Actually the movie does explain why the old mouse's leg is in the cast. It's because he broke it drugging the cat Dragon on the last rat expedition before Mrs. Brisby shows up. The implication is that the rats are constantly stealing stuff from the farmers (that scene where the rats are taking the power cable by the window, and the human woman is expositioning about NiMH for example), and each time they do it, they have to drug Dragon. But since Jonathan died (in the recent past? it's not specified, but I got the impression it wasn't that long ago), they needed another small mouse to fill in his role. And at that time, the only option was the old alchemist mouse. He did it, but he got injured, thus the cast. In fact, Mrs. Brisby and the Hunky Hero Rat talk about it specifically while canoeing down the waterway.
"The lee of the stone" isn't the name of the magical stone, it's the side of the stone that is safe from the harvester. Usually used in nautical terms, but the "lee side" of something is the side "protected and sheltered from the wind". if you look at the stone, it's got a sharp lean to one side. The Brisby home was originally on the other side of the stone, and thus open to the sky and field, so it was in a portion of the field that would get plowed come harvest time. But the lee side, the side curving inwards, if they move the concrete block under that, will protect the house and her family. Because apparently the farmer considers that natural feature just part of the land, and plows around it, and doesn't seed that spot directly. So with her home moved to "the lee of the stone", it will keep her family safe for the foreseeable future. The magical stone is just the deus ex machina device to accomplish that engineering feat, after the mundane "rats with ropes and pulleys" method fails due to sabotage. But it's entirely about that big rock that you see (often in the background establishing shots when they show the full farm)
Mr Goblin man I humbly ask you to the read the series Gotrek and Felix. It is a warhammer Fantasy series about a Dwarf Slayer and his Human companion going around and killing things the first book is titled Troll Slayer. If you’re having trouble finding any of the book their all on audible
The Lee of the Stone is different from Nicodemus’ red magic stone. “Lee” is old English for “sheltering place”, so the Lee of the Stone is just the place under a rock/stone overhang. The Great Owl tells her to move her house there because a tractor can’t plow there and they’d be safe. And then there’s the red magic stone, which is just a different thing.
The "lee" isn't a place under something, it's just the sheltered side. The "leeward" side of a mountain, for example is the opposite side as the "windward" side. It is the side sheltered from the wind. It's not an old world either; it's still in regular use (as with the leeward side of a mountain mentioned above).😊
as we say in danish "læsiden" (leeward side) eller "gå i læ" (take shelter). It is from Old English hleo, and similarly to Old Norse hle eller Old Saxon hleo.
@@kadenthistime9107 Came here to say the same thing! If you look at wideshots of the Brisby home, you can even see the large stone; Mrs Brisby and the Shrew meet at the top of it just before the tractor starts up.
In the original book there is no magic and I highly recommend the book! You get much more of the rats culture and their way of thinking. Plus Jeremy is not annoying, he's adorable 💚🖤 SPOILER! He's the one in fact who tells Brisby about the owl.
Yeah the decision to make them magic rats instead of enhanced lab rats kind of changes the whole premise into one that……doesn’t really make any narrative sense. I remember as a child I read the book first then was a bit disappointed with the movie. I mean, it was fine, but the book was much better.
I LOVE the Secret of NiMH. Watched that film a million times as a kid back in the 80s. Specifically BECAUSE it was telling a mature story, with serious stakes, and actual drama and tension. It felt like a "real" story, a Shakespearean type of drama, with blood, betrayal, death, sword fights, a looming larger threat beyond the understanding and control of the majority of the characters. It just felt so good to watch it growing up
Nicodemus explains why Jonathan was keeping secrets. The animal experimentation also extended their lifespan, so that she would have grown old while he stayed young
In the book the broken leg is explained its because he was the one who did the last cat drugging run but was injured, which is why they need Mrs Frisby to do it on moving day.
I really appreciate stories for kids that allow scary themes or visuals to be processed in a safe environment. You can turn the movie off, or close the book and everything is fine.
Agreed. Kids can often handle a lot more than most parents think. Letting them explore darker visuals and themes in a controlled environment is good for them I think
@@ViridianCrisis7 That's the entire reason horror movies are popular among all ages - they allow us to confront scary concepts in the safety of our homes.
This movie was a childhood favorite of mine. I would point out that the (magic) Stone is not called a 'Lee Stone.' The lee of the stone is a location. One of the primary plot lines is the need to protect the Brisby home from the plow. It's at risk because it's out in the middle of the field (ignoring the fact that the farmer would have plowed the fields the previous year and wouldn't run his plow over a cinder-block...), and you'll notice that the film frequently features a large, stone outcrop that juts up into the air close to the Brisby home. The owl's advice was to move the home to the lee of the stone, lee being the protected side, and you'll notice that when Mrs. Brisby moves the home, she places it right underneath that rock where it would be unlikely for the plow to go, thus keeping it safe.
This. So much. Everytime he said the stone of Li I twitched. Also, this movie requires a few rewarches to catch all of the nuances that he's confused on. Movies weren't as blatant as that are now.
The Lee of the stone is the leeward side of the stone, where the tractor isn’t going to harvest. This is actually explained in the film. This level of misinterpretation that he just runs with is annoying and really undercuts the analysis of the film. Reminiscent of the problem Daniel had with the end of Arcane.
It honestly took me until I was 12 and we got stationed in Hawaii that I finally understood what this meant since things on the island were referred to as being on the Windward or Leeward part of the island.
@@piratetv1 Dogs aren't dangerous! (Fyi, it was 'There's a dog loose in the woods', one of Fiver's premonitions which leads to chewing through the strap on the dog's leash and letting the dog *loose* in the woods.) My favorite was reading the book and seeing the original movie, and other than the omission of some of the religious scenes (generally story-telling scenes), the two were nearly word-for-word alike. It's rare that the movie and book are so similar, with studios wanting to Hollywood the movie up, and water it down to make it 'safe' for kids (but, if we're being real, making it safe for the parents to feel good about their parental instincts, re-imagined under church doctrine).
I read Watership Down in 4th grade and it quickly became one of my favorite novels. "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" was also a fantastic book for a younger audience.
Love media that doesn't talk down to kids. I think the Edge Chronicles is my spiritual successor to things like Nimh. Not in terms of world / plot, but in terms of weirdness and horrifying shenanigans in a children's fantasy story.
G-rated because we weren't babies back then. It was actually important to educate children. Far less kids wwent on milk cartons back then than now because kids knew better
the secret of nimh was required reading when i was in school, not only did we read the book but got to watch the movie after finishing. i read the book maybe 12 time before my 20s and i need to find another copy.
First off, it has been suggested that the movie can be seen as nature vs. technology vs. the unknown (magic) and how they don't have to be mutually exclusive. Jonathan was a hyperintelligent mouse. Brisby was probably the smartest mouse in the area he met. Would you burden your love with things beyond her understanding? If not for Timmy, she would have never dared to visit the great owl. So why would he worry her by telling her he was visiting the great owl? Something he obviously hasn't even been telling Mr. Ages? That he visits the rats? That he regularly risked his life drugging the cat for the rats? It's also quite possible that Jonathan like the simple life he had with Brisby. The shrew could have wanted Brisby gone to raise the kids herself 'the right way' as she sees it. After all, the shrew risks her own life to safe the kids from the tractor, wanted to defend them from the rats.. Also, the rats talk about going to war with the humans and think they have a chance of winning. Makes you wonder what they have up their sleeves. It's not just that the experimentation made the rats more intelligent. To enable them to read, the injections must have also given them knowledge, something that has been raised as a possibility in the past. So, how much knowledge did the rats get? Sure, that plot point could have been worked out more, but then again, it's a story about Mrs. Brisby, not the rats. BTW, Mr. Ages broke his leg as he tried to drug the cat. Finally, I know the movie has it's flaws. Still love it. You went into detail the horrors Mrs. Brisby faced and all that just for her son. I'd say this makes her one of the strongest females in movie history on the same level as Sarah Conner and Ellen Ripley.
