don't know how many times I watched this as a child, but when you showed the owl, I could still hear him saying, "Go see Nichodemus, at the lee of the stone."
Yep. And NIMH was an acronym for National Institute of Mental Health. They were using a treatment for dementia on them (this is still the movie, not the book).
Secret of NIMH is one of my favorite films of all time! It's also one of the rare cases where I enjoyed the movie more than the book it was based on. To me, Mrs. Brisby is one of the greatest mothers in fiction, being completely vulnerable and yet puts herself in danger for her family. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH was just so underwhelming by comparison. The way the characters talked didn't seem natural, and there was no sense of urgency for Mrs. Frisby to protect her kids.
Without Bluth we probably wouldn't have Dreamworks animation. Bluth showed it was possible to compete with Disney at a time when Disney was about the only serious producer of animated films. (Excluding the Japanese studios, which weren't getting NA theater releases.) The sad thing today is how many people mistake his films for Disney films.
You can tell his movies aren't made by Disney because they have dark (arguably realistic) events and world views, and are imaginative and unique. Disney made... maybe 4 movies that aren't ripped off folk tales.
It's movies like this that make me really miss full-length traditional animation movies; there's something that's expressed visually that I just don't think is possible through another medium. I feel like these types of movies taught me how to survive adversity in some ways. The worlds feel menacing, and so do the antagonists, trials and tribulations - which pays off in the end because the endings genuinely feel like the protagonists overcoming. Really, just the emotional roller coaster I go through watching the thing makes me feel like *I* overcame something by the end. (Honestly, I would probably benefit from being reassured everything will work out in the end just as much as your kid.) Bluth's other movies are similar. The Land Before Time and An American Tail paint intimidating worlds as well, so there's this theme with innocent characters prevailing in dark and treacherous worlds. For me, this sort of overcoming in fiction feels somehow analogous to seemingly dissimilar situations, like a metaphor for surviving grief or depression - venturing into the unknown through seemingly interminable darkness and eventually seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.
I have a fondness for this gem like no other. I lost my best friend to cancer and this is one film we bonded over - always quoting and putting on airs. BRISSSBY! More often than not we would flit about the punk dive bar behaving like Auntie Shrew - scoffing at all the impudent piglets while dismissively tossing our scarves around our necks. The good old days. Though I look for for those SPARKLIES for two now - at least in spirit.
I actually just watched Secret of NIHM for the first time maybe a month or two back. I'm 31 now, and I loved it. Loved it so much, I was actually disappointed with myself for not having watched it earlier in life. Then I watched the second one, knowing already that it was nowhere even close to the original's quality, and thought it was even more of an insult than how how it was previously explained to me.
Oh nostalgia ! I might be one of the only person who never watched the movie but who read a Disney pictures book adaptation of it, I had a few of this books at my grandma house.
My bestie's daughter has absolutely zero interest in reading or watching Harry Potter, which has been frustrating for my Hufflepuff friend, so I understand about your child not enjoying Star Wars. She may yet come around to it! Also, I do recommend the book at some point; it expands upon the intelligence of the rats and better clarifies their need to move. But, it is certainly a different tone from the film, and to my mind, less magical than the film. I will always love the film.
This movie is based on one of my favourite books from my childhood, and even though it diverges from the book quite a bit, I think it still captured the spirit of the original story, brings it to life in a really great way.
Ive read the book and seen the movie. I grew up from a very young age watching this movie! And it wasn’t until I was older that I read the book. It’s fantastic! Everything about it is amazing!
I had two rats in middle school, I named them Athena and Aphrodite. They used to sit on my desk while I did homework or on my bed when I read, and they loved each other so much. It was so good to have them to come back too when everything else was hitting the fan.
'The Secret Of NIMH' was my youngest daughter's favorite movie. Her sister's was 'The Last Unicorn' and they would have long arguments about which was better... Aaaawww, memories. 🙂
What I love about his storytelling in the 80s was that he created strong , insightful, unique, characters. Mrs is brisby should be what a strong mother character should be!!! I'm so tired of the aloof female or unkind cold mother trope that plages movies to this day.
Excellent review. The Secret of Nimh continues to be one of my favorite movies of all time. I saw it as a young child and the animation blew me away. Still makes me cry watching it, even now in my 40's, the courage of Mrs. Brisby. An amazing story, although I must say a G rating would not fly today
I loved the book - it was read on TV in the 1970s over a week by the actor Anthony Quayle for the programme Jackanory. When it cropped up in Chip Club (Scholastic Books in the UK) I grabbed it. (Looking it up - it was March 1973.)
well my introduction to secret of nimh is.....quite an interesting one. i first saw.....the one that you and many others would probably like to pretend doesn't exist and that is it's sequel. i didn't get to see this one until years later as an adult lol. i enjoyed it quite a bit. like you said there's this contrast with characters but i'd also say with it's setting. there definitely is the whole science aspects with the rats and them trying to find new ways of getting power rather than stealing it and then there's magic aspects like with the necklace and certain other things going on and it's not science versus magic.
