The Secret of NIMH

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Secret Of NIMH
Right before your eyes and beyond your wildest dreams.
Directed by	Don Bluth
Produced by	Aurora Pictures
Written by	Don Bluth, Robert O'Brien, Will Finn, Gary Goldman, John Pomeroy
Starring	Elizabeth Hartman, Derek Jacobi, Dom DeLuise
Music by	Jerry Goldsmith
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date(s)	July 2, 1982
Running time	82 min. =82:10
Language	English
Budget	US$7 million
IMDb profile

The Secret of NIMH (alternatively spelled "The Secret of N.I.M.H.") is a 1982 animated film adaptation of the Newbery Medal-winning book Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (note that the character's name is changed to 'Brisby' in the film due to copyright concerns with Frisbee discs), written by American author Robert C. O'Brien. The title of the movie was later used for newer editions of the book. It was directed by Don Bluth, produced by Aurora Pictures, and released by United Artists.

[edit] Plot

Mrs. Brisby, a widowed mouse, lives in a cinder block with her children on the Fitzgibbon farm. She is preparing to move her family out of the field they live in as plowing time approaches, however her son Timothy has fallen ill, and moving him could prove fatal. Mrs. Brisby visits The Great Owl, a wise creature who advises her to visit a mysterious group of rats who live beneath a rose bush on the farm. Upon visiting the rats, Brisby meets Nicodemus, the wise and mystical leader of the rats, and Justin, a friendly rat who immediately becomes attached to Mrs. Brisby. While there, she learns that her late husband, Mr. Jonathon Brisby, along with the rats, was a part of a series of experiments at a place known only as N.I.M.H. (revealed earlier in the story as the National Institute of Mental Health). The experiments performed on the mice and rats there boosted their intelligence, allowing them to read without being taught and to understand things such as complex mechanics and electricity. The rats and Mr. Brisby escaped from N.I.M.H. and came to live on the Fitzgibbon farm. The rats created a home for themselves under Mrs. Fitzgibbon's rose bush, creating an elaborate habitation of beautiful chambers, elevators, and Christmas lights. However, the rats are unhappy in their dependence on the humans, who they are stealing electricity from, and have concocted a plan to leave the farm and live independently.

Because of her husband's prior relationship with the rats, they agree to help Mrs. Brisby move her home out of the path of the plow. However, the evil Jenner and his unwilling accomplice Sullivan, who wish to remain beneath the rose bush, plot to kill Nicodemus during the move.

[edit] Production

The Secret of NIMH was the first feature film to be directed by Don Bluth. In September 1979 he, fellow animators Gary Goldman and John Pomeroy, and eight other animation staff left The Walt Disney Company's animation department to set up their own independent studio, Don Bluth Productions. The studio worked at first out of Bluth's house and garage, but moved to a dedicated two-storey, 5,500 square foot facility in Studio City several months later.^[1] After completing work on several shorter projects, including a two-minute animated sequence for the film Xanadu, the studio forged a deal with Aurora Productions, a film-making partnership established by former Disney executives.^[2]

Mrs. Brisby meets Nicodemus. Backlighting techniques are used in this scene to give Nicodemus' eyes a bright glow.

The rights to the book Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH had reportedly been offered to Disney in 1972 but turned down.^[3]Aurora Productions acquired the rights, and gave Don Bluth Productions a budget of US$7 million and 30 months to complete the film, tighter in both budget and schedule than most Disney animated features at the time. The studio set out with the explicit goal in mind of returning feature animation to its “golden era”, concentrating on strong characters and story, and experimenting with unusual and often more labor-intensive animation techniques.^[4] Bluth believed older techniques were being abandoned in favor of cheaper ones, and the only way animation could survive was to continue traditional production methods. Among the techniques experimented with on The Secret of NIMH were airbrushed contact shadows, and backlit animation (where animated mattes are shot with light shining through color gels to produce glowing areas). A modern version of the multiplane camera was also invented.^[5]

To achieve the film's detailed full animation while keeping to the tight budget, the studio strove to keep any waste of time and resources to a minimum. The crew often worked long hours with no immediate financial reward (though they were offered a cut of the film's profits, a practice common for producers, directors and stars of live action films but never before offered to artists on an animated feature); producer Gary Goldman recalled working 110 hour weeks during the final six months of production.^[6] Around 100 in-house staff worked on the film, with the labor-intensive cel painting farmed out to 45 people working from home.^[7] Many minor roles, including incidental and crowd voice work, were filled in by the in-house staff.

[edit] Release and reception

The film garnered critical acclaim for being one of the most vibrantly animated films ever made.^{[citation needed]} It has recently received a remarkable score of 100% on Rottentomatoes.com, which accumulates online reviews from film critics. Despite good reviews, the film only did moderately well in the box office (although some believe the film failed at the box office), attributed to a combination of poor promotion, regionally-staggered release dates and competition from the Steven Spielberg blockbuster E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.^[8] A major dispute between Aurora Productions, the studio which financed NIMH, and United Artists which had bought Aurora prior to the film's release and added scheduling and marketing difficulties, may also have affected NIMH's commercial success.^{[citation needed]} The film was also found to be surprisingly scary and violent for many young children despite its MPAA "G" rating, and the Walt Disney Company originally rejected this project because it was perceived to be "too dark" and complicated to be a financial hit.

Nevertheless, the movie garnered a passionate cult following that arose from its successful home video release and also made quite an impact to the animation world in general. Steven Spielberg loved the film so much that he insisted he work with Don Bluth to create An American Tail. Despite An American Tail's greater financial success, many consider The Secret of NIMH Bluth's best work.

[edit] Sequel

The film was followed up in 1998 with The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy To The Rescue, a straight-to-video release.

This movie was made without either Don Bluth's permission or creative input.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Actors & Actresses

Mrs Brisby's name was changed from the book's original Mrs. Frisby when the studio was contacted during the film's production by Wham-O, the manufacturers of Frisbee flying discs, with concerns about possible trademark infringements. The voice work had already been recorded for the film, so the name change necessitated a combination of re-recording some lines and, because John Carradine was unavailable for further recordings, careful sound editing.^[3]

[edit] Footnotes

1. ^ Cawley. Walkout to Independence
2. ^ Beck, The Animated Movie Guide p.243-4
3. ^ ^{a b} Cawley. The Secret of NIMH
4. ^ Counts. Coming: The Secret of NIMH
5. ^ Mandell. Interview with Dorse Lanpher
6. ^ Cawley. The Secret of N.I.M.H.
7. ^ McDaniel. Remembering NIMH
8. ^ Beck, Don Bluth Goes Independent

[edit] References

• Beck, Jerry. "Don Bluth Goes Independent", Animation World Magazine, 1996-06-01.
• Beck, Jerry (October 2005). The Animated Movie Guide. Chicago Review Press, p.243-4. ISBN 1-556-52591-5. 
• Cawley, John (October 1991). The Animated Films of Don Bluth. Image Pub of New York. ISBN 0-685-50334-8. 
• Counts, Kyle. "Coming: The Secret of NIMH", Cinefantastique, February 1982.
• Hildebrandt, Tim, Bohus, Ted. "Interview with Director Don Bluth", January 1982. Retrieved on January 30, 2007.
• Mandell, Paul. "Interview with Dorse Lanpher", June 1982. Retrieved on January 30, 2007.
• McDaniel, Adam. Remembering NIMH: An Interview with Don Bluth Studios.
• "Bluth Completes Cartoon Feature", Variety, 1982-05-19.

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

The Secret of NIMH

• The Secret of NIMH at the Internet Movie Database
• The Secret of NIMH at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Secret of NIMH Archive