Director: Don Bluth
Screenplay: Don Bluth, Will Finn, Gary Goldman and John Pomeroy
Adapted from the book: Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien
Voice cast: Elizabeth Hartman, Dom DeLuise, Peter Strauss, Arthur Malet, Derek Jacobi, Paul Shenar, John Carradine, Hermione Baddeley, Aldo Ray, Shannen Doherty, Wil Wheaton
Country: United States
Running time: 83 min
Year: 1982
BBFC Certificate: U
In the late 1970s, after the double bill of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and The Rescuers, Walt Disney Productions was about to enter its troubled 1980s stage. It was a decade when they made some very different and interesting animated and live action productions, including one of my personal favourites, Basil the Great Mouse Detective.
But, until The Little Mermaid, which closed out the Eighties, it was also the decade in which they had a fall from grace when the quality was nowhere near the level of their previous animated classics. Some had felt this decline was coming in the 1970s, including animator Don Bluth and some of his colleagues. Bluth had two stints at Disney; first, a brief one beginning in 1955 as an assistant on Sleeping Beauty, before returning in 1971 and working on, amongst other projects, Robin Hood and directing the animation on the live action/animated hybrid, Pete’s Dragon, which was released in 1977.
Bluth became dissatisfied at what he felt was the stagnation of animation at the studio during the development of The Fox and the Hound, which would be released in 1981. Bluth left the studio with a few of his colleagues before the film was finished and, in 1979, formed Don Bluth Productions.
With his own production company, Bluth, and the colleagues who left Disney to join him, would make some of the most beloved animated films of the 1980s, including An American Tail (another of my personal favourites), The Land Before Time and All Dogs go to Heaven.
But it was his directorial debut, The Secret of NIMH, which was the first to be made by his production company, which started it all when it was released in 1982. The animated classic was adapted from the popular children’s book Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien. It follows widowed field mouse Mrs Brisby (Elizabeth Hartman, whose character was renamed because of trademark issues with Frisbee flying discs) who must relocate her family from their home in a cinderblock on the Fitzgibbon farm before it is destroyed by the farmer’s plough.
However, their departure won’t be an easy one. Mrs Brisby’s son Timothy (Ina Fried) is too ill to move. Mrs Brisby seeks help from The Great Owl (John Carradine), who introduces her to the wise leader of a rat colony, Nicodemus (Derek Jacobi). The rats are super intelligent and technologically advanced and it’s all apparently due to their connection to a mysterious place called NIMH (we learn what those letters stand for during the course of the story). That’s the basic set-up before a dark and perilous tale plays out, as not all of the rats are friendly, particularly power-hungry Jenner (Paul Shenar).
Firstly, the animation is a joy; the characters are all memorable and beautifully animated, and the locations are painstakingly drawn and inked. It’s a wonderful world full of some great characters and the pedigree of the animators is easy to see. This doesn’t feel like a debut because of the talent involved.
It is, however, a very dark film, much darker than the average Disney was at that point, though The Black Cauldron was just around the corner. From the scene of the tractor ploughing the field, which has more than a bit of mild peril, to the creepy couple of minutes with The Great Owl and a terrifying spider. The introduction to the rats’ lair under a rose bush also starts in very eerie fashion, all thorns and darkness, before opening up to become something quite welcoming and special. And then there’s the transformation of the rats into super intelligent and technically advanced creatures, which starts in terrifying fashion with experiments on animals. This is very dark Eighties fare.
It’s not all dark, though. Mrs Brisby’s family is pretty twee, perhaps even more so than the average Disney film at the time (I say this with fondness, as a huge Disney fan), and there’s some fun comic relief from the friendly crow Jeremy (Dom DeLuise).
The voice cast is on fine form, from Hartman as our heroine Mrs Brisby to what are effectively cameos from Carradine and Jacobi. Special mention also for future stars Wil Wheaton, who voices Martin Brisby, and Shannen Doherty, who voices Teresa Brisby.
The music is also fantastic, thanks to the brilliant Jerry Goldsmith. The theme tune is rousing, and the music that accompanies the darker scenes, particularly the tractor ploughing the field, is ominous and scary. It’s a very strong score.
This is also a film that’s progressively ahead of its time, with themes of conquering fear, challenges of motherhood and real world threats of animal experiments and the human destruction of nature.
The Secret of NIMH is a fun, funny, scary and magical film, which was a pleasure to return to. An American Tail is still my personal favourite Don Bluth production, probably because I watched it so much on VHS as a child, but this one isn’t far behind. It’s an animated classic and one of the standout animations of the 1980s.
Film: 
The Secret of NIMH is released by Eureka on their Masters of Cinema label on 9th December 2024. The transfer is from a studio supplied master. The film would benefit from a modern remaster, but it still looks decent. It could look so much better though, as the recent BFI release of Watership Down, released four years prior to NIMH in 1978 and which looks amazing on the new release, highlights. NIMH has a very filmic quality with plenty of natural grain and the colour scheme shining through, albeit at times in a muted fashion. The transfer is showing its age; the image is too soft at times, with dirt and flecks on occasion. The audio is clean and crisp and sounds fantastic.
