The Secret if NIMH Movie Review: Flashback

30
Oct 24
0

The Secret if NIMH Movie Review: Flashback

To save her ill son, a field mouse must seek the aid of a colony of rats, with whom she has a deeper link than she suspected.

Why did I come to this movie again?

I haven’t seen this film since I was a kid. Literally all I remembered was that there were rats—some of them were ugly, the captain of the guard was cool, there was a glowing red stone, and the story wasn’t light and fluffy like the Disney movies of the time.

That’s it.

I was nervous about watching it again, because so many things from the 80s, and therefore my childhood, have, upon rewatching, disappointed me.

4 of 5

Characters

As I stated, I didn’t remember much of this film, and one of the things I’d forgotten was the main character. I was surprised that it’s a young mother. One rule of a kid’s movie is that it should be about kids. This one is about the children, in the fact that the mom is trying to save them, but it felt wrong to be looking at a cartoon through a mother’s eyes, not a kid’s.

Now, Mrs. Brisby is a great character. She’s nothing special but she finds her courage when she needs it and comes through many times in the movie. They didn’t make her an expert in fighting, magic, negotiating, science, and everything else that the strong female protagonists of today have to be able to do. Instead, she’s simply a good mom who is doing her best.

Jeremy, the comic relief crow, was over the top, but still fun and helpful. Sort of.

Auntie Shrew is a stereotype that I struggle with. I basically want to slap her and duct tape her mouth shut. However, she is good in a crisis. I’ll give her that.

The rats were too ambiguous for me. They were all cardboard cutout characters. Mysterious old dude, dude who wants more power, the strapping captain of the guards and all-around good guy…I would have loved more depth here.

4 of 5

Did I care what happened?

This film has action, but in general, the pacing is slow. The first fifteen minutes were a little painful for me, but that’s probably my writer brain screaming to hurry up and get to the good stuff.

This isn’t a long film, and it kept me entertained. As a matter of fact, I had some delicious homemade chocolate ice cream in the freezer that I wanted to go get, but waited until after the movie was over. So that’s good, right?

4 of 5

Plot Holes

Here’s the writer brain again…whole swaths of this movie barely make sense. It’s really two different stories held together by Jonathan Brisby, who died before the film started.

On one hand, we’ve got super smart rats that humans accidentally made who have escaped and are living under a rose bush. They use electricity and medicine, but also wear clothes that come right from a fantasy film, brandish swords, and there’s a random magical stone.

On the other hand, we’ve got a mom trying to save her family and there’s only one other mouse in this whole field is willing to help?

Both stories are interesting, but they didn’t mesh well for me.

It felt like the writers were checking off the trope boxes for a fantasy film, while also telling an everyday woman’s tale. It was too much.

3 of 5

How many times did I yawn?

After the first fifteen minutes I was fine.

4 of 5

Cool Factor

The 2D animation of this film is awesome. The tale itself is dark, which was unusual at the time, and therefore unique.

I have a handful of visuals from it burned into my brain from when I was a kid, which means the style made an impression then and it holds up now.

5 of 5

The End

The end fell flat for me. Only because 99% of the story is based in science, and then we have the mysterious stone that magically saves the day.

Where did that come from? Did Nicodemus get special magic from the humans? No one ever explains. I’ve heard that the book this is based on has no magic in it, which would make more sense.

Don’t get me wrong, the moment the protagonist uses the stone to drag her home out of the mud is amazing! It’s just…confusing.

4 of 5

Overall Enjoyment

After watching it again, I can see why I liked it as a kid. The rats were kind of awesome, and there was some great action. Not to mention the darker feel of the story than the Disney films of the time, which both scared and excited me.

This movie holds up pretty well.

4 of 5

Total: 32