The Secret of NIMH: CR #30

Once again, nothing came out this week. Thankfully, next week look's to be pretty exciting. But this is besides the point. Today's review is of a movie that I hold dear from my childhood. It was one that I saw on a whim and had forgotten about a little bit. That was until I heard about people who called this film one of animation guru Don Bluth's best. So, after many years I returned to this movie, does it hold up as much as people say? Let's find out in my review of..

PLOT
Based on the book "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH", "The Secret of NIMH" follows the story of Mrs. Brisby, a field mouse whose husband has recently died and one of her four children has fallen severely ill. After seeking advice from the Great Owl, Mrs. Brisby must now go into the rosebush in search of the super-intelligent rats of NIMH to save here family. There, she finds that she has more of connection with these rats then she originally thought.



PROS
This film was made by the incredible Don Bluth, who you must likely know as the director of "An American Tail" and the video game "Dragon's Lair", He's known for his amazing animation, and his team doesn't disappoint here. The animation, while just over 30 years old, still holds up and looks impressive to this day. It's tiring just to think about all the work that went into making this movie look as good as it does.

This was made back in the day when kids films rarely talked down to their audience, and this film is a prime example. While it does have its childish moments, it still treats its audience like human beings, allowing for slow are dark moments to be the focus. While it never goes too far that kids won't like or understand it, it still feels edgy and challenging for kids, while still being entertaining for the adults as well.

There's an interesting theme about magic vs science. This film incorporates both aspects yet find a balance between both of them. While none are that well explained, they're hinted at enough that you can put the pieces together.



CONS
There's a character in the film named Jeremy, who's a clumsy crow. He seems like an extreme attempt to pander to kids. While he never got too on my nerves, and does actually serve a spot in the plot, he did ruin some scenes that he was in.

The film is just under an hour and a half, and it feels rushed because of it. The movie moves at a break net speed and I was surprised when it ended because it felt so short. While it's not too big of a problem, I just wish they had extended the film so we could clarify or explore more of the rats or the characters.


CONCLUSION
This is a great kids film that thankfully still holds up to this day. It's dark while still being light-hearted, it has a plot that challenges not only kids but their parents as well. Overall, this a great animated film that if you or your kids haven't seen yet, is the very next one of the list of stuff to see.


RATING
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Want to read more of my reviews? Well here's last week's review:http://newandclassicreviews.blogspot.com/2013/02/sinister-cr-29.html

And here's the link to the New and Classic Reviews archive:http://newandclassicreviews.blogspot.com/p/new-and-classic-reviews-archive.html