I remember back years since I've watched The Secret of NIMH on Cartoon Network and remembered how evocative it is for a kids film. I think this is not one of Don Bluth's first animated films he ever made. The first one is got to be Banjo the Woodpile Cat which is kinda short considering it's approximately 26 minutes. I love watching all of Don Bluth's films when I was a kid but this one is one of the darkest and surprisingly not a comedy. The tale of Mrs. Brisby is based on the children's novel called Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. Well, wait, what? Frisby? Frisby?! Is that something that a dog would play with? Considering that a Frisbee is a disc that you throw with and the dog catches it? Oh, I get it now! The reason that the name Mrs. Frisby changed into Brisby because of the fact that the trademark concerns with Frisbee discs which is a dog's toy. Why didn't I think of this before? The characters are great. Mrs. Brisby is a timid widowed field mouse who wants to move her family out of the field but her son Timothy is feeling ill. Nicodemus is a great character. He's wise and mystical and knows her husband and knows the secret of the rats of NIMH. Jeremy who is here to help Brisby out. I think he's just here to make the kids laugh which is surprising considering he's comedic and voiced by Dom DeLuise. He's been in most in the animated stuff. The music by Jerry Goldsmith is phenomenal. Many of the people known him for composing other films such as Alien, Total Recall and Basic Instinct. The animation is phenomenal too. Not to mention they're not trying to copy animation from Disney but tried to make it look like Disney. The animators really wanted to create the animation look scary and dark for the kids to understand the content of the violence and creepy imagery. It took most risks that the animators really achieve. The Hunchback of Notre Dame did that too and mentioning the fact the kids enjoyed as a whole and remembering enjoying the gargoyles. In this one though like I said, Jeremy is here to make the kids laugh. There are no songs in this to say that it's not a musical or comedy. The Black Cauldron didn't have any and The Rescuers Down Under. The Secret of NIMH is not only one of Don Bluth's darkest animated films but some of his most underrated. Many fans of Bluth really enjoyed this, praising the beautiful animation, well written story and memorable characters. I really enjoyed every second and I could not flaw one single thing about it. It's just flawless.
Review of The Secret of NIMH
