The Secret of NIMH

***The Secret of NIMH*** is an animated movie directed by Don Bluth and released by his studio United Artists in 1982. The movie was based on Robert C. O'Brien's children's book _Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH_. (The main character's name was changed to "Brisby", so that its audiences would not take its sound for the Frisbee toy.) Bluth began the idea of creating this movie after disagreement with Disney over _The Fox and the Hound_. Before that, he worked with the previous Disney animated movie which was also about mice: _The Rescuers_. Later, he made another animated movie about mice called _An American Tail_, which came out in 1986.

## The story

A widow mouse lives with her children (Martin, Teresa, Cynthia and Timothy). On her journey, she meets a comic, love-seeking crow, a group of rats and the National Institute of Mental Health. After the deaths of the enemy leader and magician, a magical amulet manipulates and restores a house shaped stone block from drowning in the mud. Bluth and Goldman's next film, _All Dogs Go to Heaven_, also used digital coloring via CAPS.

## Cast

- Elizabeth Hartman as Mrs. Brisby*
- John Carradine as Great Owl
- Dom DeLuise as Jeremy
- Derek Jacobi as Nicodemus
- Arthur Malet as Mr. Ages
- Hermione Baddeley as Auntie Shrew
- Peter Strauss as Justin
- Paul Shenar as Jenner
- Aldo Ray as Sullivan
- Shannen Doherty as Teresa Brisby
- Danica McKellar as Cynthia Brisby
- Wil Wheaton as Martin Brisby
- Ian Fried as Timothy "Timmy" Brisby
- Tom Hatten as Farmer Paul Fitzgibbons
- Lucille Bliss as Mrs. Beth Fitzgibbons
- Joey Lawrence as Billy Fitzgibbons
- Edie McClurg as Miss Right
- Nipsey Russell as Councilman 1
- Dick Kleiner as Councilman 2
- Charles Champlin as Councilman 3

It was Hartman's final movie.

## Reception

In spite of its critical success, this movie had a mediocre run at the box office, mostly because of a much bigger rival, Steven Spielberg's _E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial_. (Ironically, Spielberg saw the Bluth movie and asked its director to work on _An American Tail_.)

Many fans and critics have called _NIMH_ Don Bluth's most important work and magnum opus and masterpiece. Even though this movie was not a big box office success, _An American Tail_ and 1997's _Anastasia_ became his most successful works in later years. The next day, however, Bluth approved of the idea for possible development, along with _Rock-a-Doodle_.

## Sequel

In 1998, MGM released a direct-to-video sequel called _The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue_. In the sequel, Timothy goes to a place called Thorn Valley because he wants to become a hero like his father. His brother Martin has turned evil (although he does not want to), and Timothy must fight him in order to save the Rats of NIMH. At Thorn Valley Timothy learns from a young girl mouse that the mice who were thought to have been killed during the escape from NIMH are still alive, so he and the rats try to rescue them.

The sequel was hated by the fans of the first movie and the movie critics because of its clichéd and familiar storyline, and because many people thought that the magic of Don Bluth's dark and original _NIHM_ was destroyed by the sequel, because MGM toned down the darkness of the story.

## Other websites

- The Secret of NIMH Archive

## Infobox (movie)

- **name**: The Secret Of NIMH
- **director**: Don Bluth
- **producer**: Don Bluth
Gary Goldman
John Pomeroy
- **writer**: Don Bluth
Robert C. O'Brien
Will Finn
Gary Goldman
John Pomeroy
- **studio**: Aurora Productions
Sullivan Bluth Studios, Don Bluth Productions
United Artists
- **distributor**: MGM/UA Entertainment Co.
- **music**: Jerry Goldsmith
- **starring**: Elizabeth Hartman
Derek Jacobi
Dom DeLuise
John Carradine
Arthur Malet
Hermione Baddeley
Peter Strauss
Paul Shenar
Shannen Doherty
Wil Wheaton
- **released**: July 2, 1982
- **country**: United States
- **runtime**: 82 minutes
- **language**: English
- **budget**: United States dollar, US$7 million
- **gross**: United States dollar, US$14,665,733