It’s one of my favorite films, I loved it along with early 80’s film like The Neverending Story and the Black Cauldron, back when major studios in the US weren’t afraid of scaring kids.
I didn't see this movie until much later in life and wished I had seen it sooner. I totally get that "monstrous but ostensibly good" epiphany for Nicodemus and the Great Owl. Kinda reminded me of things like Dragonheart or the cast of Nightmare Before Christmas, or to use more recent examples and favorites: Wreck-It Ralph. The should-be villain who ends up being a sympathetic or good character always feels like an interesting twist to me. By the way, you might appreciate this 3D scene recreation by PaulsRage: sketchfab.com/models/8225d4c1fcd44891b5536b441b350cb1
As a kid it was one of those fils i watched a lot but never loved. It scared me a lot and made me really sad. But the art style and tbh the shrew always made me wanna watch again
I grew up back in the '70s so I read 101 Dalmatians, Escape to Witch Mountain, and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH long before I got to see them on film. As I recall, the film has the basic characters from the novel but adds a bunch of supernatural elements to the plot that aren't in the book. In the novel, NIMH is the National Institute of Mental Health and they had been doing experiments on a group of rats and mice who finally decide they have had enough and stage a breakout. One of the mice later met the future Mrs. Frisby and married her. He also told her if she ever needed help to go see the rats, who were quite willing to help her on behalf of their compatriot. I liked the movie, but the book was better. :)
I still haven't seen the movie, but I have the book and I absolutely love it! I used to keep pet rats too and that's why I bought the book in the first place :D
the book is also amazing. it has this long amazing back story of the rats. if you're into animal adventure stories it's great. i bought the book with the movie art on the cover at a book fair because the art blew my 9 year old mind. i didn't get a chance to see the movie until years later.
Out of all Don Bluth’s 80s films that I watched when I was a kid, Land Before Time was probably my favorite, but my mom did say that I said “oh no!” a lot when watching it as a little kid. 😂 I love Secret of Nimh too, I also read the book when I was 12. By then I was able to understand and enjoy it more.
I enjoyed the movie, but there was one thing about it that has always bugged me--the super smart rats don't seem to really be that much more intelligent than the other, "normal" animals. Not sure if that would have bothered me as a child, but the film didn't come out until I was 20, so I never had a chance to see it from a child's point of view.
I always, always saw this was the rats were "more intelligent" because they created an organized society with a complex hierarchy. I absorbed this movie as a child as "society is a higher state of evolution than anarchy". There's an urban vs rural element to this as well. Also saw Mrs Brisby as... physically appealing at an oddly young age. Explains a lot....
2 point: 1. Jenner and Sullivan(?) gave me a Saruman and Grima vibe (death scene in ROTK novel and extended movie edition). 2. Checked Wiki, apparently Jeremy's part was extended comparing to original book. Any influence from Watership Down's Keehar the seagull? voiced by Zero Mostel, a balding fat genius comedian? About the genius part see here: ruclips.net/video/fgeFNNfEvhI/видео.html
I just thought about that favorite movie of my childhood in the last days and thought about what you may think of it. Unbelievable. I can see this video now but you got already a thumbs up. And I do know what I’ll do today after work.
From a species standpoint Mrs. Brisby and Justin couldn't even viably mate because he's a rat and she's a mouse. It's like how rabbits and hares can't actually have offspring either even though they seem to be closely related. Some hybrids work but those don't
This is a favorite from my childhood. Don Bluth was amazing at capturing a certain uneasy feeling in his films. They were visually beautiful and ugly at the same time. And they didn't hold back just because they were "kids films".
Good movie, though I do prefer an American Tale. Jeremy might be my least favourite animated character of all time though. He makes Mrs Brisby and me so uncomfortable. Such a creep.
I wouldn’t say he made Mrs Brisby uncomfortable, just slightly irritated because Jeremy is very clumsy, talkative, and is easily distracted by his own flaws like being attracted by shiny things. Otherwise, he’s a lovable loyal goofball. He helped Mrs.Brisby get the medicine back after Dragon attacked them, flew her to the Great Owl, and watched the mice children while Mrs Brisby was gone.
I was not a huge fan of the movie growing up, I was never a fan of creepy or animated horror which was probably a holdover from an ill-fated viewing of the animated Watership Down when I was like four, which scarred an entire generation. And after I read the book I was indignant at how monstrous the different characters were because the book had zero creep factor. These were just characters, Nicodemus was an old rat, the owl was an owl. The book was one I read over and over, it had more space to go into the motivations and what each set of good and bad rats were actually trying to do. And it was pretty brilliant.
