In 1979, legendary animator Don Bluth made the decision to leave Walt Disney Productions and establish his own animation studio with several former Disney employees. The newly established Don Bluth Productions first made a short – Banjo the Woodpile Cat – and then its first feature: The Secret of NIMH, adapted from Robert C. O’Brien’s popular children’s book Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.
The widowed Mrs Brisby (Elizabeth Hartman), a field mouse, lives with her children in a cinderblock on the rural Fitzgibbon farm – although not for much longer. With harvest season approaching, she must relocate her family before their home is destroyed by the farmer’s plough. But her son, Timothy (Ina Fried), has fallen ill and can’t be moved. In desperate need of help, Mrs Brisby pays a visit to the Great Owl (John Carradine), who in turn introduces her to Nicodemus (Derek Jacobi): 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 (Paul Shenar) has a vested interest in making sure that Mrs Brisby and her family stay put…
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. The Masters of Cinema series is honoured to present this touchstone of American animation on Blu-ray.