The Secret of NIMH and Watership Down gave my 5 year old self quite a few restless nights.. My parents assumed that since it was a cartoon it was fine and just left me to watch on my own. Watership Down is kind of a weird one as well btw Daniel if you haven't seen that yet.
Hell yes, watch the 1978 animated masterpiece Watership Down if you haven't seen it already Daniel (4K remaster just been completed). It's a UK tradition for parents who have seen it to laugh their asses off as their kids watch it for the first time. 😁
I think it should also be noted that both Shannen Doherty as Teresa Brisby and Wil Wheaton as Martin Brisby were some of the famous voices in the film. Don Bluth's best known animation is An American Tale with Spielberg, and animated Dragon's Lair the arcade game. Titan A.E. anyone? What an incredible person who overcame two industry collapses he'd built businesses around and continued to do his best.
Dude I am super biased as an animation-specific supergeek but I would LOVE more weird fantasy movie coverage like this. Plot silliness aside this is my absolute favorite Don Bluth movie, the atmosphere and design and art are like crack to me. I love to see some respect given to these wild animated fantasy movies
Your scenario of the parents sitting down their kids not knowing what they are about to watch was EXACTLY what happened to me with the movie animated movie Watership Down (78’). The 80s were a wild time my friend. We lived on the edge of entertainment and trauma.
I've never actually seen the film but I remember reading Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH as a child and while I remember very little about it, I remember it being incredibly strange. I really need to watch this film and revisit the story.
I grew up (going to show my age) watching Don Bluth movies. Land Before Time and American Tale and All Dogs go to Heaven. all of which I feel scarred me as a kid.
Land before time? ... one word: Sharptooth. Brilliant movie. Too bad only one was ever made. American Tale? Ever been afraid of being alone? Ever get lost? If not, now you know what it feels like. All Dogs? I've never seen a movie actually go with a more controversial and traumatic ending... But its OK, upbeat music makes it all bettah - FOR KIDS! Don Bluth wasn't afraid to show the thorns under the roses and draw some blood on them, and it makes the roses just that much sweeter; rather like real life, most joys come at the cost of some degree of suffering. I think thats why they also stuck with me more than Disney. I remember as a kid, my parents gave us the choice between Little Mermaid and All Dogs, and I chose All Dogs while siblings went to Mermaid. No regrets, its an odd but heartfelt story and we need more like it. Might be because of my love of horror movies and decidedly dark humor - or maybe responsible for it? meh who knows.
As a kid aged 4 till 12, I spent every Thanksgiving bedridden with pneumonia. Watching this movie on a VHS tape recorded from TV (with commercials included) became a tradition. The first time watching it with my kids on the real Disney VHS was kind of bittersweet, I missed the commercials and bad tracking.....
Jeremy is comic relief, lol. Honestly though, watching your thoughts on seeing this show for the first time made me smile. It is one of my favorite childhood films.
The slow drag of the G rating, across the screen is just fucking **chefs kiss** I also need to say, I would give just about anything to be on the couch and watch this with you guys, just to see your initial reactions and talk about it with you. We've got to be able to set up some kind of group viewing session For stuff somehow.
Have you seen "Fern Gully"? There's a Bat voiced by Robin Williams that also talks about being experimented on, who I have always headcanoned is one of those animals that escaped from NIMH.
Spot on including the Wonka tunnel. That part scared me for so long. Not quite as scary as Return to Oz. What the French toast was that nightmare acid trip!
I highly suggest watching the other Bluth films. They're all some level of adult topic made for kids without pulling punches. Plus, the animation style cannot be beat.
I LOVE The Secret or Nihm. I remember my uncle taking me to see it in the theater. Between it and "Watership Down", my childhood was traumatic . If you haven't read or watched Watership Down, do it, do it now!
You have to remember that most every animal in the story is a feral; the few exceptions being: ~ the NIMH rats themselves (plus Jonathan and Mr Ages) ~ the Brisby children (half-NIMH, half-feral) ~ the Great Owl (who obviously has a long history with the NIMH rats) Mrs Brisby herself was technically a feral, though far more advanced than any other feral due to her relationship with Jonathan. She was able to read (albeit haltingly), knew what electricity was, and had a far greater understanding of the world around her than anyone else apart from the NIMH rats themselves. The field animals normally would suffer all manner of predation, but owls are very territorial and the Great Owl has ruled the vicinity for longer than the field animals have been alive. All they know is that owls are supposedly very wise and that the Great Owl is positively ancient so must be the wisest owl of all; though Auntie Shrew may or may not know that owls are predators, she sees Mrs Brisby's situation as desperate enough to warrant the risk in seeking wisdom from the Great Owl. Auntie Shrew is like the OG HOA Karen - obnoxious and always meddling in everyone's affairs, though she did have genuine concern for their well-being. Being influenced by Jonathan and knowing how capable their children are, Mrs Brisby is confident that the kids are capable of taking care of themselves; Auntie Shrew knows nothing about NIMH and views the Brisby kids as she would anyone else's. (Understandably, the kids feel like she's patronizing them - Theresa, being the eldest, tolerates it, but it ticks off Martin to no end.) It does actually come up that Mr Ages twisted his foot while trying to drug Dragon's food dish. Back when the original story was written, animal experimentation - particularly using rats and mice - was absolutely insane. In fact, look into the Rat Utopia Experiment (there were several, all of them wild, but one in particular will probably be the top search result.) Don Bluth intentionally took the story in a slightly different direction, as something of a dedication to just how far mothers will go to protect their children - often leagues beyond anything the children ever find out about. Growing up on a farm in Utah, young Don got the merest glimpses of how hard his mother worked; as a husband and father, he witnessed the other side of the equation firsthand, even then not sure that he was getting the full picture of just how fiercely his wife dedicated herself to their children.
YES! So happy you're talking about one of my favourite childhood movies! :D But no need to bother watching the sequel, it's just a safe, mediocre kids movie. It's not even bad enough to laugh at. If you want more weirdness try Felidae if you haven't seen it already. It's not as good as NIMH of course, but still a lot of fun.
THIS MOVIE. I LOVED it from the first time I saw it as a kid. In fact, I have a hard copy of the book right now in my library… And I was just looking at it yesterday. When I saw the title of this, I was really hoping that that is exactly what you would be doing. I'm so very happy that it is. Oh. Did I happen to mention that I bought a cosplay version of the stone necklace off Etsy? Yeah. And it's literally hanging in my jewelry box right now. But I can't post a picture… Unfortunately
This movie was integral to my childhood. Appropriately, and tragically, my pet rat, Nicodemus, was my first real experience with death. Also: as an adult, I like to imagine this rural farm family walking outside one night to see a glowing mouse using magic to levitate a cinder block out of some mud. A wide shot showing these dumbfounded yokels just staring slack-jawed in total shock. Man, the 80's sucked in a lot of ways, but what a fucking decade.
Yes, gently nestled between the Boomer generation that grew up on Leave It to Beaver, and the Millennial generation that grew up on mass produced Disney Channel shows, there was Generation X, whose nightmares were created by Don Bluth animated films.