I also loved this movie and I had a pet rat, although before I saw the movie. Once again you present this movie so well, if wasn't already a fan of the movie, I would want to see it after this video.
The Secret of NIMH was a film I always meant to watch, especially since I was an avid rewatcher of An American Tail. Now I'm 25 and still haven't seen it, but this at least reminds me I need to correct that. Did you ever get anymore rats as pets?
There was a period where I had four of them. Funnily enough Nicodemus was the first one I got and he also lived the longest, so he was last many standing at the end. I didn't get more after that, mainly because I didn't have the time to give them proper attention.
If you rethink the framing of Jeremy, Justin, Jenner, and rat-that-helped-Jenner, I think you'll find that you *really really like them.* (or at least their functions in the story) Mrs. Brisby *isn't* involved in the Nimh project, Jonathan never even told her about it. She doesn't know about Ages's connection with the rats or anything about the great owl aside from "he's scary and will likely kill me". She doesn'tt know about Jenner's conflict with Nicodemus *at all.* So these characters don't get a lot of explanation and Jenner kills Nicodemus and Justin fights him and his yesrat turns on him because he's a big weenie and it all happens in a few scenes and--we only get what information about it that Mrs. Brisby could get if she happened to be listening at the right place at the right time. This is actually really tight storytelling, because the story isn't about Nicodemus, or the Nimh project, or Jenner's plotting, it's about Mrs. Brisby trying to save her kids from the plow *without sacrificing one of them.* If the story is about her and her quest, then we've gotten *too much* information about everything else. We know *too much* about Jenner wanting to overthrow Nicodemus and keep the rats where they are, as that *actually detracts* from the letting an audience feel what Mrs. Brisby is feeling when moving through a world full of (people?) she doesn't know or understand, never sure if she's on a fool's errand to save her son or if she's showing faith in her efforts to make things right. (which is put on center stage by the stone activating and giving her the power to lift her house from the mud, allowing her to set things right for her family only after she's exhausted every means available to her and *trying to swim directly into the certain-death-mud in a desperate attempt to get to her kids.*
When I was in primary school I was read the book by my least favourite teacher who made the book boring and draw on. Then when we watched the film and I just hated it.
I love your videos really happy I found this channel after your queer baiting video it showed everything I felt was wrong with modern movies being complemented for diversity when they don't bother to show it in order to appeal to a wide audience.
well the industry ... (and society) is still finding its feet. Its always like that. Gay people used to only be the "funny side characters" in movies... black people (when not in criminal roles) were the wise mentor figure teaching the white protagonist something important etc... Massive social shifts dont happen over night after all. Equality will be reached when nobody will care anymore about these aspects BUT we are not there yet so some on the nose "agenda" pushing is preferable to not addressing these issues at all. Of course some attempts are way more ham-fisted than others...
You're very right that these cultural shifts take time. We're in a better place now that we even were ten years ago. But if we don't call out the half measures then they may never become full measures.
Fully agreed. And I have to add that I dont have a horse in this race myself... straight (such an odd word...oO as if there is "normal" sexuality anyway... show me 100 people and I´ll show you 100 different sexual preferences after all :D), white dude here. But I remember the "society" phases well. Ferris Bueller? The magic gay friend with ALL the answers? Or pretty much every Morgan Freeman role ever? Dumb white protagonist gets sage advice from magic black dude... Is that about giving "minoritys" a way to enter the spotlight or a way for the majority to feel better about themselves by saying "see? We like you - provided you make us laugh"? Either way it does not matter really... even if its pandering at least its out there, forcing (and yes... forcing is harsh and might be labeled as SJW etc... but apparently many people need a good kick in the ass before they change their opinions on topics) people to deal with the fact that other groups of people even exist. That has to be preferable to staying hidden... or am I wrong? :) Look at the still ongoing hissy-fits that some DW fans are throwing about Jodie. Even if Sydney Newman was the one who originally proposed a female Doctor after Colin Bakers (sadly) failed run. Apparently its SJW pandering... in a show that was progressive from day one (relative for its time obviously)
Daelyas My hope for humanity makes me think that at least a little of the backlash came from Moffet handling the situation poorly- specifically that Christmas episode where he went out of his way to claim that Old Who (and perhaps any Who before the present) had been socially backward. It also didn't help that apparently the Fifth Doctor (can't think of him right now) is a tad..er..traditionalist? 🙄 Plus change just generally freaks people out. I'd like to think folks will come around once they see her as the Doctor.
