A Must Have 4 Every Child (including the inner one!)

I bought this for my daughter's family, it was one of our favorites when she was a child (although back then it was VHS). This is just a delightful movie, entertaining from start to finish. My grandson loves it as much as his mother did. It's a classic David Versus Goliath story, simple enough for a three year old to follow, but with enough meaning for a ten year old to enjoy equally well. Based on the children's book "Mrs. Brisbane and the Rats of NIMH" which was a Newbury Medal winner, it follows the trails and tribulations of a mouse trying to save her family. Along the way she discovers a pack of Rats that have escaped, along with her now deceased husband, from NIMH(National Institute of Mental Health) after having been given human intelligence (the plot thickens!) and are embarking on a journey of their own to live far from man (with a few human conveniences like electricity). Of course, the evil cat "Dragon" must be dealt with, along with many other obstacles. On the lighter side there's a crazy friend of Mrs. Brisby, a silly crow named Jeremy looking for love in all the wrong places (played by Dom Deluise). This movie has it all! Intrigue, action, love, good (but not obnoxiously obvious) moral lessons and a terrific cast: John Carradine, Elizabeth Hartman, Derek Jacobi, Arthur Malet, Peter Strauss, Paul Shenar, Aldo Ray, Shannen Doherty and Wil Wheaton to name a few. The technology is old, this was made in 1982, but this movie will hold it's own for years to come. The only down side of it is that your kids might drive you nuts watching it so frequently!

Complicated story for kids, but extremely well-done

The Secret of NIMH after twenty three years is still an absolutely fantastic film. I hold it in such high regard as the even more obscure Gay Pur-ee (with the voice talent of Judy Garland, also wonderful) and Disney's Robin Hood.

Criticisms can be made of the film. For one, "faithful" isn't exactly an adjective that can be used when describing it's relation to the source material: "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert O'Brien. However, the novel was a Newberry Award winner and it deserved an excellent film which is what it received.

The book itself had two separate story lines, one focusing on Mrs. Frisby and her plight, and the other a lengthy backstory involving the rats of NIMH. For the animated feature, Don Bluth and his team chose to focus on Mrs. Frisby's plight and for this I am grateful.

In Mrs. Brisby we have a totally unique and a truly delightful heroine. She isn't some young boy getting ready to go on a fantastic adventure or some sort of great, brave hero. She's just a mother, a mother whose first concern is her family. And she makes a fantastic hero, showing that courage isn't just involved in facing down fierce monsters (though when she has to do that she finds the courage). She never stops pushing herself and though she might be a very small mouse, she has a very big heart.

As a kid I walked away thinking how cool Justin was, but now that I'm older I have complete respect for Mrs. Brisby. It's an excellent film both for children and adults alike.

And how about Derek Jacobi as Nicodemus? Dom DeLuise as Jeremy? Not to mention Elizabeth Hartman, whose short career was never-the-less magnificent. Thank god for film that we might have her talents available to us for all time!

The Secret of Nimh

This classic cartoon is based on a novel of the same name. The tale of the Brisby family and the rats of nimh is one of courage and love that kids of all ages will enjoy. Mrs. Brisby is trying to move her home before the plow season, but Timmy, her middle mouse is deathly sick. Upon advice from the feared owl, she seeks the help of the rats in the rosebush, a.k.a., the rats of nimh; who had once been the object of an experiment in the nimh laboratory. These intelligent rats duke it out and fight for the Brisby family, as Mr. Jonathan Brisby was a mouse that had escaped with the rats to the farmers field. This is a timeless tale that is hard to find, and excellent for children.

Classic

This is a great movie, I used to watch it when I was a kid and it's one of the few cartoons I used to watch that is still interesting to me now. The animation is beautiful and the story is still intriguing as ever. The characters are voiced great, (especially the crow, Jeremy!) and Mrs. Brisbee is a heroine of a different kind with her mother's love as her greatest weapon. This is a really heartwarming tale of a mother's quest to do absolutely anything to save the life of her son.
I am really happy I bought this movie. I like to keep all the movies I watched as a kid in my son's collection of movies as a way to share something with him from my own childhood. This will always be a classic in my home.

Great fun for all ages!

When it comes to the Secret of Nimh, who knew a movie that had mice and rats in it could be so lovable? The movie takes place on a farm setting with Mrs. Brisby and her family trying to survive. She is called one day to the great owl of which tells her that she is vital in helping Nicodemus, the leader of the rats. Great charecters and enemies come in along the way telling a tale of beauty, courage, and sometimes laughter. This is a wonderful movie for the kids, and the movie is artistically one the best around.