The Secret of NIMH (1982)
Average Rating: 6.9/10
Reviews Counted: 20
Fresh: 19 | Rotten: 1
The Secret of NIMH is a dark, well-told tale that respects its young audience enough to not tone down its subject matter.
Average Rating: 6.7/10
Critic Reviews: 6
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 1
The Secret of NIMH is a dark, well-told tale that respects its young audience enough to not tone down its subject matter.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 54,511
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Movie Info
Frustrated with the Walt Disney studio's reluctance to produce full-length animated films, Don Bluth and a number of animators left the studio in the early '80s with the intent of creating movies in the style of Disney's classics. The Secret of NIMH is the first film Bluth produced after leaving the studio. Adapted from Robert C. O'Brien's acclaimed children's book Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of N.I.M.H., the film is about a widowed mouse whose home is threatened; also, one of her children is
Jul 2, 1982 Wide
Mar 6, 2001
United Artists
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Cast
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Elizabeth Hartman
Mrs. Brisby -
Dom DeLuise
Jeremy -
Hermione Baddeley
Auntie Shrew -
Arthur Malet
Mr. Ages -
Peter Strauss
Justin -
Paul Shenar
Jennar -
Derek Jacobi
Nicodemus -
John Carradine
Great Owl -
Shannen Doherty
Teresa -
Wil Wheaton
Martin -
Jodi Hicks
Cynthia -
Ian Fried
Timmy -
Tom Hatten
Farmer Fitzgibben -
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Edie McClurg
Miss Right
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All Critics (20) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (22) | Rotten (1) | DVD (13)
Not enthralling, but worth seeing for anyone interested in the mechanics of this arcane art.
Top CriticEvery character moves fluidly and imaginatively against an extravaganza of detailed background and dazzling effects, all emboldened by fascinating colored textures.
It is something gorgeous to look at.
It's a spectacular return to the shimmering, mesmerising deep-focus animation associated with Disney's classic period...
It looks good, moves well, and delights our eyes.
The story manages to be sentimental without being especially moving.
As Pixar proved decades later, the narrative is all-important: adapted here from an award-winning children's book with a few hiccups but also a lot of heart.
Fascinating, but very dark with some creepy imagery.
Fascinating. But sensitive animal-lovers beware.
The award-winning book had a pretty crackerjack story to begin with, but in some respects, I think Bluth and his co-writers have bettered it.
A return to the lush, finely detailed animation seen in the best Disney features.
The animation was, as Bluth and company had promised, a spectacular return to old-school craftsmanship.
Never mind the G rating, this is scary stuff which sent my little one fleeing to another room inside of 10 minutes.
It's no secret -- this is one mighty mouse movie!
Lovers of animation shouldn't have too much trouble getting the kids to take them along.
Too leaden for kids, too slight for grownups.
Audience Reviews for The Secret of NIMH
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Jennar: We were just talking about you...
- Justin: That's refreshing, Jenner. Usually you're screaming about us...
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- Mrs. Brisby: If you're going to feather a nest, you've got a lot to learn about how to treat a lady.
- Jeremy: Right. When you're right, you're right, and you're right. None of the girls I meet wanna get serious.
- Mrs. Brisby: I doubt they'd survive.
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- Nicodemus: Johnathan could not tell you about us because the injections slowed the aging process. You see, you would have grown old, while he remained young.
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- Nicodemus: We can no longer live as rats. We know too much.
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- Nicodemus: Courage of the heart is very rare. The stone has a power when it's there.
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- Jennar: I learned this much: take what you can, when you can.
- Justin: Then you have learned nothing.
Discussion Forum
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Latest News on The Secret of NIMH
July 28, 2009:
Paramount Eyes New Rats of NIMH AdaptationDecades after it was adapted as a Don Bluth animated adventure, Paramount is prepping a new film...
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Foreign Titles
- Brisby et le secret de Nimh (FR)