@Gregory11811 Us Millennials also grew up on the nightmare fuel of the 80's and early 90's. It's not like the cultural reach of these shows ended the year they came out. It's strange to remember now, but culture moved much slower pre-internet. Hell, Nick at Night was a big part of my childhood along with a cadre of shows, both live action and animated, from the 50's through the 70's. Today, a show's popularity falls as fast as it peaks because the new thing is already out. The softening of kids programming didn't happen until Nick Jr and the mass produced Disney stuff didn't kick in until the very late 90's and 00's. My generation got the patented 80's trauma n' shlock, but also the Disney Afternoon and Nickelodeon before it turned to mush.
This was my favorite book, as a child! I read it over and over and over! I still have it. I think I'll get it out and read it again! It led me to love animals and science. I actually ended up working with lab rats and mice for 20 years. Since i was a kid, I've had recurring dreams of exploring the rat's lair under the rosebush! It's obviously a core memory 😅
Yeah that's another weird one. Remember, say it's WEIRD, and he'll watch it. Keep the bit that it's also good between us. *makes hushing gestures* WEIRD, that's the word of the day, WEEEEIIIIIRRRDD!!
I second all the recommendations for watership down, but also have you ever seen the black cauldron? Not as weird as nihm but definitely fantasy and a bit weird.
The book is one of my favorite books ever!!! But the movie is sooo magical; her entering the rose bush takes my breath away every time I watch it! I broke our vhs of it cuz I watched it so much :’)
What is a lee of the stone? "Lee" is an Old English word that means "sheltering space." The phrase "lee of the stone" refers to the fact that the size, shape, and angle of The Stone creates a sheltered space directly behind it that remains dry and protected from the high winds and harsh rains of a seasonal storm.
I loved your interpretation. Definitely one of my favorite movies. I was a psych major. I had to work with rats. I couldn’t take it he kept biting me. So, dropped out wishing my rat was sent to NIMH
Yep, welcome to 80's kids movies.We were tougher back then. 😂 You should try The Last Unicorn. And if you want weird kids movies I recommend Labyrinth or Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Although if you want weird, with trippy scenery, and kinda dark you need to watch The Thief and the Cobbler.
I think you should read the original book it's based on! I read it over a year ago and while the story largely stays the same, the magic was purely an invention of the film while the book focused more on the backstory of the rats and how they came to build their own society! The film is fantasy, but the book is _firmly sci-fi._
The craziest thing about this is it was inspired by a TRUE STORY about rats and mice. Seriously! John B. Calhoun was the scientist who studied rats and mice for the National Institute of Mental Health. He built rodent utopias and then overcrowded them to watch the apocalypse. The rats turned into cannibals in spite of having enough food. The mice that survived "Universe 25" ended up being really odd and not rodent-like (the scientists dubbed them the "Beautiful Ones" so that's pretty weird.) Science in the mid-20th century was stranger than fiction.
Even though I’m gen Z I still like to watch older movies sometimes and I remember watching this as a kid and being like what on earth is happening, also another thing that I think needs to be said is that in the 80s people usually didn’t write the best female protagonists but honestly Mrs Brisby is an Amazing main character I mean she literally took on a tractor and other things to like she ain’t gonna let anyone tell her that she can’t take care of herself and her children.
The book is really good. "Mrs FRISBY and the Rats of NIMH." The movie changed a lot of stuff, not just the MC's name. It was one of my favorite books as a kid and I never liked the movie, mostly because it was so unfaithful to the book and I felt betrayed.
I am a defender of auntie Shrew, she started out rough, but she showed her metal with the plough, it was auntie Shrew who stopped it, it was auntie Shrew who suggested to go and see the great owl, and auntie Shrew saw a crazy stranger snooping about and subbed dued him. People like this are needed as they will keep it real with you and not wrap you up in cotton. Excellent video non the less, thank you🙏♥️
Okay, if you like the Fantasy elements of Secret of NIMH, you'll love the Science Fiction elements of Rats of NIMH. Same story roughly, though no fantasy, and goes into lots of detail about how the rats (and Mrs. Frisby's mouse husband) were experimented on and became so intelligent. It's a whole other beast and one absolutely worth reading!
I was a perpetually sick lil kid once upon a time and I always loved this movie. Now the younger kids in my family all burst into tears and are too afraid to watch it past the owl. Bit sad really.
The Secret of NIMH is easily one of my favorite family films from growing up. Always happy to see someone new discover how amazing it is. Wanted to make a few corrections, I'm sure someone else probably pointed these out because it's the internet. 1. Mrs Brisby didn't stop the tractor, she froze and couldn't move. Aunty Shrew stepped up and stopped the tractor. 2. They do explain how Mr Ages broke his leg. Justin tells Mrs Brisby it happened when drugging the cat while they were passing under the mill in the boat.
Right? And all his nonsense with the string and shiny are in character for a crow. He isn't trying to "buy" the female crow, he's trying to attract her with things crows like.
My mom read me the book version as a bedtime story when i was little, and it gave her awful nightmares that our house was crawling with rats. She only told me this when i was a teenager, it was one of my favorite bedtime reads and i still remember it with a lot of nostalgia. I definitely remember the book being less bizarre than this movie tho
It was my 7th birthday party, and my parents had rented a VCR, which was a thing becoming ever more popular. They'd rented two movies - one with Greek myths, which I adored (the myths, that is)...but it sucked so bad it made even my parents cringe and turn it off. Instead they put on The Secret of NIMH. After ten minutes they popped their heads out to check on us kids because over twenty rambunctious seven-year-olds were being dead silent. We were transfixed.
Anywho, we loved it. Absolutely adored it. I'd say 7-8 is the perfect age to watch it at. Not too smart to fly over your head, not so childish it makes you walk off bored. I think it's mentioned in the movie, but is definitely mentioned in the book, that Jonathan went with our heroine for a reason - something about her was important. Also, Timmy is shown as having inherited his smarts.
I think it's mentioned, but the movie actually does explain the broken leg. He broke it on one of the missions to drug the cat. (I've not read the book. I gather it's more straight science fiction.) People my age sometimes talk about kids movies being more "hardcore" then, but I don't think everyone was totally chill with that even at the time. I think the things that made it shocking for me as a boy is Justin says "Damn" and you see rats bleeding to death from stab wounds. My Aunt I remember seemed a bit worried how much I liked it. I kind of like the vibe that there are things and motivations we don't fully understand. It sort-of makes the world feel bigger in a way. But I think one of the main things to stick with me is that this has a heroic mom. This was extremely rare in animation then, maybe now too, and it doesn't make her even a fearless mom or action hero type. She clearly is scared of many things, but she pushes through to benefit her family. Her dead husband leading a double-life is maybe a tad weird for her, but possibly it's a bit like people married to someone in the CIA or something. Well with the added element he ages different than her. Oh wait I also liked that it had a strong science fictional aspect rather than being straight fantasy. Science fictional kids stories are pretty common now, but I think back then they were limited to stories of aliens and robots. Biological science type science fiction I don't think was common.
I love this movie back my Navy days we ran Rats of Nihm D&D campaign it was great. We all played small charaters mouse druid, squirrel paladin, frog monk, etc. 😅
My parents always bought the straight to vhs sequels to films and not their first films, so I grew up with the sequel but never saw this film! I don’t remember anything about the sequel but wow is this first film wild!
I love the escape from my daily reality that I gaine from Daniel's videos. So I hate saying this, but please go out to vote. It may be the most important thing you do this century.
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh was such a good book! I remember we had to read it in school, and then watched the movie. I like both, but I remember loving the book!