Daelyas I just think their needs to be a balance Doctor who is a amazing show when done right. I understand they want more diversity but you don't have to trash the old like in the Christmas special making the old doctor say really sexist things having the modern doctor shocked for comedic value like see how progressive we are. Same thing with Star wars sure their is a lack of diversity in the original but new star wars should focus on good character development instead of their personality being oh look a really powerful female Jedi see how much better she is compared to Luke. Modern movies are happy to mention diversity as long as it's not in the product so it can appeal to more people Wonder woman is bisexual everyone appluded saying she is a LGBTQ icon but do we see that nope. Things have gotten better your right I just wish things would improve quicker instead until that happens I will carry on getting my hopes up desperate for any representation even if is a stereotype or comedy character because that's all I've got.
He is making it seem lije the movie is great but it is nothing like the book they skipped huge chunks of the book lije the exterminators comeing and jennr and the 6 other rats at the hardware store and mrs.frisby moving by the river
Capt.Marie Boyce Well, he did say he hasn't read the book. And I haven't either. The movie IS good absent the book. Sure, it might be better if it hadn't left out chunks of the book.
i didn't wite this my sister did, Natalie, you have your own account, use it, and you dont know anything about movie to book adaptions, if it was 100% exactly like the book, then it wouldn't be its own thing. there whoud be nothing original of different about it. it would just be a carbine copy of the book. what would be the point of making the movie if it is exactly like the book?
(still Naomi not Natalie) movies have to cutt things out sometimes. they cant be like 6 hours, no body compained when the Lord of The rings cut of Tom Bombadil (i dont think that how you spell it) and added more Arwen and Aragorn romance stuff!
Titan AE frustrated me so much. I WANTED to like it. It's a setting and vibe I love from an animator I love, but it just was so undercooked. And Anastasia would have been darn near perfect if they just took out Rasputin. Seriously, he literally watches from the sidelines and has zero impact on the plot until a tonally dissonant boss fight at the end.
I always wondered why Anastasia needed a "villain" anyway. Historically the villain would have been the royal family themselves... which obviously would be tricky if you want the emotional reunion between 2 of its members at the end... Maybe have them learn something about cause and effect and the problems that absolutism had caused as well as how communism then went way over board ... but thats just... heavy. Far to heavy for even a 3 hour long movie... you´d need several seasons for all the intricacy of the politics. Does not mesh well with "pretty princess dances around" and "happy love ending". Rasputin had a crazy beard though... so... evil I guess? :D
Mrs. Brisby is my favorite female protagonist in all of fiction. She is obviously not cut out to be doing all of the insane shit that she does throughout the movie, and yet she DOES IT for the sake of her family. So much of the stuff in this movie is terrifying, and she is obviously terrified of all of it, and yet she faces it all.. This movie brings tears to my eyes.
"Mother is the name for god on the lips and hearts of all children. "
Don Bluth is the kind of person who believes that kids can handle anything as long as there's a happy ending.
This was always one of my favorites when I was a child. No matter how many times I watch it, I still get tense and worried when they try to move the house and Jenner attacks and they're running out of time. And then the house slips and begins to sink. Oh, heart-stopping. But never underestimate the heart of a mother.
One thing I always liked about Bluth's cartoons is that they never really leave you. They leave big impressions, with their unique look and all those emotions they don't shy away from. The world can be a dark place and kids know this. Fairy tales and fantasy stories acknowledge this, but say, "Hey, the darkness isn't all that's out there." Maybe that's one reason his creepy, wonderful stories were successful.
C.S. Lewis wrote, "Since it is so likely that (children) will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. ...
"For in the fairy tales, side by side with the terrible figures, we find the immemorial comforters and protectors, the radiant ones ..." Mrs. Brisby was definitely a radiant one.
It didn't occur to me until you were describing Nicodemus that maybe he was drawn that way because elderly people in general can be scary for children. Maybe there he was drawn that way partially as a nod to fantasy wizards and partially as a way to let kids know that old and different doesn't mean bad. Just a weird theory that popped into my head while you were talking.
Andrea Miller
Couldn't say it better myself
If only I'd never seen the live-action Thumbelina in a movie about Santa Claus getting stuck in Florida. Bluth's stories had light and darkness but that live-action... thing... only had darkness. If one of Bluth's legacies could leave me, I wish it would be that one.
I don't know how many times I watched this as a child, but when you showed the owl, I could still hear him saying, "Go see Nichodemus, at the lee of the stone."
Correction: Mrs. Brisby had *four* children: Teresa, Martin, Timothy (the one who was ill) and Cynthia. And Cynthia was the youngest.
Aw dang it. I always mess up some detail or other.
Eh. It happens.
I enjoyed your review, and I agree with what you said. It's one of my favorite animated movies of all time.
Yep. And NIMH was an acronym for National Institute of Mental Health. They were using a treatment for dementia on them (this is still the movie, not the book).
