I've always loved that this story is not about a superhero saving the world or cute animals singing or dancing but rather about a mother's love for her child and her being willing to do anything to save him. I always found that so touching and it left an impression on me that even a few Disney movies didn't. Mrs. Brisby proves that any normal person or parent can be a hero and courage means doing what's right even if it scares you. 💖💗💞
The book is a lot better and also a lot different. There's a lot more that happens and a lot more interesting details. This was the 1st book I ever fell in love with. I was in 5th grade and we had to read it for class. I had never actually enjoyed reading a book up until that point. I credit their book today for my love of writing and reading.
Yeah, it made a huge impression on me as well, and introduced me to a lot of ideas, from the ecological effects of machine-powered agriculture to the blessing/curse of increased intelligence. I think I was rather unimpressed by the movie adaptation back then. I can appreciate the charming and comedic bits more now.
Garland Ragland I watched the film first and finally read the book last year and while I did like some of the expansions with the characters the film is better. Plus that moment of bravery still gives me chills with the score.
I read the book - "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of N.I.M.H" - multiple times as a kid; I know I saw the movie at least once but don't really remember it. (There are a bunch of mouse-character movies I remember really liking and they blend together a bit!) Enjoyed watching the highlights again with you.
OMG!!! ❤️❤️❤️One of my all time childhood faves. Love the book as well! Don Bluth used to work for Disney and when they stopped making animated films towards the end of the 70’s/early 80’s, Bluth started his own production company, Secret of Nimh was one of the first films he made. 👍
NICE.....1 of my all-time favorites! I was like 3 or 4 when this came out and didnt understand it yet but still loved it! I can't even tell you how many times I watched this as a kid.
Wow - I saw this back when it was in theaters when I was in junior high. Haven't seen it since. I remember I liked it, though. Actually when you mentioned the title I confused it with another animated movie from a few years before this called Watership Down. (Watership Down was released a couple years ago on blu-ray by The Criterion Collection.) I don't remember all that much about Secret of NIMH. I do remember Dom Deluise as the Crow and Derek Jacobi as Nicodemus (I knew Jacobi from the BBC Production of "I, Claudius" which aired on PBS.) I think some kids at school read the book, but I never did. Anyways...thanks for the fun jog down memory lane. Hey! The credits list Shannen Doherty as Theresa Brisby! And Wil Wheaton as Martin Brisby (come to think of it, I think they mentioned that in one of the episodes of Big Bang Theory with Wheaton in it.)
I loved this one. It’s often overlooked. It’s based on the Newberry award winner Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. Here the widowed field mouse is renamed to avoid trademark issues w/ the Frizbee.
Never read the book, so can't tell how much added by moviemaker. Point being, there's so much recognizable from other books and movies of same decade or so. Biggest (possibly) influence seems Watership Down. Peaceful rodents flee from home ruined by Human developers. They're helped by a big bird they rescued (Seagull/Crow, played in movies by Zero Mostel and Dom De Louise. Both most known for movies by Mel Brooks).
Well, this movie came after Watership, but each movies plots keep those same elements from their respective books, and this one came out first, but only by a few months. That said and the fact that they were on both sides of the pond, I don't think either Richard Adams (the Watership Down author), or Robert C. O'Brien (the author of this) copied each other. Actually, the themes are very different in that in Watership, humans are basically the predator of predators (feared by even the Thousand Enemies of the rabbits), but don't really interfere with the way of life of creatures (besides destroying them), while Nimh actively genetically manipulates the rats and then wants to destroy them for being what they were made to be (intelligent)
@@zvimur Well, this book came out first, and I believe the two movies were released simultaneously (I didn't see Plague Dogs in '82 the way I saw this and Watership when they came out)
@@zvimur Actually, I want to apologise-you may be right about the Plague Dogs being an influence. I am just re-listening to this book (I listen to audiobooks a lot more than read), and Nimh wasn't a place of "unspeakable tortures" like they mentioned in the movie-actually, it was a scientist and his two graduate students who performed the tests on the rats and mice, and they treated them very humanely. Like I said before though, I like the book a lot better than the movie (which included supernatural elements for no reason). The only thing about the book was how intelligent they made Mrs Frisby. Jonathon taught her how to read-I would think it would make a lot more sense if reading was a concept she could not even grasp, nor tools, kind of like the rabbits in Watership Down. In that book Blackberry (who was basically a GENIUS among the rabbits figured out that they could use a man's boat to escape a group of baddies. The vast majority of the other rabbits had NO IDEA what he meant and when they floated on the boat, in their ignorance they assumed it was some kind of magic. It would really sell the fact that the injections at Nimh made the rats smarter if ordinary animals couldn't even grasp those concepts (Of course, the animals had to be anthropomorphised to point of communicating, or the story couldn't even begin to be told, so there has to be some real gap shown between the genetically enhanced, and the ordinary) The only other thing the book does (which I guess is for the benefit of the reader, but still is weird) is they have the animals use analogies that make more sense to us than it would a thinking mouse or rat. For instance, when Mrs Frisby is riding on Jeremy's (a crow) back in flight for the first time, she remarks that the garden looks as small as a postcard. For us, this would make sense, but not only would Mrs Frisby not know what a postcard was, but it would be a HUGE piece of cardboard. That's like our saying that if we looked at a world map, it would be amazing that each continent looks as small as an acre of land! It just doesn't fit
@@SJHFoto About writers failing or ignoring consistency, it happens. As for Dogs influencing Secret (movies), one came out in January 82, the other in July 82. PS, being lazy googled (only)NIMH. Got shock of lifetime with this: www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtml Not being American, didn't realize the Institute was real.