Justin and Jenner's swordfight is FIRE, it's an incredibly well animated action sequence that STILL looks great today. When I was a kid I just thought it was cool and really vibed with it, but then years later I saw the old 60s historical epic The Vikings and I received a shock when I saw the climactic showdown between Tony Curtis and Kirk Douglas - Don Bluth and the animators OBVIOUSLY based the whole thing on it, SHOT FOR SHOT. Bloody genius, really ...
The "lee of the stone" the owl talks about is the side that isn't hit by wind. The sheltered side. It's old timey language to say "hey make sure your sick boy is moved to a place where the wind won't hit your house and make him sicker!"
In that case, may I recommend some of Diana Wynne Jones' other books, all of which are significantly weirder? Specifically: Deep Secret, The Merlin Conspiracy, The Dark Lord of Derkholm, Dogsbody, Fire and Hemlock, The Homeward Bounders, and Hexwood. All of these except Hexwood are among my favourite books of all time.
Love the review of the movie. I want to reiterate that you should definitely read the book, as per usual, it's better. I did not remember that there was a sequel to this, so I'm kinda curious.
I was 13 when this movie came out. Oddly enough never read the book.... I've owned this movie in 3 iterations, recorded from cable, then VHS, and now DVD. This and The Last Unicorn are 2 of my faves from that era, including Tron (the original) and Legend. These were the best escapes from reality in my youth! Love the nostalgia this saturday morning. I might have to have a marathon today. :D
I loved that movie so much as a child. This movie is where I got my hatred for the practice of lab testing on animals. Also, the Lee of the Stone is a location also, Jeremy is a crow. Crows like shiny things
The film is quite nice. The book? The book is a FUDGING PIECE OF ART. I remember being unable to put it down every time I picked it up, and it's one of the few books that I actually read multiple times. It has a very special place in my heart, especially since it manages to both be accessible for children and at the same time treat the reader like an adult. Also, it makes A LOT more sense than the film ... XD XD XD
While watching the part about drugging the cat, one of mine jumped on my lap, and I thought to myself that he would absolutely try to make friends with Mrs. Brisby and offer to help her 😂.
Please read the book too! A lot of the stuff that makes no sense in the movie is explained in the book and left out for some reason. The Secret of Nimh is one of my favorite books of all time and I'm actually currently conceptualizing a video game that would be a spiritual successor to it.
Love your comments and dissection of the movie. This is definitely one of those movies you think back on as an adult and go "WTF did I watch??" Another 90's animated movie that's weirdly dark with sentient animals is Once Upon a Forest. I think you'd find it an interesting watch.
Really liked this video. Going through your history it doesn’t look like something you do often, but you should! You have great insight, you’re funny, I love your appreciation for the great elements and critiques for areas that used to bug me a bit too (the J names 😅) Hope you consider watching more movies for the first time and give this kind of breakdown.
I’m glad that “Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland” made me as a kid instead of “The Secret of NIMH.” You should watch that some time Mr. Greene. Peak children’s fantasy.
Just ran into this and damn! You nailed it all. But just to answer a couple of your questions/ponderances: We are dealing with animals. Mice have litters of kids - hence why she was never around to know much about Jonathan's doings. And Jeremy is a crow. Crows LOVE anything that shines and is reflective. So his weirdness for the pendant is just natural animal habit. The owl, well, most owls hunt at night. And being he was an old owl he probably needs to get all the food he can. The lights - well we are dealing with a mix of magic/shamanism/druidism and a technology, so... All in all the world building was great for this film.
@@KatjeKat86 Secret of NIMH 2. Timmy's Adventure. Art style is complete 180, Disney-style, which is why I hate it. I didn't come to NIMH wanting a happy venture
@giggleanthropisticon7061 Thanks for the warning, the art is one of the reasons why I fell in love with it as a child. And of course the dark but happy ending story.
In his defense, i actually give Jeremy a little more credit in thoroughing the storyline in regards to the climax of the movie. Of course, things dont go according to plan jointly due to Jeremy being Jeremy and Auntie Shrew being Auntie Shrew.
great vid. loved it, love The secret of Nimh. but ummm just a side note: you dont havest farm fields in the spring when the frost disappears. he was tilling the field to be planted
I wholly believe that this is canonically part of the Redwall universe. That's your canonical ending. The rats wipeout humanity and estabilish Christianity.
I've only just started Redwall. The idea of it as some kind of post-apocalyptic scenario is kind of interesting. Ever see the cartoon "Peace on Earth"? One of the weirdest Christmas cartoons. Humanity wipes itself out through war and the animals take-over plus decide to be Christians. I believe it was before even the book "The Planet of the Apes" was written. (It was, by decades in fact.)
The reason this is rated G is at the time, there was no PG in the rating system. It was either good for kids, or not. Fun Fact, the first PG movie was Red Dawn.
Uh, what?! There's been a PG rating as long as MPAA ratings have existed, but it was originally GP. They reversed the letters and revised the definition, but it was the same thing.
Thank you Squarespace for sponsoring today's video: www.squarespace.com/danielgreene
Now watch the sequel!!
Actually the movie does explain why the old mouse's leg is in the cast. It's because he broke it drugging the cat Dragon on the last rat expedition before Mrs. Brisby shows up. The implication is that the rats are constantly stealing stuff from the farmers (that scene where the rats are taking the power cable by the window, and the human woman is expositioning about NiMH for example), and each time they do it, they have to drug Dragon. But since Jonathan died (in the recent past? it's not specified, but I got the impression it wasn't that long ago), they needed another small mouse to fill in his role. And at that time, the only option was the old alchemist mouse. He did it, but he got injured, thus the cast. In fact, Mrs. Brisby and the Hunky Hero Rat talk about it specifically while canoeing down the waterway.
"The lee of the stone" isn't the name of the magical stone, it's the side of the stone that is safe from the harvester. Usually used in nautical terms, but the "lee side" of something is the side "protected and sheltered from the wind". if you look at the stone, it's got a sharp lean to one side. The Brisby home was originally on the other side of the stone, and thus open to the sky and field, so it was in a portion of the field that would get plowed come harvest time. But the lee side, the side curving inwards, if they move the concrete block under that, will protect the house and her family. Because apparently the farmer considers that natural feature just part of the land, and plows around it, and doesn't seed that spot directly. So with her home moved to "the lee of the stone", it will keep her family safe for the foreseeable future. The magical stone is just the deus ex machina device to accomplish that engineering feat, after the mundane "rats with ropes and pulleys" method fails due to sabotage. But it's entirely about that big rock that you see (often in the background establishing shots when they show the full farm)
Mr Goblin man I humbly ask you to the read the series Gotrek and Felix. It is a warhammer Fantasy series about a Dwarf Slayer and his Human companion going around and killing things the first book is titled Troll Slayer. If you’re having trouble finding any of the book their all on audible
DO NOT WATCH THE SEQUEL!
I enjoyed it because it's fun, but if you're there for Plot, you're going to Hate it.
The Lee of the Stone is different from Nicodemus’ red magic stone. “Lee” is old English for “sheltering place”, so the Lee of the Stone is just the place under a rock/stone overhang. The Great Owl tells her to move her house there because a tractor can’t plow there and they’d be safe. And then there’s the red magic stone, which is just a different thing.
THIS!!! bumping so that it gets more views.
The "lee" isn't a place under something, it's just the sheltered side. The "leeward" side of a mountain, for example is the opposite side as the "windward" side. It is the side sheltered from the wind. It's not an old world either; it's still in regular use (as with the leeward side of a mountain mentioned above).😊
as we say in danish "læsiden" (leeward side) eller "gå i læ" (take shelter). It is from Old English hleo, and similarly to Old Norse hle eller Old Saxon hleo.
