History NightmareFuel / TheSecretOfNIMH

'''Jenner:''' Of course! Cut the lines and the weight of it will ''[[SlasherSmile crush his bones!]]''\\

* [[OminousOwl The Great Owl]], from the perspective of a little field mouse like Mrs. Brisby, really ''is'' a Great Wyrm (minus the firebreathing). His opening act is messily crushing a spider right next to Mrs. Brisby and it gets worse from there. But perhaps the most shiver-inducing scene is [[NothingIsScarier before we ever see him]]. When Mrs. Brisby calls into the seemingly bottomless dark hole that is his lair, this drifts up almost lazily from within:

*** The chase scene wasn't even all that bad, at least compared to the buildup. There was a fakeout with the rabbit, and then a slow buildup of Dragon creeping up, the audience only able to watch as the cat got ever closer. He doesn't even sound like a cat. More like a Hellhound. While his few scenes in the novel aren't nearly so intense, it's stated that he's still just as terrifying: the Fitzgibbons' only named the kitten "Dragon" for a joke initially, but he grew up to be as fierce as the name.

'''Jenner:''' Of course! Cut the lines and the weight of it will ''crush his bones!''\\
'''Sullivan''' ''(rubs his throat squeamishly)'': It's risky.\\

* [[OminousOwl The Great Owl]], from the perspective of a little field mouse like Mrs. Brisby, really ''is'' a Great Wyrm (minus the firebreathing). His opening act is messily crushing a spider right next to Mrs. Brisby and it gets worse from there. But perhaps the most shiver-inducing scene is [[NothingIsScarier before we ever see him]]. When Mrs. Brisby calls into the seemingly bottomless dark hole that is his lair, this drifts up almost lazily from within:
-->'''The Great Owl: ''STEP INSIDE MY HOUSE.'''''
** The [[SpidersAreScary spider]] that he crushes is even ''more'' frightening.
** Also, before he actually moves, and before the spider even appears, an eagle-eyed viewer can actually see his massive form waiting in the shadows behind Mrs. Brisby when she steps into his lair.

* [[KnightOfCerebus Jenner]], for his actions, demeanor, and utter ruthlessness in getting what he wants. In the scene where he tells Sullivan about his plan to kill Nicodemus.

* Mrs. Brisby getting caught by the humans and imprisoned in a cage. Her red robes are stripped off in a setting that's unsettlingly dehumanizing for a non-human animal. And when she tries to escape, she cuts herself and bleeds in a disturbingly lifelike fashion.

* The plough scene, with the heavily [[{{Rotoscoping}} rotoscoped]] tractor slowly creeping through the field and [[UncannyValley deliberately clashing]] with the rest of the film's {{Disneyesque}} style. And it all takes place from the perspective of the animals, turning a simple farming job into Armageddon as The Shrew runs through the field screaming "RUN!! THE PLOUGH IS HERE!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!! RUN!! IT'S MOVING DAY!!"

-->'''Jenner''': With Nicodemus outta the way, what's to stop us from taking over?\\
'''Sullivan''': Jenner, you can't kill Nicodemus!\\
'''Jenner''': No taste for blood, huh? They've taken the animal out of you.\\
'''Sullivan''': What if we're discovered?\\
'''Jenner''': Ah! Listen. The Brisby house is a large cement block. In the moving, what if it should fall?\\
'''Sullivan''': An accident?\\
'''Jenner''': Of course! Cut the lines and the weight of it will ''crush his bones!''\\
'''Sullivan''': (''rubs his throat squeamishly'') It's risky.\\
'''Jenner''': Once rid of Nicodemus, the plan will die! We can stay here as long as we like!\\
'''Sullivan''': But what about Justin?\\
'''Jenner''': Leave him to me. (''"To me...To me." echos'')

-->'''''STEP INSIDE MY HOUSE.'''''

--> '''Cynthia''': What's all that black stuff?

* The thought of four children trapped with their house sinking into the mud is unsettling in itself. Even more so [[AdultFear if you put yourself in Mrs. Brisby's situation]].

** And if that weren't bad enough, even as Mrs. Brisby rushes her children to safety, ''Timmy is left alone bedridden in the house'', completely unaware of what's to come and far too sick to be moved. Mrs. Brisby is forced to do the unthinkable and try to sabotage the tractor before it can reach their home. It is only due to the intervention of The Shrew that she and Timmy both survive the ordeal.

* The expression on Jenner's face as he is killed by the knife Sullivan threw into his back.
** How about that... ''[[HellIsThatNoise sound]]'' he makes when Justin stabs him in the gut?

* The tractor scene, with the heavily [[{{Rotoscoping}} rotoscoped]] tractor slowly creeping through the field and [[UncannyValley deliberately clashing]] with the rest of the film's {{Disneyesque}} style. And it all takes place from the perspective of the animals, turning a simple farming job into Armageddon as The Shrew runs through the field screaming "RUN!! THE PLOUGH IS HERE!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!! RUN!! IT'S MOVING DAY!!"

* The tractor scene, with the heavily [[{{Rotoscoping}} rotoscoped]] tractor slowly creeping through the field and [[UncannyValley deliberately clashing]] with the rest of the film's {{Disneyesque}} style. And it all takes place from the perspective of the animals, turning a simple farming job into Armageddon as The Shrew runs through the field screaming "THE PLOUGH IS HERE!!"

* The [[SpidersAreScary spider]] that he crushes is even ''more'' frightening.

** Music/JerryGoldsmith's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALF1DnfuBVU score]] for the scene, especially the ScareChord to accompany the tractor turning over. And even before that is the distant, ominous sound of the farmer trying to start it, warning Mrs. Brisby and The Shrew of it's looming threat.