User:Jonathan Brisby



The Secret of NIMH is a 1982 American animated adventure fantasy drama film directed by Don Bluth in his directorial debut. It is an adaptation of Robert C. O'Brien's 1971 children's novel Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. The film was produced by Aurora Pictures and released by United Artists. The film features the voices of Elizabeth Hartman, Dom DeLuise, Arthur Malet, Derek Jacobi, Hermione Baddeley, John Carradine, Peter Strauss, and Paul Shenar. The "Mrs. Frisby" name in the novel had to be changed to "Mrs. Brisby" during production due to trademark concerns with Frisbee discs. Released to wide critical acclaim, the film was a moderate commercial success. It was followed in 1998 by a direct-to-video sequel called The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue, which was made without Bluth's input or consent.

Mrs. Brisby, a shy and timid field mouse, lives in a cinder block with her children in a field on the Fitzgibbons' farm. She prepares to move her family out of the field as plowing time approaches, but her son Timothy has fallen ill. She visits Mr. Ages, another mouse and old friend of her late husband, Jonathan, who diagnoses Timothy with pneumonia and provides her with medicine. Mr. Ages warns her that Timothy must stay inside for at least three weeks or he will die. On her way home she encounters Jeremy, a clumsy but compassionate crow. They both narrowly escape from the Fitzgibbons' cat, Dragon, who is the one who had killed and eaten Jonathan.

The next day, Mrs. Brisby discovers that Farmer Fitzgibbons has started plowing early. Although her neighbour Auntie Shrew helps her disable his tractor, Mrs. Brisby knows she must devise another plan. With Jeremy's help, she visits the Great Owl to ask for help. He tells her to visit a group of rats who live beneath a rose bush on the farm and ask for Nicodemus, their wise and mystical leader.

Mrs. Brisby enters the rose bush and is amazed to see the rats' use of electricity and other technology. She meets Nicodemus, Justin, a kind and friendly rat who is Captain of the Guards, and a ruthless, power-hungry rat named Jenner. From Nicodemus, she learns that many years ago her husband, along with the rats and Mr. Ages, were part of a series of experiments at a place known as NIMH, the National Institute of Mental Health. The experiments boosted their intelligence, enabling them to escape. However, they are unable to live only as rats, needing human technology to survive, which they have only accomplished by stealing. The rats have concocted "The Plan", which is to leave the farm and live independently. Nicodemus gives Mrs. Brisby an amulet called "The Stone", that gives magical power when its wearer is courageous.

Because of her husband's relationship with the rats, they agree to help Mrs. Brisby move her home. First they need to drug Dragon to sleep, so that they can complete the move safely. Only Mrs. Brisby can do this, as only mice are small enough to fit through the hole leading into the house; Jonathan was killed by Dragon in a previous attempt, while Mr. Ages has broken his leg in another. That night, she puts the drug into the cat's food dish, but the Fitzgibbons' son Billy catches her. While trapped in a birdcage, she overhears a telephone conversation between Farmer Fitzgibbons and NIMH and learns that NIMH intends to exterminate the rats the next day. She escapes from the cage and runs off to warn Justin.

The rats are moving the Brisby home using a rope and pulley system during a thunderstorm. Jenner, who wishes for the rats to remain in the rose bush, sabotages the ropes with his hesitant accomplice Sullivan, causing the cinder block to fall and kill Nicodemus, though it is made to look like an accident. Mrs. Brisby arrives and tries to convince the rats that NIMH is coming and they must leave immediately, but Jenner calls her a liar, attacks her and attempts to take the amulet from her neck. Alerted to the situation by Sullivan, who is then mortally wounded by Jenner, Justin rushes to Mrs. Brisby's aid and battles Jenner, who admits to having plotted to kill Nicodemus. Justin defeats Jenner by stabbing him, then addresses the other rats to prepare for their departure from the farm. Jenner moves to stab Justin from behind, but Sullivan throws a dagger into Jenner's back, killing him before succumbing to his own injuries.

Mrs. Brisby sees the house sinking in the mud, but Justin and the rats are unable to raise it. Mrs. Brisby's will to save her children gives power to the amulet, which she uses to lift the house and move it to safety. The rats depart to Thorn Valley with Justin as their new leader and Timothy begins to recover. Jeremy also and eventually finds "Miss Right", an equally clumsy crow just like him, and the two fly away together.