@@kadenthistime9107 Came here to say the same thing! If you look at wideshots of the Brisby home, you can even see the large stone; Mrs Brisby and the Shrew meet at the top of it just before the tractor starts up.
It's the unplowed triangle behind the stone. From the tractor driving around it and missing a bit.
In the original book there is no magic and I highly recommend the book! You get much more of the rats culture and their way of thinking. Plus Jeremy is not annoying, he's adorable 💚🖤 SPOILER! He's the one in fact who tells Brisby about the owl.
Yeah the decision to make them magic rats instead of enhanced lab rats kind of changes the whole premise into one that……doesn’t really make any narrative sense. I remember as a child I read the book first then was a bit disappointed with the movie. I mean, it was fine, but the book was much better.
I didn't realize this was an adaptation. Nifty. I'll definitely check out the book.
tbh the whole thing reminds me of the Redwall series. I knew several kids in middle school who got OBSESSED with them.
Wow... I never saw the film, and I'm glad I didn't because it's clearly total nonsense. They'll be doing American accented Fantastic Mr Fox next. :(
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH was a middle school English assignment. I DEVOURED it.
I LOVE the Secret of NiMH. Watched that film a million times as a kid back in the 80s. Specifically BECAUSE it was telling a mature story, with serious stakes, and actual drama and tension. It felt like a "real" story, a Shakespearean type of drama, with blood, betrayal, death, sword fights, a looming larger threat beyond the understanding and control of the majority of the characters. It just felt so good to watch it growing up
Nicodemus explains why Jonathan was keeping secrets. The animal experimentation also extended their lifespan, so that she would have grown old while he stayed young
In the book the broken leg is explained its because he was the one who did the last cat drugging run but was injured, which is why they need Mrs Frisby to do it on moving day.
I believe this is also explained in the movie in a single line of dialogue.
I thought there was a reason for that Lolz
Yeah it explains this in the movie too
I really appreciate stories for kids that allow scary themes or visuals to be processed in a safe environment.
You can turn the movie off, or close the book and everything is fine.
Agreed. Kids can often handle a lot more than most parents think. Letting them explore darker visuals and themes in a controlled environment is good for them I think
I mean... I grew up with Mr Noseybonk and Zelda from Terrahawks. Nothing scares me now. 😁
@@ViridianCrisis7 That's the entire reason horror movies are popular among all ages - they allow us to confront scary concepts in the safety of our homes.
This movie was a childhood favorite of mine. I would point out that the (magic) Stone is not called a 'Lee Stone.' The lee of the stone is a location. One of the primary plot lines is the need to protect the Brisby home from the plow. It's at risk because it's out in the middle of the field (ignoring the fact that the farmer would have plowed the fields the previous year and wouldn't run his plow over a cinder-block...), and you'll notice that the film frequently features a large, stone outcrop that juts up into the air close to the Brisby home. The owl's advice was to move the home to the lee of the stone, lee being the protected side, and you'll notice that when Mrs. Brisby moves the home, she places it right underneath that rock where it would be unlikely for the plow to go, thus keeping it safe.
This. So much. Everytime he said the stone of Li I twitched.
Also, this movie requires a few rewarches to catch all of the nuances that he's confused on. Movies weren't as blatant as that are now.
That lee stone shit was really frustrating. This is Doug Walker levels of "Didn't pay attention"
The Lee of the stone is the leeward side of the stone, where the tractor isn’t going to harvest. This is actually explained in the film. This level of misinterpretation that he just runs with is annoying and really undercuts the analysis of the film. Reminiscent of the problem Daniel had with the end of Arcane.
It isn't helped by the fact that everyone keeps referring to the amulet as "the stone," as well.
It honestly took me until I was 12 and we got stationed in Hawaii that I finally understood what this meant since things on the island were referred to as being on the Windward or Leeward part of the island.
Please, please PLEASE review The Last Unicorn and....WATERSHIP DOWN!
@cullencase3114 there's a dog in the woods, dog in the woods
Watership Down also has an annoying bird, but this one carries his weight.
@@piratetv1 Dogs aren't dangerous! (Fyi, it was 'There's a dog loose in the woods', one of Fiver's premonitions which leads to chewing through the strap on the dog's leash and letting the dog *loose* in the woods.)
My favorite was reading the book and seeing the original movie, and other than the omission of some of the religious scenes (generally story-telling scenes), the two were nearly word-for-word alike. It's rare that the movie and book are so similar, with studios wanting to Hollywood the movie up, and water it down to make it 'safe' for kids (but, if we're being real, making it safe for the parents to feel good about their parental instincts, re-imagined under church doctrine).
I read Watership Down in 4th grade and it quickly became one of my favorite novels. "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" was also a fantastic book for a younger audience.
Love media that doesn't talk down to kids. I think the Edge Chronicles is my spiritual successor to things like Nimh. Not in terms of world / plot, but in terms of weirdness and horrifying shenanigans in a children's fantasy story.
G-rated because we weren't babies back then. It was actually important to educate children. Far less kids wwent on milk cartons back then than now because kids knew better
One of my favorite films growing up. Scares the crap out of me but I couldn't stop watching it. Also the great mouse detective.
the secret of nimh was required reading when i was in school, not only did we read the book but got to watch the movie after finishing. i read the book maybe 12 time before my 20s and i need to find another copy.
I was just thinking the same thing. It would be interesting to read this again, as an adult.
First off, it has been suggested that the movie can be seen as nature vs. technology vs. the unknown (magic) and how they don't have to be mutually exclusive.
Jonathan was a hyperintelligent mouse. Brisby was probably the smartest mouse in the area he met.
Would you burden your love with things beyond her understanding? If not for Timmy, she would have never dared to visit the great owl. So why would he worry her by telling her he was visiting the great owl? Something he obviously hasn't even been telling Mr. Ages? That he visits the rats? That he regularly risked his life drugging the cat for the rats?
It's also quite possible that Jonathan like the simple life he had with Brisby.
The shrew could have wanted Brisby gone to raise the kids herself 'the right way' as she sees it. After all, the shrew risks her own life to safe the kids from the tractor, wanted to defend them from the rats..
Also, the rats talk about going to war with the humans and think they have a chance of winning. Makes you wonder what they have up their sleeves.
It's not just that the experimentation made the rats more intelligent. To enable them to read, the injections must have also given them knowledge, something that has been raised as a possibility in the past. So, how much knowledge did the rats get? Sure, that plot point could have been worked out more, but then again, it's a story about Mrs. Brisby, not the rats.
BTW, Mr. Ages broke his leg as he tried to drug the cat.
Finally, I know the movie has it's flaws. Still love it. You went into detail the horrors Mrs. Brisby faced and all that just for her son. I'd say this makes her one of the strongest females in movie history on the same level as Sarah Conner and Ellen Ripley.
The Secret of NIMH and Watership Down gave my 5 year old self quite a few restless nights.. My parents assumed that since it was a cartoon it was fine and just left me to watch on my own. Watership Down is kind of a weird one as well btw Daniel if you haven't seen that yet.
It also has an even more annoying bird character …
Hear, hear!
Hell yes, watch the 1978 animated masterpiece Watership Down if you haven't seen it already Daniel (4K remaster just been completed). It's a UK tradition for parents who have seen it to laugh their asses off as their kids watch it for the first time. 😁
Don't forget Plague Dogs! I think the same studio made it as well
@@Chewee394 Never heard of it but I'll definitely check it out now that I've seen the trailer, thx dude!
Daniel, Illumirati was right there!
I think it should also be noted that both Shannen Doherty as Teresa Brisby and Wil Wheaton as Martin Brisby were some of the famous voices in the film. Don Bluth's best known animation is An American Tale with Spielberg, and animated Dragon's Lair the arcade game. Titan A.E. anyone? What an incredible person who overcame two industry collapses he'd built businesses around and continued to do his best.
