History WesternAnimation / TheSecretOfNIMH

* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: Jeremy the Crow can't resist "sparklies." Drifts into ICantBelieveItsNotHeroin territory when Jeremy says with a touch of darkness, "You know, I've always wanted a sparkly ''of my very own''" while leering / menacing over Mrs. Brisby. It makes sense, considering that corvids in general have the reputation of being attracted to shiny objects (even though this has since proven to be a myth).

* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: Jeremy the Crow can't resist "sparklies." Drifts into ICantBelieveItsNotHeroin territory when Jeremy says with a touch of darkness, "You know, I've always wanted a sparkly ''of my very own''" while leering / menacing over Mrs. Brisby.

* AllPowerfulBystander: Nicodemus is quite adept at scrying and can see Mrs. Brisby's dilemma and is ready to help her before she even goes to consult the Great Owl. Why he doesn't just save time by sending for her immediately is never addressed. Justin knew Jonathan Brisby and considered it an honour to meet his wife, so he could have invited her to the rosebush. Even Mr. Ages despite his normal grumbling nature would have been up to the task, considering he was all for helping her during the council session. The only plausible explanation is that Nicodemus couldn't risk extending his hand to Mrs. Brisby first while the Thorn Valley plan was still being debated for fear of his political enemy Jenner accusing him of going soft or senile or mad and using it as an opportunity to gain power.

* IdenticalStranger: Despite being different species and knowing each other, Nicodemus and the Great Owl have the same glowing eyes, same big eyebrows and same-length moustaches. See picture above. [[http://www.adammcdaniel.com/DonBluth/Don_Bluth_Interview3.htm Don Bluth mentioned]] that they were meant to be mirror images of one another, both "godlike" in their own realms and thus styled very similarly. They also were both ancient beings far past the prime of their power, which would explain the close alliance they had.

* DeathEqualsRedemption: Sullivan, who after being [[spoiler:slashed across the throat by Jenner, uses his last breath to throw a knife in Jenner's back as he prepares to kill Justin]].

* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: [[spoiler:Jenner slashing Sullivan across his ''throat'' with his ''sword'' is startling even to ''adults''.]]

* MinionWithAnFInEvil: Sullivan doesn't really do anything to further Jenner's plots. [[spoiler:He can't bear the thought of killing Nicodemus and refuses to swing his sword at the crucial moment, leaving Jenner to do the dirty deed. He even tries to stop Jenner from going over the edge and gets his throat cut for his troubles. He lives just long enough to redeem himself by stabbing Jenner InTheBack before he kills Justin.]]

''The Secret of NIMH'' was Don Bluth's first feature film after leaving Disney; it was even produced a decade after Disney itself had turned down adapting the original story. Bluth used traditional tools and methods as a way of fighting back against the movement towards lower production costs (and lower quality animation). Produced by Creator/UnitedArtists, which had just recently folded into Creator/{{MGM}}, the film was commercially a moderate box office success, costing $7 million and earning $14 million. This modest revenue was, in part, due to competition with ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial''. ''NIMH'' eventually managed to seduce the director of ''E.T.'', Creator/StevenSpielberg, into teaming up with Bluth. Together, they made two rather high-grossing animated films of the decade: ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'', both distributed by Creator/UniversalPictures.

''The Secret of NIMH'' was Don Bluth's first feature film after leaving Disney; it was even produced a decade after Disney itself had turned down adapting the original story. Bluth used traditional tools and methods as a way of fighting back against the movement towards lower production costs (and lower quality animation). Produced by Creator/UnitedArtists, which had just recently folded into Creator/{{MGM}}, the film was commercially a moderate box office success, costing $7 million and earning $14 million. This modest revenue was, in part, due to competition with ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial''. ''NIMH'' eventually managed to seduce the director of ''E.T.'', Creator/StevenSpielberg, into teaming up with Bluth. Together, they made two rather high-grossing animated films of the decade: ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime''.

* OffModel:
** During Nicodemus' "We Know Too Much" speech to Mrs. Brisby, at one part his eyebrows inexplicably disconnect from his head for a few frames! The same occurs with Jenner when he tells Sullivan, "Accidents could happen."
** The establishing shot of the Brisby home has the smoke coming out ''slightly'' to the right of the chimney.