Secret of NIMH is one of my favorite films of all time! It's also one of the rare cases where I enjoyed the movie more than the book it was based on. To me, Mrs. Brisby is one of the greatest mothers in fiction, being completely vulnerable and yet puts herself in danger for her family. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH was just so underwhelming by comparison. The way the characters talked didn't seem natural, and there was no sense of urgency for Mrs. Frisby to protect her kids.
Without Bluth we probably wouldn't have Dreamworks animation. Bluth showed it was possible to compete with Disney at a time when Disney was about the only serious producer of animated films. (Excluding the Japanese studios, which weren't getting NA theater releases.) The sad thing today is how many people mistake his films for Disney films.
You can tell his movies aren't made by Disney because they have dark (arguably realistic) events and world views, and are imaginative and unique.
Disney made... maybe 4 movies that aren't ripped off folk tales.
@writerpatrick and the irony is that Jeffrey katzenberg(the guy who defeated bleuth by starting the Disney reinassance) was a co-founder of dreamworks
It's movies like this that make me really miss full-length traditional animation movies; there's something that's expressed visually that I just don't think is possible through another medium.
I feel like these types of movies taught me how to survive adversity in some ways. The worlds feel menacing, and so do the antagonists, trials and tribulations - which pays off in the end because the endings genuinely feel like the protagonists overcoming. Really, just the emotional roller coaster I go through watching the thing makes me feel like *I* overcame something by the end. (Honestly, I would probably benefit from being reassured everything will work out in the end just as much as your kid.)
Bluth's other movies are similar. The Land Before Time and An American Tail paint intimidating worlds as well, so there's this theme with innocent characters prevailing in dark and treacherous worlds.
For me, this sort of overcoming in fiction feels somehow analogous to seemingly dissimilar situations, like a metaphor for surviving grief or depression - venturing into the unknown through seemingly interminable darkness and eventually seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.
11:15 - Well to be fair, he also keyed Mrs. Brisby in on when Dragon was going to show up, because of his cat allergy.
I have a fondness for this gem like no other. I lost my best friend to cancer and this is one film we bonded over - always quoting and putting on airs. BRISSSBY! More often than not we would flit about the punk dive bar behaving like Auntie Shrew - scoffing at all the impudent piglets while dismissively tossing our scarves around our necks. The good old days. Though I look for for those SPARKLIES for two now - at least in spirit.
I actually just watched Secret of NIHM for the first time maybe a month or two back. I'm 31 now, and I loved it. Loved it so much, I was actually disappointed with myself for not having watched it earlier in life.
Then I watched the second one, knowing already that it was nowhere even close to the original's quality, and thought it was even more of an insult than how how it was previously explained to me.
It's been several years since I read the book, but I seem to remember that Jeremy has a bit more of a purpose in the book. I think.
"Mothers never go out and have adventures, they stay home and take care of the kids," or if you're Disney, they die at the beginning of the movie.
Funnily enough, I talked about that last month.
Oh nostalgia ! I might be one of the only person who never watched the movie but who read a Disney pictures book adaptation of it, I had a few of this books at my grandma house.
My bestie's daughter has absolutely zero interest in reading or watching Harry Potter, which has been frustrating for my Hufflepuff friend, so I understand about your child not enjoying Star Wars. She may yet come around to it!
Also, I do recommend the book at some point; it expands upon the intelligence of the rats and better clarifies their need to move. But, it is certainly a different tone from the film, and to my mind, less magical than the film. I will always love the film.
This movie is based on one of my favourite books from my childhood, and even though it diverges from the book quite a bit, I think it still captured the spirit of the original story, brings it to life in a really great way.
Ive read the book and seen the movie. I grew up from a very young age watching this movie! And it wasn’t until I was older that I read the book. It’s fantastic! Everything about it is amazing!
I had two rats in middle school, I named them Athena and Aphrodite. They used to sit on my desk while I did homework or on my bed when I read, and they loved each other so much. It was so good to have them to come back too when everything else was hitting the fan.
'The Secret Of NIMH' was my youngest daughter's favorite movie. Her sister's was 'The Last Unicorn' and they would have long arguments about which was better... Aaaawww, memories. 🙂
Solid choices both.
What I love about his storytelling in the 80s was that he created strong , insightful, unique, characters. Mrs is brisby should be what a strong mother character should be!!! I'm so tired of the aloof female or unkind cold mother trope that plages movies to this day.
Excellent review. The Secret of Nimh continues to be one of my favorite movies of all time. I saw it as a young child and the animation blew me away. Still makes me cry watching it, even now in my 40's, the courage of Mrs. Brisby. An amazing story, although I must say a G rating would not fly today
I loved the book - it was read on TV in the 1970s over a week by the actor Anthony Quayle for the programme Jackanory. When it cropped up in Chip Club (Scholastic Books in the UK) I grabbed it. (Looking it up - it was March 1973.)
well my introduction to secret of nimh is.....quite an interesting one. i first saw.....the one that you and many others would probably like to pretend doesn't exist and that is it's sequel. i didn't get to see this one until years later as an adult lol. i enjoyed it quite a bit. like you said there's this contrast with characters but i'd also say with it's setting. there definitely is the whole science aspects with the rats and them trying to find new ways of getting power rather than stealing it and then there's magic aspects like with the necklace and certain other things going on and it's not science versus magic.
