The recently widowed Mrs Brisby, a field mouse, lives with her children in a cinderblock on the rural Fitzgibbon farm. With harvest season approaching, she must relocate her family before their home is destroyed by the farmer’s plough. But her son, Timothy, has fallen ill and can’t be moved. In desperate need of help, Mrs Brisby pays a visit to the Great Owl, who in turn introduces her to Nicodemus: the wise leader of a rat colony living beneath a rose bush on the Fitzgibbon property. The rats are technologically advanced and possess vast intelligence due to their connection to a mysterious place they call NIMH, and agree to help Mrs Brisby due to a cherished friendship with her late husband. But not all of the rats are so kind, and the power-hungry Jenner has a vested interest in making sure that Mrs Brisby and her family stay put...

Eureka Entertainment releases The Secret of NIMH, the heartwarming and beautifully crafted cartoon fantasy from the legendary animator Don Bluth, on Blu-ray as part of The Masters of Cinema Series. The film is adapted from Robert C. O’Brien’s popular children’s book Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. A sweeping fantasy epic realised through astoundingly beautiful cel animation, The Secret of NIMH paved the way for Bluth’s later successes An American Tail, The Land Before Time and All Dogs Go to Heaven.

It's been a long time since I've watched this movie. I remember seeing it in the '80s on its release and possibly one other time on home video... but I have to admit that my memory of it was that it was quite a dull movie, with a paper thin plot. Rewatching this as an adult I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it's a beautiful, rather dark movie, which blends together classic Disney animation with darker films like Watership Down and Plague Dogs. In fact, story wise, there are quite a few similarities with those films.

The one think I definitely remember, though, is Jerry Goldsmith's incredible score. It's a soundtrack I still listen to from time to time, and hearing it with the visuals really sent a shiver down my spine.

Extras include a new audio commentary with animation scholar Sam Summers; An archival audio commentary with director Don Bluth and producer Gary Goldman; A Way to Go Home (19 min, 59 sec 2024 video interview with Don Bluth that looks at the history of the film and art style and why Mrs Frisby, from the books, became Mrs Brisby. It explains how even though all of the voice work had been completed, the sound editor was able to change the name on the recordings by scratching the tape); Beyond Your Wildest Dreams (23 min, 02 sec - Overview of the film in an interview with animation expert and fan Stacey Abbott); Courage of the Heart: Motherhood and The Secret of NIMH (16 min, 02 sec - A new video essay by children’s media expert Catherine Lester); Secrets Behind the Secret (14 min, 25 sec - 2007 feature. This archival behind-the- scenes featurette also explains what NIMH is (National Institute of Mental Health); Stills Gallery (12 min, 59 sec which includes promotional images of the voice actors with their characters and lots of stills from the film); and Original Theatrical Trailer (2 min, 22 sec). There's also a collector’s booklet included with the box set, which featuring new writing on Don Bluth and The Secret of NIMH by Peter C. Kunze, author of Staging a Comeback: Broadway, Hollywood, and the Disney Renaissance).

A gorgeous little movie that has aged incredibly well. It's certainly a movie you'll appreciate the older you get. This is the best quality version of the film to date, so it's well worth adding to your collection.

10

Darren Rea