Special features:
Limited edition [2000 copies]
Limited edition O-Card slipcase featuring original poster artwork [2000 copies]
1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray from a studio supplied master
Optional English Subtitles
A new audio commentary with animation scholar Sam Summers, author of DreamWorks Animation: Intertextuality and Aesthetics in Shrek and Beyond
An archival audio commentary with director Don Bluth and producer Gary Goldman
A Way to go Home – A new on-camera interview with director and animator Don Bluth
Beyond Your Wildest Dreams – A new on-camera appreciation of The Secret of NIMH with animation expert and fan Stacey Abbott
Courage of the Heart – A new video essay by children’s media expert Catherine Lester on motherhood in The Secret of NIMH
Secrets Behind the Secret – archival featurette
Theatrical trailer
Stills Gallery
A limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on Don Bluth and The Secret of NIMH by Peter C. Kunze, author of Staging a Comeback: Broadway, Hollywood, and the Disney Renaissance
The extras start with a new audio commentary by Sam Summers, author of DreamWorks Animation: Intertextuality and Aesthetics in Shrek and Beyond. Summers starts with an authoritative overview of the genesis of the film, and how Bluth and colleagues came to leave Disney and carve their own path. It’s a richly detailed, top class commentary that provides a wealth of background to the production and animation styles, the differences to the novel, and also a critical analysis of some of the scenes. The standout extra, and one of my favourite commentaries of the year.
The archival commentary with director Don Bluth and producer Gary Goldman is from 2007 and was recorded for a DVD release, just like the ‘making of’ that appears on this disc. It’s very much a scene-specific commentary, with the pair on good form describing their inspirations, the background to the movie, what plays out in some of the scenes, and some minute detail that you may not notice on a first watch. There’s a lot of interesting details, particularly about the thought process of scenes, costumes, colour schemes and characters. It’s a great addition and complements the 2024 commentary well.
The new interview with director and animator Don Bluth is fascinating and another highlight of the disc. Running for 20 minutes, Bluth shares why he left Disney, his motivations for making animated films and the stories he chose, including The Secret of NIMH. He shares the risk in making a scarier than usual animated film for the time, and much more, in a marvellous interview.
Beyond Your Wildest Dreams is a 23 minute appreciation of the film with animation expert and fan Stacey Abbott, who opens by sharing her first memories of the movie. She highlights how the film refocused the story from the novel, away from the rats’ story to focus more on Mrs Brisby and her family. She describes it as a gothic tale and Mrs Brisby’s journey to save her children whilst entering an exciting world, which is a reading that very much chimes with my view of the film. She also looks at the other film and TV animations of the 1980s, as a gateway for children into scarier and more horror-like darker narratives, and gives an extended focus on fear and the villains. It’s a fabulous piece.
Courage of the Heart is a 16 minute video essay on motherhood in the film by children’s media expert Catherine Lester. She starts with a brisk overview of Bluth’s resignation from Disney, before looking at The Secret of NIMH and how, at its core, it’s a story about a mother. She highlights how often in animated films mothers die before the story starts or early in the story, and how NIMH was a departure at the time, but how this focus on mothers has become more normalised with the more recent likes of Turning Red and Brave. Lester touches on some of the scenes from the film and also references depictions of motherhood in other animated classics by Bluth and Disney. Another very strong extra.
Secrets Behind the Secret is a 14 minute making of featurette from 2007 which gives a brisk but good overview of the film. It’s essentially an extended interview with producer and director Bluth and producer Gary Goldman. We get some fascinating behind the scenes photos and footage, including images of the voice actors recording their dialogue, which are real gems. A very welcome inclusion.
The stills gallery contains almost 130 images, mostly production stills, but also some promo shots and publicity materials. It’s a beautiful gallery, as is to be expected for such a gorgeous looking animated feature.
The theatrical trailer runs for just over two minutes and does a solid job of selling the film.
The booklet is a typically strong one from Eureka. It contains one essay, but it is great. Entitled Of Mice and Men: A History of The Secret of NIMH by Peter C. Kunze, it gives a well written overview of the film’s production, including some ground not covered in the on-disc extras. It also highlights the importance of the film. The booklet references how The Secret of NIMH was only a moderate success at the box office but has grown to become a beloved animated classic. Bluth’s stock grew after being introduced to Steven Spielberg by composer Jerry Goldsmith, and he directed the likes of An American Tail, which was a a huge hit and is a beloved Eighties classic.
NIMH is a funny, entertaining, at times terrifying and at others magical animation, which, though not up to the levels of An American Tail, I thoroughly enjoyed. Eureka’s transfer is from a dated source and could have looked much better with a remaster, though its very watchable. However Eureka have provided some outstanding supplements for the film’s Masters of Cinema label debut, including a brilliant new commentary, a great new interview with Bluth, two strong video essays and some informative archival features.
Disc/Package:
Leave a Reply