In this animated movie, called by critics “Don Bluth’s best work,” we meet a little mouse named Mrs. Brisbee. Her husband, Jonathan, was recently killed, and with four small children, she feels overwhelmed. This is made worse when one of her sons, Timmy, comes down with pneumonia and she doesn’t know how to cure him.
Going to see a wise mouse named Mr. Ages, she obtains an envelope of medicine powder. He also tells her not to take Timmy outside for three weeks, but there’s a problem with that.
The mice live in a field belonging to Farmer Fitzgibbons. The farmer has plans to till the field as soon as the frost is lifted, and all the animals have been preparing for moving day. But the frost left early, and if Timmy can’t go outside for three weeks, how will Mrs. Brisbee save her family?
Steeling her nerves, she decides to go talk to the Great Owl, even though he eats mice. He’s impressed by her courage, but even more by the fact that she’s Jonathan’s widow. He tells her to go talk to the rats that live in the rosebush, and ask for Nicodemus.
Once there, she discovers a secret. The rats are all escaped from a laboratory that operates under the acronym NIMH. They were injected with chemicals that made them bigger, stronger, and smarter than other rats. Soon, they were even able to read, and they engineered their escape into the wild. They have electricity, and their lives are much more advanced than the other animals. Jonathan was also from NIMH, and a good friend of theirs, and they vow to do everything they can to help his widow. But Jenner, a power-hungry rat, wants to get Nicodemus out of the way so he can control the rats himself.
There were some great moments of comedy in the film. Dom DeLuise stars as Jeremy, a clumsy crow who helps Mrs. Brisbee – or rather, tries to help her. Hermione Baddeley (of “The Music Man”) voices Aunt Shrew, and does a great job. You’ll also be surprised to know that Shannen Doherty and Wil Wheaton voiced two of the children.
However, there were some frightening moments as well. The fight between the rats at the end involves swords, blood, and death. The owl is scary, and you may want to prescreen this movie for your children, especially if they’re sensitive.
Just out of curiosity, let’s see what my six-year-old thinks.
Joseph, what did you think of the movie we just watched?
It was great! It was a little scary, but not too scary. (He holds up his fingers, about a half centimeter apart) Well, it was this scary. But not too scary.
So we’ll take it from the six-year-old’s mouth.
This film was rated G.
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