Customer Reviews

The Secret of NIMH: Special Edition (Widescreen)

5 star:		(87)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This was one of my favourite films as a child. My grandmother had it on video, and I watched it at every opportunity. Surprisingly, it still holds up as an adult too. Next to today's animation standards, it's a simply made film, but the painted animations are increadibly beautiful, and the characters are endearing. The overall tone is pleasantly and eerily suspenseful, but lightened throughout by humour. (But I recall my five-year-old cousin finding it too scary, so parents may want to judge for themselves). There are moments of subtle humour I didn't notice as a child ... the farmer on the phone, telling NIMH scientists "I don't know about any strange behaviour", in reference to the rats, while an organized gang of rats sneaks past his window sill, carrying away an entire set of christmas lights from their house.

A warning to readers of the book: As much as I feel a warm sense of nostalgia watching this film, I must admit that my love for this film lessened a fair bit after discovering the book at thirteen. It's just as well that the film abandoned the (admitedly dull) name of the book (Mrs Frisby and the Rats of Nimh) - this film really should not be called a remake of the book at all. The film employs the characters and a rough approximation of the story, but rewrites the story beyond recognition from there. This is not just a case of needing to shorten a complex story: the film is blatenly untrue to many of the basic themes of the book.

The book is an allegorical critique of science, and of attempts to build rational, moral, self-sufficient societies. In some ways, the book is almost Lord of the Flies in reverse. It asks the question: what would happen if an unsocialized, unorganized group of rats were given human-level intelligence and left to build themselves a perfect society from the ground up? The rats, at the point where Mrs Frisby meets them face a dilemma: should they continue to live an easy life, living at the farm, relying on the resources provided by humans, but with an ever-increasing risk of exposure... or should they take the harder choice, leaving the farm to build a new civilization in a secluded location where they can be self-sufficient and live honestly without stealing their resources. In a way, the story could actually be likened to some of today's environmental choices, though I hadn't seen it that way before.

The film reverses the emphasis and puts Mrs Frisby's story at the forefront, then seemingly worries that our heroine, Mrs Frisby, has too little to do, so it introduces a magical locket with which Mrs Frisby is ultimately able to save her family herself rather than relying upon the rats. In fact, this change of perspective is present throughout the film: even the description of the rat's imprisonment at NIMH and the experiments they are subjected to, is given a magical air. The rats, are given injections, "then one day, we looked at the words on the cage... and understood them" intones Nicodemus, as though a magical transformation had taken place, transplanting the ability to read into their minds.... rather than the gradual process of learning to read through a long series of experiments. A small detail, but symptomatic of the entire change in tone. In fairness, though, the sense of magic was part of the appeal for me as a kid, to the point of completely misinterpreting some scenes: the owl intones at one point "Go to the lee of the stone." in such mystical sincerity, that I assumed this a very deep instruction, and was a little disappointed to later learn that "lee" just means "sheltered from the wind"... very sensible directions from the viewpoint of a bird, I suppose, but not nearly as impressive sounding.

Most upsetting, the filmscript writer seems to have felt that an ending wouldn't be an ending without a cliched battle of good against evil, in the form of a rat who, being power-hungry decides to threaten the life of Nicodemus, the leader of the rats. This entire sequence is banal in its simplicity, and frustrating in its morality: we already have far too many children's tales that contain cardboard-cut-out irredemable bad-guys. There's at least a little good in all people, and I find it disturbing that we seem so intent on teaching children that some people are bad through and through. And sadly, this entire sequence was completely unnecessary to create a sense of climax in the film.

So, take this film for what it is: an appealing, if imperfect, tale. But for readers of the book, do not expect this to be a film adaptation thereof. At best, it's a different fanciful tale about the same characters.

Awesome movie/cartoon. I originally had it for a number of years on VHS, but alas, our VCR kicked the bucket so I had to get it on DVD because my children were wanting to watch it...........I love this movie & always have and now my kids can enjoy what I did as a child.

Thanks Amazon for carrying all my childhood faves!!

There are two movies I remember as a child that gave me a sense of intense wonder and awe. One was the Last Unicorn, and the other was the Secret of Nimh. Both movies displayed an unprecedented level of maturity when tackling their respective storylines. The Secret of Nimh is much like the Last Unicorn in the sense that the plot is intelligent, and at times necessarily dark. It's a haunting movie by many standards, but strikes a better balance between comedy, excitement, and foreboding than the Last Unicorn does.

A rather simple premise opens the door to a much larger world when one watches the Secret of Nimh. The plight of Mrs. Brisbee and her children is just something one would expect to see on any farmland, especially during plow season. But when Mrs. Brisbee seeks out help from the woefully dangerous Rats of Nimh, she discovers an entire world she never knew existed.