* GiantWaistRibbon: Cynthia wears one.

* CreepyGood: The Great Owl is terrifying, but also helpful. Similarly, Brutus' initial appearance when Mrs. Brisby meets him is scary, but when she runs into Mr. Ages, he just dismissively clarifies Brutus is just a regular guard that Brisby had the misfortune of meeting when he was on-duty and without Ages to speak on her behalf.

[[AC:Films -- Live-Action]]

'''Mrs. Brisby:''' ''(holding on to Jeremy's string "collar" for dear life and clearly terrified)'': I don't know how I let you talk me into this!\\

--->'''Mrs. Brisby:''' ''[nervously]'' But what about the rat at the entrance? I can't go back there... I can't.\\
'''Mr. Ages:''' ''[mumbling dismissively]'' Oh, that's just Brutus. Follow me.

--> ''"Courage of the heart is very rare; the stone has a power when it's there."''

%%* ArcWords: "Courage of the heart is very rare. The stone has a power when it's there".

%%** Mrs. Brisby acts somewhat as one in more comical moments, though probably leans more towards woobie territory.

** Science vs Technology vs Nature vs The Uncertainty.

* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: The power of the Amulet seems to run on this. The inscription on the back of it even cryptically alludes to this;
-->''You can unlock any door if you only have the key.''

%%* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Jeremy isn't the most stable of characters sometimes.

%%* EarnYourHappyEnding: After the TraumaCongaLine Mrs. Brisby goes through...
%%* ElaborateUndergroundBase: The rats' colony below the rose bush.

%%* EvilSoundsDeep: Jenner has a ''very'' impressive speaking voice.

** Jeremy the Crow trying to find a love interest and dealing with Brisby's kids and Auntie Shrew later on. This one gets the least attention out of the plots and has the least bearing on the film, as Jeremy just serves as comic relief.
* FurryConfusion: The Rats angst over this quite a bit. Though, looking at the farm animals, all of them show intelligence and act somewhat like humans -- to a point. Only the insects play fully realistic parts.

%%* GracefulInTheirElement: Jeremy in the air, naturally.

* GrumpyOldMan: Mr. Ages is an abrasive misanthrope, but [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold his heart is very much in the right place]]. Auntie Shrew who is a [[GrumpyOldMan grumpy old woman]] herself, even refers to him as ''"that old flim-flam"''.

-->'''Justin:''' I'll get a line around the stones, now...''Brutus, quick!'' Get some rope; tie off those block lines!

* IceCreamKoan: The inscription on the back of the amulet: "You can unlock any door, if you only have the key".

* InexplicablyAwesome: The Amulet Nicodemus gives Mrs. Brisby. In fact, Nicodemus' magic powers in general. The film never explains where either came from. It's not even addressed if Nicodemus got those abilities as a side effect of the injection (which would raise questions about why the other rats got no such abilities) or if he was intelligent enough to learn them on his own. Years later, Don Bluth handwaved the presence of the amulet [[http://www.adammcdaniel.com/DonBluth/Don_Bluth_Interview3.htm in an interview]]:
--->"With regard to the amulet, it is a metaphor for believing in one's self. Remember the quote, 'Courage of the heart is very rare, the stone has a power when it's there.' It helps symbolize her courage and the power of the stone to help rescue her children...a miracle, if you will. God stuff. Granted, it isn't in the original novel, but we felt that it was much more powerful. Nicodemus says it was Jonathan's, but really just to get her to accept it. We didn't really think it was necessary to explain it further. Seems like we would eat up too much screen time to tell the history of the amulet, when the story was about an innocent widow mouse, who, thru her journey would find out that she has the courage to rescue her own family. Regarding magic, we really believe that animation calls for some magic, to give it a special 'fantastic' quality. The stone or amulet is just a method of letting the audience know that Mrs. Brisby has found 'Courage of the Heart'. Magic? Maybe. Spiritual? Yes."

-->'''Jeremy:''' ''[doing stunts in the air with Mrs. Brisby on his back]'' Nice evening, huh? See? I told you you'd like flying.\\
'''Mrs. Brisby:''' ''[holding on to Jeremy's string "collar" for dear life and clearly terrified]'' I don't know how I let you talk me into this!\\

%%* TheKlutz: Again, Jeremy.

