Review of The Secret of NIMH (1982) by David C — 17 Oct 2009

I've wanted to see The Secret of NIMH ever since my mother wouldn't allow me to see it when I was young. It was released 2 years before I was born, right around the time Disney released The Fox and the Hound. I can see now why my mother didn't want me to see this one: it's very dark, violent, and scary, especially for a really young kid. While the animation effects are stunning, especially their work with light and color, I was very surprised by how twisted and scary some of the characters and settings were, the seriousness of the themes and tone, and the appearance of blood in a kids' film, more than once even. The animation is surprisingly top notch for a feature film not from Disney at the time, but I can see why Disney opted out of this script: There's hardly anything soft or fuzzy about it. While I liked the characters (even the overly-timid Mrs. Brisby) I did feel that the script had a number of painful holes and was marred by an abrupt and deus ex machina ending.

A very dark yet superbly animated film.