--- title: "The Secret of NIMH" year: 1982 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-secret-of-nimh" fi1m_score: 74 critics_score: 69 critics_reviews: 10 published: "2026-09-17T06:18:01.122665+00:00" updated: "2026-09-17T06:18:01.433856+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Secret of NIMH (1982) Directed by Don Bluth · 1h 23m · MPA G · Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction **Fi1m score: 74** · Critics 69 from 10 reviews *In a sentence:* A widowed mouse, a plough, a glowing necklace and the most frightening owl we have met in a cartoon > Don Bluth’s first film away from Disney is drawn with a care the studio had let slip, and it frightens in ways family films rarely dare. It is let down by a script that adds a magic amulet it never explains. ## Synopsis A farm field in spring, the week before the plough comes. Mrs. Brisby (Elizabeth Hartman), a widowed field mouse, lives with her four children in a cinder block at the edge of the furrows. Her youngest, Timothy (Ina Fried), has pneumonia and cannot be moved, and the ploughing will crush the block if they stay. She fetches medicine from Mr. Ages (Arthur Malet), untangles Jeremy (Dom DeLuise), a crow caught in a length of string, and is told by Auntie Shrew (Hermione Baddeley) to get out while she can. Out of options, she rides on the crow’s back to the Great Owl (John Carradine), who tells her that the rats living under the farmhouse rosebush may be able to move her house, and that they knew her late husband. ## Review Don Bluth left Disney in 1979 with a group of fellow animators, and *The Secret of NIMH* is what they made when they got out: a hand-drawn film from Robert C. O’Brien’s novel *Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH*, about a widowed field mouse who must move her house before the plough arrives and cannot, because her youngest is too ill to be carried. It runs 83 minutes and carries a U certificate. It is a good film, drawn with more care than almost anything the studio it came from was making at the time, and it is let down by a script that keeps adding things to a story that needed nothing added. Start with the drawing, because that is what Bluth wanted us to see. Every background has three or four layers to it; the farmhouse is lit at night from its windows and from the moon, and the rats’ city under the rosebush is a cavern of cogs, pulleys and strings of electric light. Light is painted on rather than suggested: the amulet glows, Nicodemus’s eyes glow, dust hangs in the shafts from the barn door. The Great Owl sequence is the film’s best few minutes. Mrs. Brisby climbs into a hollow tree hung with cobwebs and bones, a spider drops behind her, the owl’s eyes come on like lamps, and it crushes a moth in one talon while it considers whether to eat her. We were frightened, and we are not eight. The voices are well chosen. Elizabeth Hartman plays Mrs. Brisby thin and slightly fraying, a small creature at the far end of what she can bear, and she never once sounds like an actress doing a mouse. John Carradine gives the owl a voice as dry and old as the tree. Derek Jacobi’s Nicodemus is slow and grave, Peter Strauss makes Justin exactly the bright, capable rat a widow would hope to meet, and Paul Shenar’s Jenner does everything a villain can do short of twirling a moustache. Hermione Baddeley is funny as the bossy Auntie Shrew. Dom DeLuise, as Jeremy the crow, is the film’s one concession to the idea that children need someone falling over every ten minutes, and the joke about string is done long before the film stops telling it. Jerry Goldsmith’s score is large, strings and brass at full stretch, a flute for the mouse and a lullaby she sings over the sick child, and it is mixed as if this were a war film. Mostly that is right: the music carries the fear when the pictures are gentle. Jeffrey C. Patch cuts the first half hour tightly, one errand after another, and lets the middle stretch of rat council and rat history slacken. At 83 minutes nothing outstays its welcome for long. The trouble is the script, which has four names on it: Bluth, John Pomeroy, Gary Goldman and Will Finn. O’Brien’s book is a plain, sober story about a mouse and some clever rats. The film gives Nicodemus a red stone on a chain that lights up when Mrs. Brisby is brave, and near the end it does something we will not describe and the film cannot account for. It also crowds the mouse out of her own story. For a good twenty minutes in the middle she stands at the edge of the frame while rats argue about a plan and a knife, and we found ourselves wanting the film to go back to her. The rats’ history, told in a flashback around the halfway mark, is the source of the title and of the film’s best idea, and once it has been told the film does almost nothing with it. Set against what Bluth made afterwards, *An American Tail* (1986) and *The Land Before Time* (1988), this is the rougher and the more interesting picture, the one that frightens rather than reassures. Set against [*Watership Down*](https://film.one/film/watership-down) (1978), the other great film about small animals in a field with something coming for them, it trusts its book less and is the poorer for it. Watch it at home with a child who can take a fright, and keep an arm free for the owl. The drawing looks better the closer you sit, and the amulet makes no more sense from any distance. *Fi1m score 74, published 17 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics like it, and the praise clusters almost entirely on the animation. Reviewers across four decades single out the same things: the detailed backgrounds, the fluid character movement and the lighting effects, which many read as a deliberate return to the Disney style of the 1940s. Later writers add a second strand, admiring the film’s willingness to put death, laboratory experiments and real danger in front of children, and several argue it stands up against modern animation. The reservations are about the script. Several critics find the plot cluttered with characters and subplots, and a few think the added magical elements sit awkwardly beside the science-fiction premise. The New York Times goes furthest, judging the revival of the old style a technical success let down by the screenplay, and Roger Ebert thinks the crowded cast leaves young viewers with no one to hold on to. The spread is wide, from warm to unconvinced, but even the least persuaded critics praise how it looks. ### Reviews we read (10) - **The AV Club**, Tasha Robinson (B): The critic praises the film's spectacular return to old-school craftsmanship and splendid visuals with depth and detail, while noting its clunky narrative alterations to the source material and added fantasy elements. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/the-secret-of-nimh-1798202749) - **Film Comment**, Dash Shaw (70/100, inferred): The critic views The Secret of NIMH as Bluth’s debut that established him as an artistic force to reckon with and a touchstone of edgy 1980s animation alongside The Plague Dogs, noting its grim themes of misfortune and experimentation wrapped in children’s cinema. [Read](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/of-mice-and-men-the-films-of-don-bluth/) - **Time Out**, DP (70/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's visual animation as a return to classic Disney standards but criticizes the story and insipid heroine; overall it's a pretty effective family film. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-secret-of-nimh) - **Variety**, Variety Staff (70/100, inferred): The film is a richly animated and skillfully structured homage to classic animation, with fluid character movement, detailed backgrounds, and dazzling effects. The simple mother-mouse story gains layers from comedy, sci-fi elements, and strong voice work, making it a solid craft achievement overall. [Read](https://variety.com/1981/film/reviews/the-secret-of-nimh-1200425083/) - **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (50/100, inferred): The film is an artistic success that looks good, moves well, and delights the eyes with its detailed animation and interesting premise about intelligent lab animals. It falls short emotionally, however, due to too many characters and subplots that leave young viewers without a strong identification point. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-secret-of-nimh-1982) - **The New York Times**, Vincent Canby (30/100, inferred): This is a resourceful though ultimately unsuccessful attempt to revive the rich, detailed style of Disney's Golden Age animation, succeeding technically and visually but lacking a screenplay to match. The visuals and effects stand out as a stylistic triumph, even as the story between fable and sci-fi feels uneven. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/30/movies/nimh-shades-of-disney-s-golden-era.html) - **/Film**, Scott Beggs (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a masterpiece that holds up exceptionally well as a dense, dangerous, and visually stunning animated classic with a powerful sense of sacrifice and a memorable sci-fi twist. They single out the gorgeous, darker-than-Disney artwork and the pure voice performances for praise. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/550863/the-secret-of-nimh-revisited/) - **Den of Geek**, Jen Johnson (85/100, inferred): The critic calls it a great animated movie that stands the test of time and would hold up against Pixar films, praising its gorgeous animation and family appeal while acknowledging some scary moments. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-secret-of-nimh-review-recap-loving-look-back/) - **Paste**, Lacy Baugher Milas (85/100, inferred): The review lauds the film as one of the best animated children's films for its willingness to confront dark themes like death, experimentation, and fear through visually striking and narratively complex storytelling, respecting its young audience's intelligence. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/don-bluth/the-secret-of-nimh-nightmare-fuel) - **Collider**, Ima Ifum (80/100, inferred): The critic praises the film for its dark themes and departure from typical children's animation, highlighting Bluth's bold storytelling that blends science, magic, danger, and emotional stakes in a way that challenges both kids and adults. [Read](https://collider.com/secret-of-nimh-dark-fantasy/) ## Details - **Director:** Don Bluth - **Director:** Don Bluth - **Screenplay:** Don Bluth, Will Finn, Gary Goldman, John Pomeroy - **Novel:** Robert C. O'Brien - **Editor:** Jeffrey C. Patch - **Music:** Jerry Goldsmith - **Producer:** Don Bluth, Gary Goldman, John Pomeroy - **Cast:** Elizabeth Hartman as Mrs. Brisby (voice); Derek Jacobi as Nicodemus (voice); Arthur Malet as Mr. Ages (voice); Dom DeLuise as Jeremy (voice); Hermione Baddeley as Auntie Shrew (voice); Shannen Doherty as Teresa (voice); Wil Wheaton as Martin (voice); Jodi Hicks as Cynthia (voice) - **Runtime:** 1h 23m - **Certificate (MPA):** G - **Release (the US):** 16 July 1982 - **Genres:** Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction - **Budget:** $7 million - **Box office:** $15 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4xHs01SUA4 ## Where to watch in the US - Tubi: free, hd, leaving 2026-10-01 - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, hd - Apple TV: buy $14.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-17.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IT, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, TH, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Watership Down* (1978), Fi1m 81: Rabbits, a field, a coming catastrophe, and a book trusted all the way to the end — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/watership-down.md) - *The Plague Dogs* (1982): Two dogs escape a laboratory; the same year, the same dread, no comfort at all - *My Neighbour Totoro* (1988), Fi1m 89: A sick parent and two small children, handled with tenderness instead of terror — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/my-neighbor-totoro.md) - *Coraline* (2009), Fi1m 85: Another small heroine sent through a door to bargain with something that eats things — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/coraline.md) - *Song of the Sea* (2014), Fi1m 82: Hand-drawn, layered light and an owl witch, from Ireland rather than a Californian barn — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/song-of-the-sea.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-secret-of-nimh