-->Yes, ''I killed him''! He wanted to destroy ''everything''! I've learned this much: [[ItsAllAboutMe take what you can, when you can]]!

%%* MrExposition: Nicodemus, but he actually does it well. Mr. Ages and Justin too.

%%* NiceGuy: Jeremy and Justin in particular.
%%* NiceGirl: Mrs. Brisby.

-->"Cynthia dearest, don't paw me."

%%* PlummetPerspective: Used a few times.

%%* PowerGlows: Nicodemus is the king of Glowy Thingies of Power. %% What glowy thingies? %%

-->'''Nicodemus:''' Courage of the heart is very rare. The Stone has a power when it's there.

%%* PrecisionFStrike: "Damn..."
%%* PsychicPowers: Nicodemus has [[MindOverMatter telekinesis]], and Mrs. Brisby pulls some tricks at the end. %% Which ones? %%

-->'''Mrs. Brisby:''' ''[tearfully]'' He'll come back tomorrow! I wish Jonathan were here!\\
'''Auntie Shrew:''' ''[irritated]'' Well, he's ''not''. ''[viciously, as Mrs. Brisby continues to sob]'' ''[[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan Stop it]].''

'''Justin:''' Then you've learned ''nothing''!

-->'''Jenner:''' ''[has been talking about how Nicodemus's plan to move is the idea of idiots and dreamers]'' We were just talking about you.\\

--->"There are messages in Secret of N.I.M.H. If you see the story line, you'll see there are all these little junctures along the way where you have a little message that is not entirely obvious. The novels do the same thing. If you re-read a novel, you'll find all these things that you didn't see the last time you read it. I know if you read the Bible stories [as an adult], for example, or the fairy tales, what happens is that you go: "I never remembered that. I never got that." It's because your psyche and development have progressed to the point where your understanding has increased. I was drawing Nicodemus from Secret of N.I.M.H. I said, "You know Nicodemus and the owl are actually the same person." Nobody knew that. I said, "They are the same person. We obviously made it so it's like a shape-shifter." Mythologically, that's what it is. The owl is trying to get Mrs. Brisby to stop saying, "Help, help, help," and to look inside herself and find her own strength. That's what he's trying to do. So then he tells her to go the rats. He is there himself in the guise of Nicodemus. He appears to her again and says, "OK, you have to help yourself." But he makes her go on this journey, because it's by going on our daily journey or our life's journey that we learn things that we have to know. And if we don't take the time to go on those journeys, however hard they may be, then you don't pick up all the little treasures you need to be a really whole person. That's what I think."

--->"Also there is the fact that only Mrs. Brisby and Ages see the elaborate costumes of the rats and their society. John once stated, "Isn't it plausible that the entire set up of the lavish clothes, the elegant chambers, the amulet's power, etc. were nothing more than an image given to Brisby to assist her in finding the strength she had inside of her. We know the rats had powers... just how great were those powers?"

* DarkIsNotEvil: The Great Owl, who is neutral. Also Nicodemus, because not only is he scary and ugly (the "ugly" being mostly because of how [[UncannyValley disturbingly anthropomorphic he is]]), but also actually quite dark in himself (largely thanks to the fact that the colours in the movie are [[RealIsBrown quite dull and brown]], as was the style in fantastic films of the time).

%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.

* NiceHat: Invoked by Jeremy ("Oh, what a lovely hat!") to Auntie Shrew when trying to sweet talk her.

* AdaptationNameChange: The Frisby family becomes the ''Brisby'' family, due to fears of legal trouble with the makers of the Frisbee toy. This change actually occurred mid-production, necessitating the re-recording of several lines of dialogue.

* CreepyGood: The Great Owl is terrifying, but also helpful. Similarly, Brutus' initial appearance is scary, but later lines clarify he's a protector.

* AdultFear: It's scary enough for the single mother Mrs. Brisby having to deal with her critically ill son, but during the climax when her children are stuck in their cement block house and it's sinking into the mud the fear is amped up ten-fold.

* IllBoy: Timmy.

* AwesomeButImpractical: The ink Nicodemus uses to write in his journal in the opening scene. It sheds golden sparkly fairy dust all over the place, and the text he writes doesn't become visible until after a two-second delay.

