History YMMV / TheSecretOfNimh

* AnimationAgeGhetto: On-screen violence, death and other trauma, as well as a casual "damn" thrown in to AvoidTheDreadedGRating... which it still got.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Creator/WilWheaton and Shannon Doherty both got very early roles as child actors in this movie, and this would mark the first of a long line of roles Creator/DomDeLuise would play for Creator/DonBluth.

* FirstInstallmentWins: Although Don Bluth did plenty of [[WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail other]] [[WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime quality]] [[WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}} films]] after this one, many people still agree that this is his most consistently good film.

** This wouldn't be the last time Creator/DerekJacobi would play an elderly wise person. He later did so with his role as Professor Yana in ''Series/DoctorWho''.

* HypeBacklash: An example of an otherwise underground work being pushed on the general public by its small audience. A great deal of [[BigNameFan big name fans]], most notably WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic, have frequently gone on about how it's one of the greatest animated films ever. The result was that some newcomers were significantly disappointed when they felt it didn't meet the incredibly high expectations its fans had given them.

%%** "Everyone is Furry for Justin!"

* SpecialEffectsFailure: The bulk of the film has impressive animation and special effects work, but some of the scenes of the Tractor and its plow during the Moving Day sequence are obvious live action footage tinted in brown, which sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the films art. Even Don Bluth admitted he was dissatisfied with the effect in his book "The Art of Storyboard". [[note]]Bluth did however use this technique here and on [[WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail The Giant Mouse of Minsk]] to make the thing look completely alien against the more cartoonish characters.[[/note]]

* CompleteMonster: [[YouDirtyRat Jenner]], in contrast to his noble brethren amongst the rats of NIMH, desires nothing but power. When [[TheHero Mrs. Brisby]] comes to the rats for help moving her family and house to be safe from a farmer's plow, Jenner sabotages the moving so the wise and kind leader of the rats, Nicodemus, is crushed to death, while the Brisby house is sinking in mud with Jenner not caring about the impending deaths of the kids trapped inside. When he sees Nicodemus bequeathed it to her, Jenner attempts to murder Mrs. Brisby for a special stone. Jenner, like all the rats, owes his very life to Mrs. Brisby's deceased husband and the father of her kids, but [[UngratefulBastard displays zero remorse or gratitude to Jonathan's memory]]. After his henchman Sullivan finally has enough with Jenner's lunacy, Jenner [[SlashedThroat slashes Sullivan's throat]] and attempts to kill his rival Justin, declaring his only philosophy in life: [[ItsAllAboutMe Take what you can when you can]].

%%* EnsembleDarkhorse:

%%** The Great Owl is in one scene, and its very memorable.
%%** Jenner has very limited screen time or characterization, and yet is still a memorable villain.
%%** Nicodemus due to Derek Jacobi's terrific performance.

* CompleteMonster: [[YouDirtyRat Jenner]], in contrast to his noble brethren amongst the rats of NIMH, desires nothing but power. When [[TheHero Mrs. Brisby]] comes to the rats for help moving her family and house to be safe from a farmer's plow, Jenner sabotages the moving so the wise and kind leader of the rats, Nicodemus, is crushed to death, while the Brisby house is sinking in mud with Jenner not caring about the impending deaths of the kids trapped inside. When he sees Nicodemus bequeathed it to her, Jenner attempts to murder Mrs. Brisby for a special stone. Jenner, like all the rats, owes his very life to Mrs. Brisby's deceased husband and the father of her kids, but [[UngratefulBastard displays zero remorse or gratitude to Jonathan's memory]]. After his henchman Sullivan finally has enough with Jenner's lunacy, Jenner [[SlashedThroat slashes Sullivan's throat]] and attempts to kill his rival Justin, declaring his only philosophy in life: [[ItsAllAboutMe take what you can when you can]].

