The Cinematheque

“The Secret of NIMH is an artistic success. It looks good, moves well, and delights our eyes.”

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

A beautiful, much-loved but oft-overlooked children’s film from the 1980s, The Secret of NIHM was directed and produced by celebrated animator Don Bluth, who had a much-publicized exit from the Walt Disney Company prior to its making. Disney’s rejection of NIMH​’s story—too dark, in their view—was the final straw in a series of events that prompted Bluth and a team of animators to leave Disney and form their own company. The resulting film—a return to traditional animation techniques that Disney was in the process of abandoning—tells the story of Mrs. Brisby, a widowed mouse, and her courageous mission to save her home and her desperately ill son from destruction. Her quest leads her to a group of hyper-intelligent escaped lab rats, led by the mystical and wise Nicodemus. They agree to help her as part of their own quest for independence.