If you pay attention at the beginning they actually hint to NIHM in the conversation with the farmer and his wife saying the wait for it... N-ation I-nstitute of M-ental H-ealth ... *BOOM* Minds blown! XD
I'll be 56 in a couple of months and this has always been my favorite animated movie since it was released. You mentioned this was digital, it may have been stored on a digital laser disc, but it fully animated. Don Bluth was an animator for Walt Dinsey. After this film was released, he was hired to create the movie like scenes in the first animated arcade video game "Dragon's Lair" and "Space Ace". I remember playing these games when they first came in a an arcade in Ocean City, MD. That same arcade is still in operation today. A second part to both of those games were also released. The games were played from a laser disc player inside the cabinet of the game. As long a you give the game the right inputs at the the right time, the game continued seamlessly. but once you gave the wrong input, it jumps to a die scene. perfect timing on this game was intense, cause there were many levels to get through. You must check out these games. You can even find complete game play through on TH-cam.
Now you've seen this movie and The Land Before Time, you need to see An American Tail. SUCH a good movie. And considering how anti-immigrant the current political discourse is, a classic kids' movie that tells a story of immigration is especially powerful even today.
And the same (great) voice actor that did the loveable Goofy Jeremy does the voice of the (friendly) cat in (at least the first two) American Tailmovies
So here's the question I've always wondered......Nicodemus and Mr. Ages KNEW that Mrs. Frisby had children. So WHY THEN didn't someone think to get the children OUT of the house BEFORE they tried to move it? Just in case something (i.e the crazy rat sabotaging the plan and dropping the house into a deep mud puddle) occurred?
You should watch some vids about the NIMH mouse utopia experiments (done by Dr. John B Calhoun back in the 1950s/'60s), especially if you are interested in social psychology. A couple videos: TIFO video th-cam.com/video/5m7X-1V9nOs/w-d-xo.html F Knudsen video th-cam.com/video/NgGLFozNM2o/w-d-xo.html Searching for "mouse utopia" will bring up a bunch of other videos.
I have difficulty appreciating this movie, AS a movie, because I love the book so much. I feel that significant changes were made which were unnecessary, and weakened the story (the introduction of all the magical elements, for example; and the characterization of Jenner and of Justin). If you get the chance, please try reading the book!
one of my favorite childhood films. love this. such an unusual story going on!
I've always loved that this story is not about a superhero saving the world or cute animals singing or dancing but rather about a mother's love for her child and her being willing to do anything to save him. I always found that so touching and it left an impression on me that even a few Disney movies didn't. Mrs. Brisby proves that any normal person or parent can be a hero and courage means doing what's right even if it scares you. 💖💗💞
The book is a lot better and also a lot different. There's a lot more that happens and a lot more interesting details. This was the 1st book I ever fell in love with. I was in 5th grade and we had to read it for class. I had never actually enjoyed reading a book up until that point. I credit their book today for my love of writing and reading.
Yeah, it made a huge impression on me as well, and introduced me to a lot of ideas, from the ecological effects of machine-powered agriculture to the blessing/curse of increased intelligence. I think I was rather unimpressed by the movie adaptation back then. I can appreciate the charming and comedic bits more now.
Garland Ragland I watched the film first and finally read the book last year and while I did like some of the expansions with the characters the film is better. Plus that moment of bravery still gives me chills with the score.
Movie is still awesome
As much as I love this Don Bluth Gem of a movie specially in animation I still yearn for a more faithful adaptation.
@@RoyCyberPunk agree completely
That movie is amazing, the production value put into it was supposedly intense.