Umm... don't forget Dom Deluise as the crow. Also known as Burt Reynolds best friend.
Dude I am super biased as an animation-specific supergeek but I would LOVE more weird fantasy movie coverage like this. Plot silliness aside this is my absolute favorite Don Bluth movie, the atmosphere and design and art are like crack to me. I love to see some respect given to these wild animated fantasy movies
Daniel’s overall confusion here represents how I felt watching NIMH very well.
Similar with me
Your scenario of the parents sitting down their kids not knowing what they are about to watch was EXACTLY what happened to me with the movie animated movie Watership Down (78’). The 80s were a wild time my friend. We lived on the edge of entertainment and trauma.
Yeah, The Secret of NIMH, An American Tale, The Land Before Time, The Dark Crystal, Watership Down, the 80's had the BEST 'kids' movies ever.
I've never actually seen the film but I remember reading Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH as a child and while I remember very little about it, I remember it being incredibly strange. I really need to watch this film and revisit the story.
I grew up (going to show my age) watching Don Bluth movies. Land Before Time and American Tale and All Dogs go to Heaven. all of which I feel scarred me as a kid.
Wait Don Bluth did Land before time?
Haha there’s this meme where they say Don bluth’s MO is “take-a da kids and make-a dem cry.”
Land before time? ... one word: Sharptooth. Brilliant movie. Too bad only one was ever made.
American Tale? Ever been afraid of being alone? Ever get lost? If not, now you know what it feels like.
All Dogs? I've never seen a movie actually go with a more controversial and traumatic ending... But its OK, upbeat music makes it all bettah - FOR KIDS!
Don Bluth wasn't afraid to show the thorns under the roses and draw some blood on them, and it makes the roses just that much sweeter; rather like real life, most joys come at the cost of some degree of suffering. I think thats why they also stuck with me more than Disney. I remember as a kid, my parents gave us the choice between Little Mermaid and All Dogs, and I chose All Dogs while siblings went to Mermaid. No regrets, its an odd but heartfelt story and we need more like it. Might be because of my love of horror movies and decidedly dark humor - or maybe responsible for it? meh who knows.
Is it strange that all of these movies were my favorite ones growing up?
This movie scared me so bad as a kid (the book even more so). Ditto for The Rescuers, which is another weird movie I'd recommend. They STILL scare me!
As a kid aged 4 till 12, I spent every Thanksgiving bedridden with pneumonia. Watching this movie on a VHS tape recorded from TV (with commercials included) became a tradition. The first time watching it with my kids on the real Disney VHS was kind of bittersweet, I missed the commercials and bad tracking.....
This movie is straight up the only reason I know what "lee" means.
Jeremy is comic relief, lol. Honestly though, watching your thoughts on seeing this show for the first time made me smile. It is one of my favorite childhood films.
The slow drag of the G rating, across the screen is just fucking **chefs kiss**
I also need to say, I would give just about anything to be on the couch and watch this with you guys, just to see your initial reactions and talk about it with you. We've got to be able to set up some kind of group viewing session For stuff somehow.
Have you seen "Fern Gully"?
There's a Bat voiced by Robin Williams that also talks about being experimented on, who I have always headcanoned is one of those animals that escaped from NIMH.
@@skullsquad900 Also Tim Curry plays a singing Sludge Demon.
Spot on including the Wonka tunnel. That part scared me for so long. Not quite as scary as Return to Oz. What the French toast was that nightmare acid trip!
I highly suggest watching the other Bluth films. They're all some level of adult topic made for kids without pulling punches. Plus, the animation style cannot be beat.
As someone who had surgery yesterday for a broken leg..... Nevermind you
Why did you break your leg (yes I mean why not how)? Without any explanation my imagination can go to some pretty exotic places.
I LOVE The Secret or Nihm. I remember my uncle taking me to see it in the theater. Between it and "Watership Down", my childhood was traumatic . If you haven't read or watched Watership Down, do it, do it now!
If you haven't seen it, Plague Dogs was another Richard Adams novel adapted to the screen by the same people that made Watership Down
Good call, excellent
So glad you covered this. An absolute childhood favourite.
Always like to see your take on stuff. Especially the weird stuff.
You have to remember that most every animal in the story is a feral; the few exceptions being:
~ the NIMH rats themselves (plus Jonathan and Mr Ages)
~ the Brisby children (half-NIMH, half-feral)
~ the Great Owl (who obviously has a long history with the NIMH rats)
Mrs Brisby herself was technically a feral, though far more advanced than any other feral due to her relationship with Jonathan. She was able to read (albeit haltingly), knew what electricity was, and had a far greater understanding of the world around her than anyone else apart from the NIMH rats themselves.
The field animals normally would suffer all manner of predation, but owls are very territorial and the Great Owl has ruled the vicinity for longer than the field animals have been alive. All they know is that owls are supposedly very wise and that the Great Owl is positively ancient so must be the wisest owl of all; though Auntie Shrew may or may not know that owls are predators, she sees Mrs Brisby's situation as desperate enough to warrant the risk in seeking wisdom from the Great Owl.
Auntie Shrew is like the OG HOA Karen - obnoxious and always meddling in everyone's affairs, though she did have genuine concern for their well-being. Being influenced by Jonathan and knowing how capable their children are, Mrs Brisby is confident that the kids are capable of taking care of themselves; Auntie Shrew knows nothing about NIMH and views the Brisby kids as she would anyone else's. (Understandably, the kids feel like she's patronizing them - Theresa, being the eldest, tolerates it, but it ticks off Martin to no end.)
It does actually come up that Mr Ages twisted his foot while trying to drug Dragon's food dish.
Back when the original story was written, animal experimentation - particularly using rats and mice - was absolutely insane. In fact, look into the Rat Utopia Experiment (there were several, all of them wild, but one in particular will probably be the top search result.)
Don Bluth intentionally took the story in a slightly different direction, as something of a dedication to just how far mothers will go to protect their children - often leagues beyond anything the children ever find out about. Growing up on a farm in Utah, young Don got the merest glimpses of how hard his mother worked; as a husband and father, he witnessed the other side of the equation firsthand, even then not sure that he was getting the full picture of just how fiercely his wife dedicated herself to their children.
YES! So happy you're talking about one of my favourite childhood movies! :D
But no need to bother watching the sequel, it's just a safe, mediocre kids movie. It's not even bad enough to laugh at.
If you want more weirdness try Felidae if you haven't seen it already. It's not as good as NIMH of course, but still a lot of fun.
I love this movie. I remember finding it confusing as a child, but that never detracted from my enjoyment. I still have so much nostalgia for it.
THIS MOVIE. I LOVED it from the first time I saw it as a kid. In fact, I have a hard copy of the book right now in my library… And I was just looking at it yesterday. When I saw the title of this, I was really hoping that that is exactly what you would be doing. I'm so very happy that it is.
Oh. Did I happen to mention that I bought a cosplay version of the stone necklace off Etsy? Yeah. And it's literally hanging in my jewelry box right now. But I can't post a picture… Unfortunately
This movie was integral to my childhood. Appropriately, and tragically, my pet rat, Nicodemus, was my first real experience with death. Also: as an adult, I like to imagine this rural farm family walking outside one night to see a glowing mouse using magic to levitate a cinder block out of some mud. A wide shot showing these dumbfounded yokels just staring slack-jawed in total shock.
Man, the 80's sucked in a lot of ways, but what a fucking decade.