It’s one of my favorite films, I loved it along with early 80’s film like The Neverending Story and the Black Cauldron, back when major studios in the US weren’t afraid of scaring kids.
The Owl is also dangerous because it is said that - just like in real life- they eat mice!
I didn't see this movie until much later in life and wished I had seen it sooner. I totally get that "monstrous but ostensibly good" epiphany for Nicodemus and the Great Owl. Kinda reminded me of things like Dragonheart or the cast of Nightmare Before Christmas, or to use more recent examples and favorites: Wreck-It Ralph. The should-be villain who ends up being a sympathetic or good character always feels like an interesting twist to me.
By the way, you might appreciate this 3D scene recreation by PaulsRage: sketchfab.com/models/8225d4c1fcd44891b5536b441b350cb1
Man, I remember being terrified, awed and bawling like crazy whenever I watched that movie as a child. I still got it DVD.
As a kid it was one of those fils i watched a lot but never loved. It scared me a lot and made me really sad. But the art style and tbh the shrew always made me wanna watch again
I grew up back in the '70s so I read 101 Dalmatians, Escape to Witch Mountain, and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH long before I got to see them on film. As I recall, the film has the basic characters from the novel but adds a bunch of supernatural elements to the plot that aren't in the book.
In the novel, NIMH is the National Institute of Mental Health and they had been doing experiments on a group of rats and mice who finally decide they have had enough and stage a breakout. One of the mice later met the future Mrs. Frisby and married her. He also told her if she ever needed help to go see the rats, who were quite willing to help her on behalf of their compatriot.
I liked the movie, but the book was better. :)
I still haven't seen the movie, but I have the book and I absolutely love it! I used to keep pet rats too and that's why I bought the book in the first place :D
the book is also amazing. it has this long amazing back story of the rats. if you're into animal adventure stories it's great. i bought the book with the movie art on the cover at a book fair because the art blew my 9 year old mind. i didn't get a chance to see the movie until years later.
Out of all Don Bluth’s 80s films that I watched when I was a kid, Land Before Time was probably my favorite, but my mom did say that I said “oh no!” a lot when watching it as a little kid. 😂
I love Secret of Nimh too, I also read the book when I was 12. By then I was able to understand and enjoy it more.
This movie is a great example of what constituted 'safe scary' for my family while I was a kid. This was a good look at the film and Bluth. Awesome!
BTW, it was 4 children, and Timmy was second youngest.
I enjoyed the movie, but there was one thing about it that has always bugged me--the super smart rats don't seem to really be that much more intelligent than the other, "normal" animals. Not sure if that would have bothered me as a child, but the film didn't come out until I was 20, so I never had a chance to see it from a child's point of view.
There is a difference, but it does seem superficial at times (the rats can read and seem slightly more technologically advanced.)
I always, always saw this was the rats were "more intelligent" because they created an organized society with a complex hierarchy. I absorbed this movie as a child as "society is a higher state of evolution than anarchy". There's an urban vs rural element to this as well.
Also saw Mrs Brisby as... physically appealing at an oddly young age. Explains a lot....
Love this movie, one of the first experiences with dark, yet compelling storytelling.
Have you ever read any of the Redwall books or seen the show? I always got a somewhat similar vibe to this film.
2 point:
1. Jenner and Sullivan(?) gave me a Saruman and Grima vibe (death scene in ROTK novel and extended movie edition).
2. Checked Wiki, apparently Jeremy's part was extended comparing to original book.
Any influence from Watership Down's Keehar the seagull? voiced by Zero Mostel, a balding fat genius comedian? About the genius part see here:
ruclips.net/video/fgeFNNfEvhI/видео.html
I just thought about that favorite movie of my childhood in the last days and thought about what you may think of it. Unbelievable. I can see this video now but you got already a thumbs up. And I do know what I’ll do today after work.
This was the best explanation as to why this movie is so good. Well done man, kudos.
From a species standpoint Mrs. Brisby and Justin couldn't even viably mate because he's a rat and she's a mouse. It's like how rabbits and hares can't actually have offspring either even though they seem to be closely related. Some hybrids work but those don't
One of my favorites as a kid! Enjoyed seeing it through your eyes, Thanks!
