What if Don Bluth stayed at Disney?/The Secret of NIHM

***The Secret of NIMH*** is a 1982 American animated fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Productions, directed by Don Bluth and based on the 1971 children's novel *Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH* by Robert C. O'Brien. The 25th Disney animated feature film, it features the voices of Elizabeth Hartman, Peter Strauss, Arthur Malet, Dom DeLuise, John Carradine, Derek Jacobi, Hermione Baddeley, and Paul Shenar.

The film was released in the United States on July 2, 1982. It was followed in 1998 by a direct-to-video sequel, *The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue*. In 2015, a live-action/computer-animated remake was reported to be in the works.

## Plot

Mrs. Brisby, a widowed field mouse, lives in a cinder block with her children in a field on the Fitzgibbons' farm. She needs to move her family out of the field as plowing time approaches, but her youngest son Timothy has fallen ill. She visits Mr. Ages, a friend of her late husband Jonathan, who diagnoses the illness as pneumonia, provides Brisby with medicine, and warns her that Timothy must stay inside for at least three weeks or he will die. On her way home, Brisby befriends Jeremy, a clumsy but friendly crow, just before they both narrowly escape from the Fitzgibbons' cat, Dragon.

The next morning, Brisby discovers that Farmer Fitzgibbons has started plowing early. Although her neighbor Auntie Shrew helps her disable his tractor, Brisby knows she must devise another plan. Jeremy takes her to see the Great Owl, who tells her to visit a colony of rats that live beneath a rose bush on the farm and ask for the services of Nicodemus, their wise and mystical leader.

Brisby enters the rose bush and encounters an aggressive guard rat named Brutus, who chases her away. She is led back in by Ages, and is amazed to see the rats' use of electricity and other technology. She meets Justin, the friendly captain of the guard; Jenner, a ruthless and power-hungry member opposed to Nicodemus; and finally Nicodemus himself. From Nicodemus, she learns that many years ago the rats, along with her husband and Ages, were part of a series of experiments at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH for short). The experiments boosted their intelligence, enabling them to escape, as well as extending their lifespans and slowing their aging processes. However, they are unable to live as typical rats would, and need human technology to survive, which they have accomplished only by stealing. The rats have eventually settled on a decision to leave the farm and live independently in an area they refer to as Thorn Valley. Nicodemus then gives Brisby a magical amulet that will activate when the wearer is courageous. Meanwhile, Jenner, who wishes for the rats to remain in the rose bush, secretly plots with his reluctant accomplice Sullivan to eliminate Nicodemus.

Because of the rats' relationship with Jonathan, they agree to help her move her home. First, they need to drug Dragon so that it can be done without interference. Only Brisby can do this, as the rats cannot fit through the hole leading into the Fitzgibbons' house; Jonathan was killed by Dragon in a previous attempt, while Ages broke his leg in another. That night, she puts the drug into Dragon's dish, but the Fitzgibbons' son, Billy, catches her. While trapped in a birdcage, she overhears a telephone conversation between Farmer Fitzgibbons and the staff of NIMH and learns that the institute intends to exterminate the rats in the morning. Brisby then escapes from the cage and runs off to warn them.

As a rainstorm approaches, the rats begin moving the Brisby home, with the children and Auntie Shrew inside, using a rope and pulley system. Disregarding Sullivan's protests, Jenner soon sabotages the assembly, causing it to fall apart and crush Nicodemus to death. Brisby soon arrives to warn the rats about NIMH's arrival, but Jenner attacks her and attempts to steal the amulet. Sullivan alerts Justin, who comes to Brisby's aid. Jenner mortally wounds Sullivan and engages Justin in a sword fight that ends with him being killed by the dying Sullivan.

The Brisby home begins to sink into a mud puddle and Brisby and the rats are unable to raise it. All appears lost until Brisby's will to save her family gives power to the amulet, which she uses to lift the house and move it to safety. The next morning, the rats, with Justin as their new leader, have departed for Thorn Valley as Timothy begins to recover. Jeremy soon meets and falls in love with Miss Right, another crow who is just as clumsy as he is.

## Voice cast

* Elizabeth Hartman as Mrs. Brisby
* Dom DeLuise as Jeremy
* Peter Strauss as Justin
* Arthur Malet as Mr. Ages
* Derek Jacobi as Nicodemus
* Paul Shenar as Jenner
* John Carradine as The Great Owl
* Hermione Baddeley as Auntie Shrew
* Aldo Ray as Sullivan
* Shannen Doherty as Teresa Brisby
* Wil Wheaton as Martin Brisby
* Ina Fried as Timothy Brisby
* Jodi Hicks as Cynthia Brisby
* Edie McClurg as Miss Right
* Tom Hatten as Farmer Fitzgibbons
* Lucille Bliss as Mrs. Fitzgibbons
* Joshua Lawrence as Billy Fitzgibbons
* Charles Champlin, Dick Kleiner, and Norbert Auerbach as council rats

## Sequel

A direct-to-video sequel directed by Dick Sebast and produced by Walt Disney Television Animation titled *The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue* was released on December 22, 1998. Set several years after the events of the first film, the plot focuses on Mrs. Brisby's son Timothy as he struggles to live up to his father's prestigious reputation. Apart from Dom DeLuise and Arthur Malet reprising their roles as Jeremy and Mr. Ages, respectively, none of the original voice cast returned for the film. The movie was made without Don Bluth's input or involvement and was panned by critics and fans upon release.

## Live-action remake

On July 27, 2009, it was announced that Disney was working with Neil Burger on a remake of *The Secret of NIMH*; nothing has materialized since.

On March 4, 2015, *Deadline Hollywood* reported that the film would be produced by the team of Daniel Bobker and Ehren Kruger, with screenplay by *Ice Age* series writer Michael Berg. It will be James Madigan's directorial debut. It is planned as a CGI/live-action hybrid in the style of films like *The Smurfs* and *Alvin and the Chipmunks*, and will be "an origin story in which an imperiled mouse protagonist befriends a comical crew of lab rats as they turn hyper-intelligent. They escape a secret laboratory and become the great minds of vermin civilization, forced to outwit the humans hot on their tails." The studio plans to turn the novel into a family franchise.

On April 10, 2019, it was announced that the Russo brothers will be executive producers of the remake.

On September 8, 2021, it was announced that a television series based on the books was in development at ABC as an event series.