Yes, gently nestled between the Boomer generation that grew up on Leave It to Beaver, and the Millennial generation that grew up on mass produced Disney Channel shows, there was Generation X, whose nightmares were created by Don Bluth animated films.
@Gregory11811 Us Millennials also grew up on the nightmare fuel of the 80's and early 90's. It's not like the cultural reach of these shows ended the year they came out. It's strange to remember now, but culture moved much slower pre-internet. Hell, Nick at Night was a big part of my childhood along with a cadre of shows, both live action and animated, from the 50's through the 70's. Today, a show's popularity falls as fast as it peaks because the new thing is already out.
The softening of kids programming didn't happen until Nick Jr and the mass produced Disney stuff didn't kick in until the very late 90's and 00's. My generation got the patented 80's trauma n' shlock, but also the Disney Afternoon and Nickelodeon before it turned to mush.
This was my favorite book, as a child! I read it over and over and over! I still have it. I think I'll get it out and read it again! It led me to love animals and science. I actually ended up working with lab rats and mice for 20 years. Since i was a kid, I've had recurring dreams of exploring the rat's lair under the rosebush! It's obviously a core memory 😅
I ADORE this movie. A core tenant of my childhood-along with The Last Unicorn. Please tell me you've seen that one.
Yeah that's another weird one. Remember, say it's WEIRD, and he'll watch it. Keep the bit that it's also good between us. *makes hushing gestures* WEIRD, that's the word of the day, WEEEEIIIIIRRRDD!!
I feel like Jeremy was supposed to be a magpie originally but someone changed it to a crow for some reason.
I second all the recommendations for watership down, but also have you ever seen the black cauldron? Not as weird as nihm but definitely fantasy and a bit weird.
I want to add to my recommendations FernGully if you haven't seen that either.
The book is one of my favorite books ever!!! But the movie is sooo magical; her entering the rose bush takes my breath away every time I watch it! I broke our vhs of it cuz I watched it so much :’)
What is a lee of the stone?
"Lee" is an Old English word that means "sheltering space." The phrase "lee of the stone" refers to the fact that the size, shape, and angle of The Stone creates a sheltered space directly behind it that remains dry and protected from the high winds and harsh rains of a seasonal storm.
Don Bluth movies were the cause of many of my childhood nightmares
I loved your interpretation. Definitely one of my favorite movies. I was a psych major. I had to work with rats. I couldn’t take it he kept biting me. So, dropped out wishing my rat was sent to NIMH
Yep, welcome to 80's kids movies.We were tougher back then. 😂
You should try The Last Unicorn. And if you want weird kids movies I recommend Labyrinth or Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Although if you want weird, with trippy scenery, and kinda dark you need to watch The Thief and the Cobbler.
I think you should read the original book it's based on! I read it over a year ago and while the story largely stays the same, the magic was purely an invention of the film while the book focused more on the backstory of the rats and how they came to build their own society! The film is fantasy, but the book is _firmly sci-fi._
This movie legit freaked me out as a kid. Especially the owl.
I loved that movie and those books!! That’s the first movie that scared the hell out of me.
The craziest thing about this is it was inspired by a TRUE STORY about rats and mice. Seriously! John B. Calhoun was the scientist who studied rats and mice for the National Institute of Mental Health. He built rodent utopias and then overcrowded them to watch the apocalypse. The rats turned into cannibals in spite of having enough food. The mice that survived "Universe 25" ended up being really odd and not rodent-like (the scientists dubbed them the "Beautiful Ones" so that's pretty weird.) Science in the mid-20th century was stranger than fiction.
Even though I’m gen Z I still like to watch older movies sometimes and I remember watching this as a kid and being like what on earth is happening, also another thing that I think needs to be said is that in the 80s people usually didn’t write the best female protagonists but honestly Mrs Brisby is an Amazing main character I mean she literally took on a tractor and other things to like she ain’t gonna let anyone tell her that she can’t take care of herself and her children.
i never watched the movie but man that book was amazing as a kid
Heck yeah, this type of insanity raised my whole generation. This was one of my favorites.
Now you should try "The Brave Little Toaster." 😈
OH GOD, THE FLASHBACK I JUST HAD
The book is really good. "Mrs FRISBY and the Rats of NIMH." The movie changed a lot of stuff, not just the MC's name. It was one of my favorite books as a kid and I never liked the movie, mostly because it was so unfaithful to the book and I felt betrayed.
I am a defender of auntie Shrew, she started out rough, but she showed her metal with the plough, it was auntie Shrew who stopped it, it was auntie Shrew who suggested to go and see the great owl, and auntie Shrew saw a crazy stranger snooping about and subbed dued him. People like this are needed as they will keep it real with you and not wrap you up in cotton. Excellent video non the less, thank you🙏♥️
@@jermainewilliams9491 also, auntie shrew helping her focus instead of breaking down.
Okay, if you like the Fantasy elements of Secret of NIMH, you'll love the Science Fiction elements of Rats of NIMH. Same story roughly, though no fantasy, and goes into lots of detail about how the rats (and Mrs. Frisby's mouse husband) were experimented on and became so intelligent. It's a whole other beast and one absolutely worth reading!
I was a perpetually sick lil kid once upon a time and I always loved this movie. Now the younger kids in my family all burst into tears and are too afraid to watch it past the owl. Bit sad really.
I remember getting jumscared by the guard Rat in the rose bush as a kid😂
The Secret of NIMH is easily one of my favorite family films from growing up. Always happy to see someone new discover how amazing it is.
Wanted to make a few corrections, I'm sure someone else probably pointed these out because it's the internet.
1. Mrs Brisby didn't stop the tractor, she froze and couldn't move. Aunty Shrew stepped up and stopped the tractor.
2. They do explain how Mr Ages broke his leg. Justin tells Mrs Brisby it happened when drugging the cat while they were passing under the mill in the boat.
This was such an epic book to read as a kid.
You never watched Secret of NIMH before? I loved it when I was little. I’d love to experience it for the first time again.
I want to say that Amos Burton forever changed my impression of how 'Little Timmy' looks like.
the Mike Stoklasa dancing clip made me literally laugh out loud
Yeah The Secret of NIMH is both great and wild, balls to the walls bonkers. I've seen it hundreds of times over the decades.
I vaguely remember reading this book, I have absolutely no memory of this film.
Don't you dare slander Jeremy! That's Dom DeLuis!
Right? And all his nonsense with the string and shiny are in character for a crow. He isn't trying to "buy" the female crow, he's trying to attract her with things crows like.
My mom read me the book version as a bedtime story when i was little, and it gave her awful nightmares that our house was crawling with rats. She only told me this when i was a teenager, it was one of my favorite bedtime reads and i still remember it with a lot of nostalgia. I definitely remember the book being less bizarre than this movie tho
You are going to be Charlie at the board with the strings diving into this with your future kid(s).
It was my 7th birthday party, and my parents had rented a VCR, which was a thing becoming ever more popular. They'd rented two movies - one with Greek myths, which I adored (the myths, that is)...but it sucked so bad it made even my parents cringe and turn it off. Instead they put on The Secret of NIMH. After ten minutes they popped their heads out to check on us kids because over twenty rambunctious seven-year-olds were being dead silent. We were transfixed.
Anywho, we loved it. Absolutely adored it. I'd say 7-8 is the perfect age to watch it at. Not too smart to fly over your head, not so childish it makes you walk off bored.
I think it's mentioned in the movie, but is definitely mentioned in the book, that Jonathan went with our heroine for a reason - something about her was important. Also, Timmy is shown as having inherited his smarts.
I think it's mentioned, but the movie actually does explain the broken leg. He broke it on one of the missions to drug the cat. (I've not read the book. I gather it's more straight science fiction.)