I was looking for aesthetics clips for an edit and his animation style is my favorite
This is a favorite from my childhood. Don Bluth was amazing at capturing a certain uneasy feeling in his films. They were visually beautiful and ugly at the same time. And they didn't hold back just because they were "kids films".
Good movie, though I do prefer an American Tale. Jeremy might be my least favourite animated character of all time though. He makes Mrs Brisby and me so uncomfortable. Such a creep.
I wouldn’t say he made Mrs Brisby uncomfortable, just slightly irritated because Jeremy is very clumsy, talkative, and is easily distracted by his own flaws like being attracted by shiny things.
Otherwise, he’s a lovable loyal goofball. He helped Mrs.Brisby get the medicine back after Dragon attacked them, flew her to the Great Owl, and watched the mice children while Mrs Brisby was gone.
He's just Jar Jar!
I was not a huge fan of the movie growing up, I was never a fan of creepy or animated horror which was probably a holdover from an ill-fated viewing of the animated Watership Down when I was like four, which scarred an entire generation. And after I read the book I was indignant at how monstrous the different characters were because the book had zero creep factor. These were just characters, Nicodemus was an old rat, the owl was an owl. The book was one I read over and over, it had more space to go into the motivations and what each set of good and bad rats were actually trying to do. And it was pretty brilliant.
This was awesome! I love how you reviewed this!
I love the movie. This and American Tail are the only two Don Bluth films I love.
I had seen All Dogs go to Heaven and Land before Time loved both as a kid but had no idea about this movie will have to see it
I also loved this movie and I had a pet rat, although before I saw the movie. Once again you present this movie so well, if wasn't already a fan of the movie, I would want to see it after this video.
SOMEDAY she will be able to watch star wars and appreciate it. At least it took me multiple viewings as a kid.
how about a look at Titan A.E.?
I’ve never seen this film, but I loved the book in elementary school
This was the movie I watched all the time when I was 6.
The Secret of NIMH was a film I always meant to watch, especially since I was an avid rewatcher of An American Tail. Now I'm 25 and still haven't seen it, but this at least reminds me I need to correct that. Did you ever get anymore rats as pets?
There was a period where I had four of them. Funnily enough Nicodemus was the first one I got and he also lived the longest, so he was last many standing at the end. I didn't get more after that, mainly because I didn't have the time to give them proper attention.
If you rethink the framing of Jeremy, Justin, Jenner, and rat-that-helped-Jenner, I think you'll find that you *really really like them.* (or at least their functions in the story) Mrs. Brisby *isn't* involved in the Nimh project, Jonathan never even told her about it. She doesn't know about Ages's connection with the rats or anything about the great owl aside from "he's scary and will likely kill me". She doesn'tt know about Jenner's conflict with Nicodemus *at all.* So these characters don't get a lot of explanation and Jenner kills Nicodemus and Justin fights him and his yesrat turns on him because he's a big weenie and it all happens in a few scenes and--we only get what information about it that Mrs. Brisby could get if she happened to be listening at the right place at the right time. This is actually really tight storytelling, because the story isn't about Nicodemus, or the Nimh project, or Jenner's plotting, it's about Mrs. Brisby trying to save her kids from the plow *without sacrificing one of them.* If the story is about her and her quest, then we've gotten *too much* information about everything else. We know *too much* about Jenner wanting to overthrow Nicodemus and keep the rats where they are, as that *actually detracts* from the letting an audience feel what Mrs. Brisby is feeling when moving through a world full of (people?) she doesn't know or understand, never sure if she's on a fool's errand to save her son or if she's showing faith in her efforts to make things right. (which is put on center stage by the stone activating and giving her the power to lift her house from the mud, allowing her to set things right for her family only after she's exhausted every means available to her and *trying to swim directly into the certain-death-mud in a desperate attempt to get to her kids.*
Mrs. Brisby is OG female lead when compared to the live-action Mulan!
heh scary moments... get her to watch We're Back: A Dinosaur Story. THAT has some scary moments for a kid.
Seen this when I was a kid....dont remember much about it. Will give it another view. Might check out Watership Down again too.
Buy tissues first... dont skimp ;)
When I was in primary school I was read the book by my least favourite teacher who made the book boring and draw on. Then when we watched the film and I just hated it.
I love your videos really happy I found this channel after your queer baiting video it showed everything I felt was wrong with modern movies being complemented for diversity when they don't bother to show it in order to appeal to a wide audience.
well the industry ... (and society) is still finding its feet. Its always like that. Gay people used to only be the "funny side characters" in movies... black people (when not in criminal roles) were the wise mentor figure teaching the white protagonist something important etc...
Massive social shifts dont happen over night after all.
Equality will be reached when nobody will care anymore about these aspects BUT we are not there yet so some on the nose "agenda" pushing is preferable to not addressing these issues at all.
Of course some attempts are way more ham-fisted than others...
