Watch out for crows with stalker tendencies,
because The Secret of NIMH is the Greatest Movie EVER.
Review in a Nutshell: A technically masterful work of animation by Don Bluth and company, the Secret of NIMH is hampered only by the inclusion of certain inexplicable mystical elements. As a bonus, it’s also guaranteed to traumatize the kiddies with frightening images of danger and death.
No screencaps this time. I watched the movie through Netflix’s ‘Watch Instantly’ streaming video service.
The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast 
Man I saw this one when I was a kid and it messed me up a bit. Almost as much as Cronenberg’s The Fly and Naked Lunch. That said, I watched it about a year ago really early in the morning and I have to say that is the perfect time for viewing. Much like a rainy bitter Friday night is time to watch Bladerunner.
Having read all three of the NIMH books as a kid prior to seeing the film, which I didn’t see until they showed it in school sometime in the mid-90s, my reaction to this movie is “what the Christ is this, that never happened.”
That said, it’s still Don Bluth’s best movie, as it embodies his “I’m getting out of Disney so I can make movies MY way!” ideals that he eventually threw away for the sake of churning out mind-numbing mediocrity just like [non-Pixar] Disney does. Were Team Ouran to see that sentence, they’d have my head since they actually made Titan AE costumes.
I gotta Julian know you did this movie. I still remember when the three of us would disscuss this film while hanging out at my psuedo-apartment near calle Ocho.
Commenting on something from the podcast, Brutus does have a larger role in the book but he’s more of a gruff anti-social type. He survives the attack on the thorn bush. While its implied Justin was killed, the identity of the other rat was never speculated on. Essentially, Justin sacrificed himself for a rat “red shirt.”
When I heard there was a sequel to this movie years back, I thought I might check it out because “Racso and the Rats of NIMH” was one of my favorite books as a kid. Turns out it’s about Timmy, the Maria Schivo of the series.
It would be neat to think that Jonathan had achieved some massive level of psychic power from the experiments, allowing him to change other animals so as to imbue sentience, as well as store some psychic… stuff… in the stone, but I doubt that’s what the writers were thinking. It was probably along the lines of “Throw some magic in for the little vermin.”.
Still, I love this movie.
Ah yes, I had to go and check, but literally the stone of convenience was tossed in, as “God stuff”.
http://www.adammcdaniel.com/Don_Bluth_Interview3.htm
I agree with your comment about “Secret” holding up well; Don Bluth’s film was surprisingly mature, given the industry of the time and the intended audience. This wasn’t a happy cutesy talking-animals cartoon story; this was coming from the same place as Watership Down, where the animals were basically human characters wearing animal costumes. (Particularly so in NIMH’s case.)
“While its implied Justin was killed, the identity of the other rat was never speculated on. Essentially, Justin sacrificed himself for a rat ‘red shirt.'”
Actually, he shows up in the written sequels as the leader of the rats, so it was just two anonymous schlubs that kicked it.
I don’t know that you can really call this movie “Gateway Furry” given the sheer number of critters running around the Disney universe.
Besides, everyone knows that the real gateway furry was Cheetara on the Thundercats cartoon.
http://www.podcastawards.com/ I voted your show for people’s choice.
“Besides, everyone knows that the real gateway furry was Cheetara on the Thundercats cartoon”
I’ve been told its a tie between Rebbecca Cunigham from TaleSpin and Gadget from Rescue Rangers