People my age sometimes talk about kids movies being more "hardcore" then, but I don't think everyone was totally chill with that even at the time. I think the things that made it shocking for me as a boy is Justin says "Damn" and you see rats bleeding to death from stab wounds. My Aunt I remember seemed a bit worried how much I liked it.
I kind of like the vibe that there are things and motivations we don't fully understand. It sort-of makes the world feel bigger in a way. But I think one of the main things to stick with me is that this has a heroic mom. This was extremely rare in animation then, maybe now too, and it doesn't make her even a fearless mom or action hero type. She clearly is scared of many things, but she pushes through to benefit her family. Her dead husband leading a double-life is maybe a tad weird for her, but possibly it's a bit like people married to someone in the CIA or something. Well with the added element he ages different than her. Oh wait I also liked that it had a strong science fictional aspect rather than being straight fantasy. Science fictional kids stories are pretty common now, but I think back then they were limited to stories of aliens and robots. Biological science type science fiction I don't think was common.
I loved this movie as a kid and you better believe my own children have seen both this and the original Charlie and the chocolate factory 😂
I love this movie back my Navy days we ran Rats of Nihm D&D campaign it was great. We all played small charaters mouse druid, squirrel paladin, frog monk, etc. 😅
My parents always bought the straight to vhs sequels to films and not their first films, so I grew up with the sequel but never saw this film! I don’t remember anything about the sequel but wow is this first film wild!
I love the escape from my daily reality that I gaine from Daniel's videos. So I hate saying this, but please go out to vote. It may be the most important thing you do this century.
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh was such a good book! I remember we had to read it in school, and then watched the movie. I like both, but I remember loving the book!
Justin and Jenner's swordfight is FIRE, it's an incredibly well animated action sequence that STILL looks great today. When I was a kid I just thought it was cool and really vibed with it, but then years later I saw the old 60s historical epic The Vikings and I received a shock when I saw the climactic showdown between Tony Curtis and Kirk Douglas - Don Bluth and the animators OBVIOUSLY based the whole thing on it, SHOT FOR SHOT. Bloody genius, really ...
This was my childhood and inspires me to this day
I watched it for the first time a few months ago when i was in the mood for a sweet children's movie and IT WAS NOT THAT
The "lee of the stone" the owl talks about is the side that isn't hit by wind. The sheltered side. It's old timey language to say "hey make sure your sick boy is moved to a place where the wind won't hit your house and make him sicker!"
Howls moving castle (the book) is one of the most insane things I've read
In that case, may I recommend some of Diana Wynne Jones' other books, all of which are significantly weirder? Specifically: Deep Secret, The Merlin Conspiracy, The Dark Lord of Derkholm, Dogsbody, Fire and Hemlock, The Homeward Bounders, and Hexwood. All of these except Hexwood are among my favourite books of all time.
Love the review of the movie. I want to reiterate that you should definitely read the book, as per usual, it's better. I did not remember that there was a sequel to this, so I'm kinda curious.
I was 13 when this movie came out. Oddly enough never read the book.... I've owned this movie in 3 iterations, recorded from cable, then VHS, and now DVD. This and The Last Unicorn are 2 of my faves from that era, including Tron (the original) and Legend. These were the best escapes from reality in my youth! Love the nostalgia this saturday morning. I might have to have a marathon today. :D
I loved that movie so much as a child. This movie is where I got my hatred for the practice of lab testing on animals. Also, the Lee of the Stone is a location also, Jeremy is a crow. Crows like shiny things
The film is quite nice. The book? The book is a FUDGING PIECE OF ART. I remember being unable to put it down every time I picked it up, and it's one of the few books that I actually read multiple times. It has a very special place in my heart, especially since it manages to both be accessible for children and at the same time treat the reader like an adult. Also, it makes A LOT more sense than the film ... XD XD XD
While watching the part about drugging the cat, one of mine jumped on my lap, and I thought to myself that he would absolutely try to make friends with Mrs. Brisby and offer to help her 😂.
Please read the book too! A lot of the stuff that makes no sense in the movie is explained in the book and left out for some reason.
The Secret of Nimh is one of my favorite books of all time and I'm actually currently conceptualizing a video game that would be a spiritual successor to it.
Love your comments and dissection of the movie. This is definitely one of those movies you think back on as an adult and go "WTF did I watch??" Another 90's animated movie that's weirdly dark with sentient animals is Once Upon a Forest. I think you'd find it an interesting watch.
Really liked this video. Going through your history it doesn’t look like something you do often, but you should! You have great insight, you’re funny, I love your appreciation for the great elements and critiques for areas that used to bug me a bit too (the J names 😅)
Hope you consider watching more movies for the first time and give this kind of breakdown.
I’m glad that “Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland” made me as a kid instead of “The Secret of NIMH.” You should watch that some time Mr. Greene. Peak children’s fantasy.
Just ran into this and damn! You nailed it all. But just to answer a couple of your questions/ponderances: We are dealing with animals. Mice have litters of kids - hence why she was never around to know much about Jonathan's doings. And Jeremy is a crow. Crows LOVE anything that shines and is reflective. So his weirdness for the pendant is just natural animal habit. The owl, well, most owls hunt at night. And being he was an old owl he probably needs to get all the food he can.
The lights - well we are dealing with a mix of magic/shamanism/druidism and a technology, so... All in all the world building was great for this film.
Daniel. For the love of God. Do not, watch the sequel
I was looking for this moment lol, the second one was even more batshot crazy
No, watch the sequel!
There's a sequel? I feel like my childhood was deprived of this. What's the name so I can look it up and correct this terrible oversight.
@@KatjeKat86 Secret of NIMH 2. Timmy's Adventure. Art style is complete 180, Disney-style, which is why I hate it. I didn't come to NIMH wanting a happy venture
@giggleanthropisticon7061 Thanks for the warning, the art is one of the reasons why I fell in love with it as a child. And of course the dark but happy ending story.
In his defense, i actually give Jeremy a little more credit in thoroughing the storyline in regards to the climax of the movie. Of course, things dont go according to plan jointly due to Jeremy being Jeremy and Auntie Shrew being Auntie Shrew.
I saw this in the theater as a kid and loved it. The book is a bit different (no magic stone) and is worth the read.
This video was brilliant, such a fun watch. Haven't watched this film in years, you can't beat some 80s madness!
Don Bluth = must watch.
Also, yes, it means buckle up
There was a lot going on for a relatively short animated film
great vid. loved it, love The secret of Nimh. but ummm just a side note: you dont havest farm fields in the spring when the frost disappears. he was tilling the field to be planted
I wholly believe that this is canonically part of the Redwall universe. That's your canonical ending. The rats wipeout humanity and estabilish Christianity.
I've only just started Redwall. The idea of it as some kind of post-apocalyptic scenario is kind of interesting. Ever see the cartoon "Peace on Earth"? One of the weirdest Christmas cartoons. Humanity wipes itself out through war and the animals take-over plus decide to be Christians. I believe it was before even the book "The Planet of the Apes" was written. (It was, by decades in fact.)
The reason this is rated G is at the time, there was no PG in the rating system. It was either good for kids, or not.
Fun Fact, the first PG movie was Red Dawn.
Uh, what?! There's been a PG rating as long as MPAA ratings have existed, but it was originally GP. They reversed the letters and revised the definition, but it was the same thing.
@Garch-the-Great Sorry, I meant PG-13 for that, not PG
It would be so cool if Secret of NIMH and redwall were connected
There's a sequel called The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue. Definitely not as good, but it does have Ralph Macchio voicing Timmy.