The film had a budget of $7 million
I was born in 2001 and had this movie and watched it a lot. Kind of forgot about it until seeing a pic of it on Twitter.
I read the book - "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of N.I.M.H" - multiple times as a kid; I know I saw the movie at least once but don't really remember it. (There are a bunch of mouse-character movies I remember really liking and they blend together a bit!) Enjoyed watching the highlights again with you.
Haha - I kept thinking “doesn’t Eva Gabor voice Mrs. Brisby?” But no, she was in The Rescuers, a mouse movie from about the same time.
OMG!!! ❤️❤️❤️One of my all time childhood faves. Love the book as well! Don Bluth used to work for Disney and when they stopped making animated films towards the end of the 70’s/early 80’s, Bluth started his own production company, Secret of Nimh was one of the first films he made. 👍
Damn I didn’t expect this. I had this movie memorized when I was a kid
4:27 And this is why this movie terrified me as a child. One of the many reasons...
My favourite animated movie, ever. Also, yeah, here we see Don's weird thing about making cats the most terrifying creatures in existence
NICE.....1 of my all-time favorites! I was like 3 or 4 when this came out and didnt understand it yet but still loved it! I can't even tell you how many times I watched this as a kid.
FYI the National Institute of Mental Health is a real place. (The more you know)
Wow - I saw this back when it was in theaters when I was in junior high. Haven't seen it since. I remember I liked it, though. Actually when you mentioned the title I confused it with another animated movie from a few years before this called Watership Down. (Watership Down was released a couple years ago on blu-ray by The Criterion Collection.) I don't remember all that much about Secret of NIMH. I do remember Dom Deluise as the Crow and Derek Jacobi as Nicodemus (I knew Jacobi from the BBC Production of "I, Claudius" which aired on PBS.) I think some kids at school read the book, but I never did. Anyways...thanks for the fun jog down memory lane.
Hey! The credits list Shannen Doherty as Theresa Brisby! And Wil Wheaton as Martin Brisby (come to think of it, I think they mentioned that in one of the episodes of Big Bang Theory with Wheaton in it.)
Oo, Derek Jacobi! Thanks for mentioning that; I'd missed it.
We took my farmer grandfather to see this in the theatre. After the tractor scene, we could barely get a word out of him for three days.
I say that the secret of nimh is without a doubt a very powerful film and I say we all should be happy for that whole thing ever.
I loved this one. It’s often overlooked. It’s based on the Newberry award winner Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. Here the widowed field mouse is renamed to avoid trademark issues w/ the Frizbee.
I’m like 5 years younger than and have seen it as a kid. 😂 So nostalgic! The owl gave me nightmares back then.
Wow, never thought I’d see a reaction video to this. I saw this at a slumber party when I was a kid and that spider freaked me out!
my childhood right here
Dom DeLuise plays the crow I love it
The secret of nimh is one of my favorite movies
Never read the book, so can't tell how much added by moviemaker. Point being, there's so much recognizable from other books and movies of same decade or so. Biggest (possibly) influence seems Watership Down. Peaceful rodents flee from home ruined by Human developers. They're helped by a big bird they rescued (Seagull/Crow, played in movies by Zero Mostel and Dom De Louise. Both most known for movies by Mel Brooks).
Well, this movie came after Watership, but each movies plots keep those same elements from their respective books, and this one came out first, but only by a few months. That said and the fact that they were on both sides of the pond, I don't think either Richard Adams (the Watership Down author), or Robert C. O'Brien (the author of this) copied each other.
Actually, the themes are very different in that in Watership, humans are basically the predator of predators (feared by even the Thousand Enemies of the rabbits), but don't really interfere with the way of life of creatures (besides destroying them), while Nimh actively genetically manipulates the rats and then wants to destroy them for being what they were made to be (intelligent)
@@SJHFoto Hmm, 6:52 giving me serious Plague Dogs vibes.