You're very right that these cultural shifts take time. We're in a better place now that we even were ten years ago. But if we don't call out the half measures then they may never become full measures.
Fully agreed. And I have to add that I dont have a horse in this race myself... straight (such an odd word...oO as if there is "normal" sexuality anyway... show me 100 people and I´ll show you 100 different sexual preferences after all :D), white dude here.
But I remember the "society" phases well.
Ferris Bueller? The magic gay friend with ALL the answers?
Or pretty much every Morgan Freeman role ever? Dumb white protagonist gets sage advice from magic black dude...
Is that about giving "minoritys" a way to enter the spotlight or a way for the majority to feel better about themselves by saying "see? We like you - provided you make us laugh"? Either way it does not matter really... even if its pandering at least its out there, forcing (and yes... forcing is harsh and might be labeled as SJW etc... but apparently many people need a good kick in the ass before they change their opinions on topics) people to deal with the fact that other groups of people even exist. That has to be preferable to staying hidden... or am I wrong? :)
Look at the still ongoing hissy-fits that some DW fans are throwing about Jodie. Even if Sydney Newman was the one who originally proposed a female Doctor after Colin Bakers (sadly) failed run.
Apparently its SJW pandering... in a show that was progressive from day one (relative for its time obviously)
Daelyas My hope for humanity makes me think that at least a little of the backlash came from Moffet handling the situation poorly- specifically that Christmas episode where he went out of his way to claim that Old Who (and perhaps any Who before the present) had been socially backward. It also didn't help that apparently the Fifth Doctor (can't think of him right now) is a tad..er..traditionalist? 🙄 Plus change just generally freaks people out. I'd like to think folks will come around once they see her as the Doctor.
Daelyas I just think their needs to be a balance Doctor who is a amazing show when done right. I understand they want more diversity but you don't have to trash the old like in the Christmas special making the old doctor say really sexist things having the modern doctor shocked for comedic value like see how progressive we are. Same thing with Star wars sure their is a lack of diversity in the original but new star wars should focus on good character development instead of their personality being oh look a really powerful female Jedi see how much better she is compared to Luke. Modern movies are happy to mention diversity as long as it's not in the product so it can appeal to more people Wonder woman is bisexual everyone appluded saying she is a LGBTQ icon but do we see that nope. Things have gotten better your right I just wish things would improve quicker instead until that happens I will carry on getting my hopes up desperate for any representation even if is a stereotype or comedy character because that's all I've got.
He is making it seem lije the movie is great but it is nothing like the book they skipped huge chunks of the book lije the exterminators comeing and jennr and the 6 other rats at the hardware store and mrs.frisby moving by the river
Capt.Marie Boyce Well, he did say he hasn't read the book. And I haven't either. The movie IS good absent the book. Sure, it might be better if it hadn't left out chunks of the book.
i didn't wite this my sister did, Natalie, you have your own account, use it, and you dont know anything about movie to book adaptions, if it was 100% exactly like the book, then it wouldn't be its own thing. there whoud be nothing original of different about it. it would just be a carbine copy of the book. what would be the point of making the movie if it is exactly like the book?
(still Naomi not Natalie) movies have to cutt things out sometimes. they cant be like 6 hours, no body compained when the Lord of The rings cut of Tom Bombadil (i dont think that how you spell it) and added more Arwen and Aragorn romance stuff!
Rats make great pets except for the short lifespan it gets old fast losing your friend every 3 years or so.
I tend to think of his human centred films when I think of Don Bluth. Dragon's Lair, Anastasia, Titan AE, etc
Titan AE frustrated me so much. I WANTED to like it. It's a setting and vibe I love from an animator I love, but it just was so undercooked. And Anastasia would have been darn near perfect if they just took out Rasputin. Seriously, he literally watches from the sidelines and has zero impact on the plot until a tonally dissonant boss fight at the end.
I always wondered why Anastasia needed a "villain" anyway. Historically the villain would have been the royal family themselves... which obviously would be tricky if you want the emotional reunion between 2 of its members at the end...
Maybe have them learn something about cause and effect and the problems that absolutism had caused as well as how communism then went way over board ... but thats just... heavy. Far to heavy for even a 3 hour long movie... you´d need several seasons for all the intricacy of the politics. Does not mesh well with "pretty princess dances around" and "happy love ending".
Rasputin had a crazy beard though... so... evil I guess? :D
I have to admit I agree, they are flawed films in the way you describe, but of all of them they're the ones I gravitate towards most often.
Saw it today.
#1 Weirdest movie I've ever watched.
It’s a very good movie. Not weird.
Would this have been 30ish minutes long without cuts?
Congrats 😁
Hey, new to the channel! If you haven't read the book, I wouldn't recommend it, cause it's a pretty different experience. Great movie though.
Cards Against Humanity. Nice.