There are many intelligent plot twists that come together nicely in this movie. A family in peril, government-funded animal experimentation and even a bit of unexplained mysticism all work together to draw the viewer in. Anyone expecting an animated film designed purely to maintain a hold over the short attention spans of toddlers will be in for a surprise. The film is absolutely gorgeous to watch, more so for its lush imagination than its actual artistic quality. Every ounce of this film drips with uniqueness, and I challenge anyone to find a movie that has the same feel as the Secret of Nimh. It is a bit less serious and melancholy than the Last Unicorn, but it still manages to eschew frivolous silliness in favor of some real depth and emotion within its characters.

Highly recommended for all ages!

While this movie is a bit more fantasy-like than the book, I think it's just as good. The first time I saw this was several years ago when Nickelodeon used to play movies on Sundays. Once I saw it, I immediately went after the book, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. Told in the style of Poppy or Watership Down, both the movie and the story have the same main plot: A family of mice must move out of their home before the tractor comes for the yearly harvest. The problem is, little Timothy mouse is sick with pnemonia (forgive my spelling) and if he goes out of the house, he will die. Now Mrs. Frisby must look to the Rats, a race of intelligent rodents, to help them to be able to survive the tractor without leaving their home.

This had been my favorite cartoon movie since I was six years old. I knew every line Mrs. Brisby spoke. This is the stuff that flying dreams are made of and will always be treasured in my heart.

A great tale of bravery and overcoming the odds with a touch of magic.

I'm 23 years old now, and my girlfriend wanted me to rent this...I was like "uh, the secret of nimh??? ok sweetie whatever you say..." I haven't seen this movie probably in 15 years and i will say...I'm going to buy it now. What a cool movie, It's just entertaining...and even kind of scary... It's totally cool to remember things from your childhood, and I had to have seen this flick 100 times when i was a kid, and I'm barely remembering it now...buy it, and remember your childhood...it's good for you.

this based on the book Mis Frisby and the rats of Nimh. But ssome things have been alterd. This is very intense movie with lot of scary parts. I recomend that little kids 7 or younger do not watch this film.

I saw this the first time on VHS in the second grade and it scrade the daily lights out of me. Still a good movie Jenier is the most sinter villian since Cluny the Scourage.

This film was made shorly after the originaly return of King was made. A good movie lots of actions and suspense. If you like adventure. I recomend if you like this 1 irecomend seeing the Secren of Nimh 2 they second one is alot less tense than the first one is. If you have realy little kids like 5 the second onne would be find. But unleash the are 9 or older you should not let them watch the original. To this day I still have nightmare's about the stupid cat Dragon chasing me. If you like this I also can recomend the redwall series.

I've watched this movie throughout my life from when i was just a little girl. i've also read the book and still have the original movie and published book. yes there are characters missing and it isn't very accurate to the book but, I think the movie is wonderful, full of heart, courage and love that i think is portrayed really well. just because it's not accurate to the book doesn't mean it's a bad movie. i think they did a well job trying too atleast. I encourage everyone to go out and purchase the movie or rent it-It's very worth it.

I don't think people(like the people who left bad reviews)should judge a movie based on it's accuracy to the book, i think people should judge it on the context and the depth into the movie and let them decide for themselves whether they like it or not. this movie i encourage every child to see, it teaches what children need to be taught, love, patience, kindness etc. all the things a young child or teenager needs at their ages. it's a very heart felt movie and it should not be dismissed as a bad movie. people who left bad messages do not listen to them, as far as i know they don't know a whole lot about the movie and the book. the book is diffrent but very good and the same with the movie. you can't expect the movie to be the same as the book or else it would be like watching some one who is reading the book to you. i really hope that you take my advice from someone who has read the book and seen the movie too many times to count. have fun and enjoy!

P.s. go and see the sequal movie i'll agree it's not as good as the first movie, but it shows what happend after :)

I have read many of the other reviews for this particular film, and I have to say that I am impressed with the eloquence of most. Really, there is not a great deal I can add to the positive revies of this film.

Those of you who are partial to the book will always have your criticisms. I am personally impressed with the aspects of magical realism that Don Bluth portrays in this animated film. One also has to keep in mind that, in order to keep an animated film at a length that will engage a child's attention and imagination, the story cannot follow the book exactly. If the story were followed exactly, the film would have been well over four hours long, and that would be for the first film...It would have to be done in a series like "The Lord of the Rings" (which still doesn't follow the books exactly...See my point?)

Yes, some characters were left out, yes, the plot itself changes quite a bit, but the integrity of the message the book conveys is maintained throughout Don Bluth's creation.

Beyond that, the art forms between novels and films are entirely different; that is why there is such a phrase as "poetic license." Flood your senses with beauty and color in a scope that only Don Bluth can produce, and forget about making desparate comparisons to the book! This film is truly beautiful and touches both children and adults on a level that is difficult for even Disney to achieve.

Absolutly brillaint~ The backgrounds sparkle and the animation is GREAT for the time it was made(1982)

I LOVE Mrs.Brisby. I have read the book, and this is not the exact copy of it, but still a GREAT movie.

A MUST HAVE!!!!!