The Secret of NIMH (1982)
90%RT Audience Score: 85%
Awards & Nominations: 1 win & 2 nominations
The Secret of NIMH seeks to resurrect the classical style of American animation and succeeds, telling a mature story with rapturous presentation.
The Secret of NIMH is a classic animated film that will transport you to a world of mystery and magic. The artwork is meticulous and the storybook charm will make you feel like a kid again. Sure, there are some depressing subjects, but the happy ending makes it all worth it. Plus, who doesn’t love colorful animal characters? This movie is a sumptuous celebration of the animator’s art and a tribute to the art of storytelling. Walt Disney would be proud!
Production Company(ies)
Warner Bros.,
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, United Artists
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
G
Year of Release
1982
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Stereo
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 22m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jul 30, 1982 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 16, 2004
Genre(s)
Fantasy
Keyword(s)
starring Elizabeth Hartman, Derek Jacobi, Dom DeLuise, Shannen Doherty, Edie McClurg, John Carradine, directed by Don Bluth, written by Don Bluth, Will Finn, Gary Goldman, John Pomeroy, produced by Gary Goldman, Don Bluth, fantasy, G rating, American animation, classical style, mature story, rapturous presentation, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Rita Kempley, Susie Eisenhuth, Neil Jillett, Derek Malcolm, Joe Pollack, Desmond Ryan, Jack Zink, Bruce R Miller, Peter Stack, John Stark, Terry Orme, George Williams
Worldwide gross: $14,665,733
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $46,368,826
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,372
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 5,056,579
US/Canada gross: $14,665,733
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $46,368,826
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,108
US/Canada opening weekend: $386,530
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $1,222,097
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,256
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $7,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $22,131,985
Production budget ranking: 1,318
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $11,918,074
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $12,318,767
ROI to date (est.): 36%
ROI ranking: 1,212
Derek Jacobi – Nicodemus – Voice
Dom DeLuise – Jeremy – Voice
Shannen Doherty – Teresa – Voice
Edie McClurg – Miss Right – Voice
John Carradine – Great Owl – Voice
Director(s)
Don Bluth
Writer(s)
Don Bluth, Will Finn, Gary Goldman, John Pomeroy
Producer(s)
Gary Goldman, Don Bluth
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 2 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (67) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (62) | Rotten (5)
Sadly, The Secret of NIMH is beautiful but unbalanced: The animators gambled when they should have gamboled.
November 11, 2021
Rita Kempley
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
Parents wistful for the world of mystery and magic fondly remembered from the best of the Disney cartoon features should hasten along to this rather endearing fantasy.
November 11, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Susie Eisenhuth
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
This American full-length animated cartoon lives up to its publicity as a return to the meticulous artwork and storybook charm of the golden days of Disney.
November 11, 2021
Neil Jillett
The Age (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
It is a highly competent piece of work, well organized, sometimes imaginative and beautifully detailed.
November 11, 2021
Derek Malcolm
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
The animation is excellent, but I wonder about the overall tone of the film. It ends happily, but along the way there is so much reference to illness, tragedy, grief, pain and other depressing subjects that it bothered me.
November 11, 2021
Joe Pollack
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TOP CRITIC
A sumptuous celebration of the animator’s art… If it were not for E.T., this would easily be the best children’s film released this year.
November 11, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
Desmond Ryan
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
The Secret of NIMH does not dazzle so much as glow. It is a reverent, literate family tale that is a tribute to the art of storytelling as well as the process of animation.
November 11, 2021
Jack Zink
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Combining the best of the past with technical advances of the present, NIMH vividly recalls the days when animation was considered an art form.
November 11, 2021
Bruce R. Miller
Sioux City Journal
The film carries us to a wonderful, sometimes scary, underworld of colorful animal characters. Grating cynics need not apply.
November 11, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Peter Stack
San Francisco Examiner
If you’ve given up on good old-fashioned animated movies, the kind Disney used to do so well, cheer up. The Secret of NIMH is quite wonderful, alive with dramatic conflicts, colorful characters, pretty music and sophisticated animation.
November 11, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
John Stark
San Francisco Examiner
Every scene in The Secret of NIMH is a moving masterpiece.
November 11, 2021
Terry Orme
Salt Lake Tribune
Walt Disney would certainly be proud of The Secret of NIMH.
November 11, 2021
George Williams
Sacramento Bee…
Plot
Mrs. Brisby, a widowed mouse, lives in a cinder block with her children on the Fitzgibbon farm. She is preparing to move her family out of the field they live in as plowing time approaches, however her son Timothy has fallen ill, and moving him could prove fatal. Mrs. Brisby visits The Great Owl, a wise creature who advises her to visit a mysterious group of rats who live beneath a rose bush on the farm. Upon visiting the rats, Brisby meets Nicodemus, the wise and mystical leader of the rats, and Justin, a friendly rat who immediately becomes attached to Mrs. Brisby. While there, she learns that her late husband, Mr. Jonathon Brisby, along with the rats, was a part of a series of experiments at a place known only as N.I.M.H. (revealed earlier in the story as the National Institute of Mental Health). The experiments performed on the mice and rats there boosted their intelligence, allowing them to read without being taught and to understand things such as complex mechanics and electricity. The rats and Mr. Brisby escaped from N.I.M.H. and came to live on the Fitzgibbon farm. The rats created a home for themselves under Mrs. Fitzgibbon’s rose bush, creating an elaborate habitation of beautiful chambers, elevators, and Christmas lights. However, the rats are unhappy in their dependence on the humans, who they are stealing electricity from, and have concocted a plan to leave the farm and live independently. Because of her husband’s prior relationship with the rats, they agree to help Mrs. Brisby move her home out of the path of the plow. However, the evil Jenner and his unwilling accomplice Sullivan, who wish to remain beneath the rose bush, yet plot to kill Nicodemus during the move.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The Secret of NIMH features an all-star voice cast including Elizabeth Hartman, Derek Jacobi, Dom DeLuise, Shannen Doherty, Edie McClurg, and John Carradine.
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