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The Secret of NIMH (1982)
This dark, animated adventure tale centers on the Brisbys, a family of field mice who, after the sudden death of their patriarch, enlist the aid of fellow farm dwellers to move their cinder block home from the imminent danger of harvest season. Using backlighting—a luminous animation technique newly developed at the time—and early rotoscoping, Don Bluth and Co. create a fantastical miniature world rich in distinct characters and heartstring-tugging action sequences. While Bluth’s first animated feature after his departure from Disney was not a box office smash, one could argue that it was destined to be deemed a cult classic, thanks to the omnipotence of home video in the mid-1980s and that certain childhood fascination with mysterious, unknown worlds.
DCP, color, 82 min. Director: Don Bluth. Screenwriter: Don Bluth, John Pomeroy, Gary Goldman, Will Finn. Cast: Hermione Baddeley, John Carradine, Dom DeLuise, Elizabeth Hartman, Derek Jacobi.
Recommended for ages 8+