!!''The Secret of NIMH'' contains examples of the following tropes:

%%* BlatantLies:
%%--> '''Jenner:''' It would be an honor to assist Jonathan's widow in any way. We are but your humble servants.

''The Secret of NIMH'' was Don Bluth's first feature film after leaving Disney; it was even produced a decade after Disney itself had turned down adapting the original story. Bluth used traditional tools and methods as a way of fighting back against the movement towards lower production costs (and lower quality animation). Produced by United Artists, which had just recently folded into MGM, the film was commercially a moderate box office success, costing $7 million and earning $14 million. This modest revenue was, in part, due to competition with ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial''. ''NIMH'' eventually managed to seduce the director of ''E.T.'', Creator/StevenSpielberg, into teaming up with Bluth. Together, they made two rather high-grossing animated films of the decade: ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime''.

-->'''Jenner:''' (''to Sullivan'') No taste for blood, eh? They've taken the animal out of you.

* AdaptationalVillainy: In the book the film is based on, Jenner is a much less villainous CommanderContrarian, and doesn't [[spoiler: kill Nicodemus]] like his film incarnation does. In fact, one can argue that they made Jenner evil simply for the sake of having a villain.

--->'''Mrs. Brisby:''' (''nervously'') "But what about the rat at the entrance? I can't go back there... I can't."
--->'''Mr. Ages:''' (''mumbling dismissively'') "Oh, that's just Brutus. Follow me."

* CharacterDevelopment: With the help of the Great Owl and Nicodemus, Mrs. Brisby is encouraged to find her own courage and inner strength instead of falling back on others for help, and then use it with [[spoiler: the amulet to save her kids.]]

* EvilGloating: After [[spoiler: murdering Nicodemus]], Jenner cannot resist spilling the beans about it as soon as Justin figures it out and accuses him.

* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: [[spoiler: Jenner slashing Sullivan across his ''throat'' with his ''sword'' is startling even to ''adults''.]]

--> '''Mrs. Brisby:''' Jeremy! Someone strong should be watching my children. In case that tractor starts up again.

** The rats of NIMH trying to come to terms with their newfound intelligence and responsibilities and planning to leave for Thorn Valley instead of pilfering off human resources in secret. Mrs. Brisby's husband was one of them and helped them escape NIMH (and sacrificed his life trying to drug Dragon for the other rats), so the Great Owl sends Mrs. Brisby to them for their aid in saving her children. Curiously, while their newfound intelligence provides an interesting backstory, it actually doesn't have that much relevance to the film's main plot other than providing another source of conflict, and [[spoiler: other than going through with the plan to move]], it doesn't really get resolved.

** This in turn gets Mrs. Brisby wrapped in ''[[FromBadToWorse another]]'' [[FromBadToWorse source of conflict]]. Jenner tries to sabotage the rats' moving plans by [[spoiler: murdering Nicodemus in a staged accident while they're moving Mrs. Brisby's house]], so in turn he can usurp leadership of the rats of NIMH. And ''then'' [[spoiler: once he sees Mrs. Brisby has the stone Nicodemus gives her, he changes his motive on a whim and tries to kill her to get it.]]
** [[spoiler: The farmer interacting with people from NIMH who are searching for the rats and plan to destroy them]] Surprisingly, the sequel directly followed up on this plot thread.

--> '''Justin:''' I'll get a line around the stones, now...''Brutus, quick!'' Get some rope; tie off those block lines!

--> '''Jeremy''': (''doing stunts in the air with Mrs. Brisby on his back'') Nice evening, huh? See? I told you you'd like flying.
--> '''Mrs. Brisby''' (''holding on to Jeremy's string "collar" for dear life and clearly terrified'') I don't know how I let you talk me into this!
--> '''Jeremy''': Ah, don't thank me, Ms. Briz.

-->'''Mrs. Brisby:''' If you're going to feather a nest, you've got a lot to learn about how to treat a lady.
-->'''Jeremy:''' Right. When you're right, you're right, and you're right. None of the girls I meet wanna get serious.
-->'''Mrs. Brisby:''' [[DeadpanSnarker I doubt they'd survive]].

