The Secret of NIMH

The Secret of NIMH, in my opinion, is one of the greatest animated films ever made. Don Bluth, its director, is a talented animator and writer; in fact, it wasn't until he started copying Disney formulas that his movies began to suck. In the eighties, he created such classics as The Land Before Time and An American Tail. Bluth's dark but ultimately sentimental style was considered controversial at the time. Most of his movies dealt with the loss of parents or other unfortunate aspects of society. And that leads me to this quick tangent.



The picture above is of the poster used for the theatrical release of the movie. In short, it accurately depicts the imagery and style used in the movie: dark, forboding, and powerful. Meanwhile, I'm stoned and browsing through my DVD collection to find something to watch. This is the cover I see:



Quite a difference, isn't it? I mean, this doesn't prepare a child at all for a story about rats that get tested on and are implied to become smarter than humans. I hear certain editions of the DVD aren't like this, but I got it out of the Wal-Mart five dollar bin, so this is what I was left with.





Anyway, the review.




The animation is very sound, but the colors are its strongest point. The title card is illuminated with this brilliant orange that immediately overwhelms my senses. This shade of orange reoccurs throughout the film and to be honest it was very pleasing. The rest of the colors blend in very nicely, making the film fluid and interesting.

Unlike 9, however, the visuals don't distract me from the overall film itself. Excluding a few instances, I'm not overwhelmed enough to forget about the characters.



It might just be me, but the concept of talking rats and mice just seemed so...surreal. Seriously, it was odd. I couldn't help but obsess over the idea of them forming a new rat society and what that would be like. And with that came the thought of evolution...it was a scientific mind bender.

The music in this film is god awful. The score completely harshed my mellow and didn't help me relax during the scenes with songs. When Jeremy the crow is flying around, it should be a peaceful moment, but they ruin it with that "Flying Love" song. The same goes for the voice acting. Aside from Nicodemus, none of these creatures had interesting voices. But then again, I'm very specific about what I want to hear when I'm high.

If you're going to watch this high, watch it with friends. There are plenty of fun laughs over certain lines, and if you can sit through the terrible soundtrack, then you'll be rewarded by the smooth animation.

HIGHPOINTS

(When Mrs. Brisby brings up Timmy's fever) The older mouse asks her how high his fever is. I laugh my ass off when I hear "How high"
(When the Shrew enters the house) I tell my roommates that I swear she sounds like the maid from 101 Dalmations
(During the Tractor scene) The animation begins to freak me out. It's very intense!
(When the Owl finally shows up) "I am the Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz!"
(During the flashback to the experiments) Apparently, the inner workings of rats are intense!
(When the house is sinking into the mud) Martin asks "What's all this black stuff?" and I burst out laughing