@@zvimur Well, this book came out first, and I believe the two movies were released simultaneously (I didn't see Plague Dogs in '82 the way I saw this and Watership when they came out)
@@zvimur Actually, I want to apologise-you may be right about the Plague Dogs being an influence. I am just re-listening to this book (I listen to audiobooks a lot more than read), and Nimh wasn't a place of "unspeakable tortures" like they mentioned in the movie-actually, it was a scientist and his two graduate students who performed the tests on the rats and mice, and they treated them very humanely. Like I said before though, I like the book a lot better than the movie (which included supernatural elements for no reason). The only thing about the book was how intelligent they made Mrs Frisby. Jonathon taught her how to read-I would think it would make a lot more sense if reading was a concept she could not even grasp, nor tools, kind of like the rabbits in Watership Down. In that book Blackberry (who was basically a GENIUS among the rabbits figured out that they could use a man's boat to escape a group of baddies. The vast majority of the other rabbits had NO IDEA what he meant and when they floated on the boat, in their ignorance they assumed it was some kind of magic. It would really sell the fact that the injections at Nimh made the rats smarter if ordinary animals couldn't even grasp those concepts (Of course, the animals had to be anthropomorphised to point of communicating, or the story couldn't even begin to be told, so there has to be some real gap shown between the genetically enhanced, and the ordinary) The only other thing the book does (which I guess is for the benefit of the reader, but still is weird) is they have the animals use analogies that make more sense to us than it would a thinking mouse or rat. For instance, when Mrs Frisby is riding on Jeremy's (a crow) back in flight for the first time, she remarks that the garden looks as small as a postcard. For us, this would make sense, but not only would Mrs Frisby not know what a postcard was, but it would be a HUGE piece of cardboard. That's like our saying that if we looked at a world map, it would be amazing that each continent looks as small as an acre of land! It just doesn't fit
@@SJHFoto About writers failing or ignoring consistency, it happens.
As for Dogs influencing Secret (movies), one came out in January 82, the other in July 82.
PS, being lazy googled (only)NIMH.
Got shock of lifetime with this:
www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtml
Not being American, didn't realize the Institute was real.
Thanks for review forgotten classic animation film. Don Bluth's masterpiece.
If you pay attention at the beginning they actually hint to NIHM in the conversation with the farmer and his wife saying the wait for it...
N-ation
I-nstitute of
M-ental
H-ealth
... *BOOM* Minds blown! XD
Still the most beautiful animated movie imo I wore out at least VHS when I was a kid 👍🏻
I'll be 56 in a couple of months and this has always been my favorite animated movie since it was released. You mentioned this was digital, it may have been stored on a digital laser disc, but it fully animated. Don Bluth was an animator for Walt Dinsey. After this film was released, he was hired to create the movie like scenes in the first animated arcade video game "Dragon's Lair" and "Space Ace". I remember playing these games when they first came in a an arcade in Ocean City, MD. That same arcade is still in operation today. A second part to both of those games were also released. The games were played from a laser disc player inside the cabinet of the game. As long a you give the game the right inputs at the the right time, the game continued seamlessly. but once you gave the wrong input, it jumps to a die scene. perfect timing on this game was intense, cause there were many levels to get through. You must check out these games. You can even find complete game play through on TH-cam.
Now you've seen this movie and The Land Before Time, you need to see An American Tail. SUCH a good movie. And considering how anti-immigrant the current political discourse is, a classic kids' movie that tells a story of immigration is especially powerful even today.
I've never even heard of that movie! Thanks for the recommendation.
WAIT. TAIL. Cuz it's about rodents. That's hilarious.
And the same (great) voice actor that did the loveable Goofy Jeremy does the voice of the (friendly) cat in (at least the first two) American Tailmovies
Darn, I've never seen these movie reactions! I have to catch up on the whole playlist ;-]
So here's the question I've always wondered......Nicodemus and Mr. Ages KNEW that Mrs. Frisby had children. So WHY THEN didn't someone think to get the children OUT of the house BEFORE they tried to move it? Just in case something (i.e the crazy rat sabotaging the plan and dropping the house into a deep mud puddle) occurred?
Hey, have you seen "All Dogs Go to Heaven"? Something to consconsider for the channel not
Great reaction!!
Perfect voice for this!
I was born 1 month before you and I loved this move growing up
You should watch some vids about the NIMH mouse utopia experiments (done by Dr. John B Calhoun back in the 1950s/'60s), especially if you are interested in social psychology. A couple videos:
TIFO video th-cam.com/video/5m7X-1V9nOs/w-d-xo.html
F Knudsen video th-cam.com/video/NgGLFozNM2o/w-d-xo.html
Searching for "mouse utopia" will bring up a bunch of other videos.
Yes, the book was partly inspred by those, according to Wikipedia.
I have difficulty appreciating this movie, AS a movie, because I love the book so much. I feel that significant changes were made which were unnecessary, and weakened the story (the introduction of all the magical elements, for example; and the characterization of Jenner and of Justin). If you get the chance, please try reading the book!
This is a movie my family hardcore quotes like nobody's business xD
Who names their cat "dragon"...?
Another Don Bluth 80s film to traumatize us. It's really a movie that leaves a lot to interpretation.
⛲⛲⛲⛲⛲⛲⛲⛲
"Well animated for an old film". Whut? Everybody knows animation was better in the past.
Back when the animators were masochists....
BOB lmao