* MinionWithAnFInEvil: Sullivan doesn't really do anything to further Jenner's plots. [[spoiler: He can't bear the thought of killing Nicodemus and refuses to swing his sword at the crucial moment, leaving Jenner to do the dirty deed. He even tries to stop Jenner from going over the edge and gets his throat cut for his troubles. He lives just long enough to redeem himself by stabbing Jenner InTheBack before he kills Justin.]]
* MotiveDecay: Jenner spends most of his screentime planning to usurp leadership of the Rats of NIMH by [[spoiler: murdering Nicodemus in a staged accident.]] Shortly after, he tries to kill Mrs. Brisby when she brings news that NIMH is coming, but once he sees the Amulet that Nicodemus gave her, Jenner, for no clear reason, abruptly forgets everything else and changes his goal to killing Mrs. Brisby for it.[[note]]While Nicodemus foreshadowed that he feared Jenner would get the Amulet, it isn't made clear if Jenner even knew if it existed or if it had magical power in the first place.[[/note]]

--> '''Mrs. Brisby''': (''tearfully'') He'll come back tomorrow! I wish Jonathan were here!\\
'''Auntie Shrew''': (''irritated'') Well, he's ''not''. (''viciously, as Mrs. Brisby continues to sob'') ''[[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan Stop it]].''

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Sullivan, despite threats from Jenner, ultimately refuses to play part in [[spoiler: murdering Nicodemus]].

* ShoutOut: Mrs. Brisby [[spoiler: raising her house with the medallion at the end]], at least how its visually presented, is very likely a homage to Yoda using the Force to raise Luke's X-Wing in ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack''.

-->'''Jenner:''' He wanted to destroy everything! I've learned this much: take what you can...when you can!
-->'''Justin:''' Then you've learned ''nothing''!

-->'''Jenner''': ''(has been talking about how Nicodemus's plan to move is the idea of idiots and dreamers)'' We were just talking about you.\\
'''Justin''': That's refreshing, Jenner, usually you're screaming about us.

* SpaceWhaleAesop: If you can find courage and the initiative to take things into your own hands, you can [[spoiler: harness the power of a magic amulet to raise your house into the air.]]

-->'''Jenner:''' The Thorn Valley Plan is the aspiration of ''idiots'' and ''dreamers''! We... ''(sees Justin and Mr. Ages and [[SmugSnake chuckles]])'' We were just talking about you...
-->'''Justin:''' [[InsultBackfire That's refreshing, Jenner]] – usually you're ''screaming'' about us.

-->"There are messages in Secret of N.I.M.H. If you see the story line, you'll see there are all these little junctures along the way where you have a little message that is not entirely obvious. The novels do the same thing. If you re-read a novel, you'll find all these things that you didn't see the last time you read it. I know if you read the Bible stories [as an adult], for example, or the fairy tales, what happens is that you go: "I never remembered that. I never got that." It's because your psyche and development have progressed to the point where your understanding has increased. I was drawing Nicodemus from Secret of N.I.M.H. I said, "You know Nicodemus and the owl are actually the same person." Nobody knew that. I said, "They are the same person. We obviously made it so it's like a shape-shifter." Mythologically, that's what it is. The owl is trying to get Mrs. Brisby to stop saying, "Help, help, help," and to look inside herself and find her own strength. That's what he's trying to do. So then he tells her to go the rats. He is there himself in the guise of Nicodemus. He appears to her again and says, "OK, you have to help yourself." But he makes her go on this journey, because it's by going on our daily journey or our life's journey that we learn things that we have to know. And if we don't take the time to go on those journeys, however hard they may be, then you don't pick up all the little treasures you need to be a really whole person. That's what I think."

-->"Also there is the fact that only Mrs. Brisby and Ages see the elaborate costumes of the rats and their society. John once stated, "Isn't it plausible that the entire set up of the lavish clothes, the elegant chambers, the amulet's power, etc. were nothing more than an image given to Brisby to assist her in finding the strength she had inside of her. We know the rats had powers... just how great were those powers?"

-->'''Jeremy''': None of the girls I meet want to get serious.\\
'''Mrs. Brisby''': I doubt they'd survive.

-->'''Jeremy:''': "So....do ya like me?"
-->'''Mrs. Brisby:''': "Of course I like you. Bye now!"