Force the Sherman I: The Secret of "The Secret of NIMH"

Memory is a curious human faculty.

There were times where I was watching “The Secret of NIMH” and would have a sudden, strong recollection. They were scenes I remembered clearly, that I had carried with me without realizing -- like the emphatic fear that struck me as Jeremy (Dom DeLuise), the crow, was tangled in string with Dragon the Cat stalking nearby. I distinctly recalled my own true dread as Mrs. Brisby (Elizabeth Hartman) went to seek advice from The Great Owl (John Carradine) or my young eyes being dazzled by the electric magic of Nicodemus (Derek Jacobi), leader of the rats of NIMH.

Scenes I saw as a child, from a movie I don't even recall watching that much, left a strong residue behind. The power of art and motion pictures.

Don Bluth's “Secret of NIMH” holds up surprisingly well. Before this, Bluth (See also: "An American Tail" and "The Land Before Time") was a Disney animator. He desperately wanted to do this film but Disney rejected the idea, saying it was “too dark.” So Bluth -- along with John Pomeroy, Gary Goldman and about 20 other animators -- left Disney and made the movie themselves. At the time, they were called the Disney Defectors.

The characters of "NIMH" stick with you as much as the amazing visuals: Mrs. Brisby and her children, in desperate need of help so they can move their house “to the lee of the stone” or Auntie Shrew (Hermione Baddeley) who always pops in unannounced and gives unsolicited advice or any of the others I mentioned above.

The plot is actually somewhat bare; it's the visuals and the way the story is told that mark it as the animated masterpiece it is.

The rats of NIMH -- lab rats from the National Institute of Mental Health who evolved higher intelligence -- have escaped to a rosebush in front of a farmer's house. After a short while there, they decide to move on. When Mrs. Brisby asks why, they reply, “Because we can no longer live as rats.” However, the dastardly Jenner (Paul Shenar) wishes to continue their ratty existence as parasites of society. Jenner's opponent is Justin (Peter Strauss), the golden boy of the rats, and a favorite of their leader, the rat wizard Nicodemus.

How Nicodemus got his power is never explained -- probably because it matters not. After all, if you accept a rat who can learn to talk, organize a society of order and rules, and knows magic, what does it matter how the magic happens? For a child, the magic is in the magic itself.

The sword fight near the end is right out of an Errol Flynn movie, with a dash of Shakespearean tragedy. But the amazing thing is that this “kid's” movie has the audacity to show blood on at least two occasions: the sword fight and an incident where Mrs. Brisby cuts herself on a cage. In an age where entire wars are fought in children's movies with nary a drop of blood to be found -- such as in Disney's “Chronicles of Narnia” -- such things are completely unheard of! Imagine... telling a child that if he fights, he will bleed!

“Secret of NIMH” is a powerful film, filled with images that stay with you for years to come (Dragon the Cat was terrifying to behold as a youngster). It's rare that you revisit something you love from you childhood to find it has not faded or grown stale. Yet “NIMH” is still fresh, exciting and creepy, just as it was when I was... however young I was when I first saw it.

Truly a movie that proves the magic of the medium.


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Yours Until Hell Freezes Over,
Jeremiah