** This wouldn't be the last time Creator/DerekJacobi would play [[Series/DoctorWho an elderly wise person]].

* MoralEventHorizon: Jenner crosses this after [[spoiler:cutting the rope and causing the brick to crush Nicodemus.]]

* SpecialEffectsFailure: The bulk of the film has impressive animation and special effects work, but some of the scenes of the Tractor and its plow during the Moving Day sequence are obvious live action footage tinted in brown, which sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the films art. Even Don Bluth admitted he was dissatisfied with the effect in his book "The Art of Storyboard".
** Arguably, [[TropesAreNotBad it makes the whole thing]] [[NightmareFuel even scarier]]. Bluth used this technique here and on [[WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail The Giant Mouse of Minsk]] to make the thing look completely alien against the more cartoonish characters.
* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: Between the lightning sparking off Brutus's halberd, the lightshows from Nicodemus' CrystalBall, the MindScrew-y visuals during the NIMH flashback sequences, and the amulet coming to life at the end, the light effects are utterly ''dazzling.''
** Done by a staff of three effects animators, no less!

* FanonDiscontinuity: ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNIMH2TimmyToTheRescue''. Nuff said.

* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Jeremy may count, due to his comic relief role, being voiced by Creator/DomDeLuise. WordOfGod in the DVDCommentary confirms that Jeremy's role was heavily expanded after seeing his potential from both his voice actor and animator.
** "Everyone is Furry for Justin!"
** The Great Owl is in one scene, and its very memorable.
** Jenner has very limited screen time or characterization, and yet is still a memorable villain.
** Nicodemus due to Derek Jacobi's terrific performance. Likewise John Carradine's performance as the Great Owl and Paul Shenar's as Jenner.

* AdaptationDisplacement: Book? What is this book you speak of? The film is much more well known than the source novel. Even the poorly received sequel seems to be more famous.
** This is not helped by the ebook being available only on the UK iTunes Store.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
** The song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTlRrgE8wWM "Flying Dreams".]] To which you could add the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k8o8yNb6aM opening credits]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdV0OGoMhB8the closing credits]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA5njxUSDrA Mrs. Brisby & Jeremy's flight to meet the owl]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlRSs63umH4 the rescue of the Brisby house]]... well, the entire score...

* CompleteMonster: [[YouDirtyRat Jenner]], in contrast to his noble brethren amongst the rats of NIMH, desires nothing but power. When [[TheHero Mrs. Brisby]] comes to the rats for help moving her family and house to be safe from a farmer's plow, Jenner sabotages the moving so the wise and kind leader of the rats, Nicodemus, is crushed to death, while the Brisby house is sinking in mud with Jenner not caring about the impending deaths of the kids trapped inside. When he sees Nicodemus bequeathed it to her, Jenner attempts to murder Mrs. Brisby for a special stone. Jenner, like all the rats, owes his very life to Mrs. Brisby's deceased husband and the father of her kids, but [[UngratefulBastard displays zero remorse or gratitude to Jonathan's memory]]. After his henchman Sullivan finally has enough with Jenner's lunacy, Jenner [[SlashedThroat slashes Sullivan's throat]] and attempts to kill his rival Justin, declaring his only philosophy in life: "[[ItsAllAboutMe Take what you can when you can.]]"

** Jeremy may count, due to his comic relief role, being voiced by Creator/DomDeLuise.

* FanPreferredCouple: Justin and Mrs. Brisby. There's obviously ''some'' attraction going on there, but their species difference and the fact that Mrs. Brisby is very recently widowed makes this something of a hot-button subject.
** Here's what the actual script has to say about their introduction:

* HarsherInHindsight: In one scene Mrs. Brisby jumps out of a bird cage with a string to break her fall. In real life, her voice actress Elizabeth Hartman committed suicide a few years later by jumping to her death.

* WordOfGod in the DVDCommentary confirms that Jeremy's role was heavily expanded after seeing his potential from both his voice actor and animator.

* AdaptationDisplacement: Book? What is this book you speak of? The film is much more well known than the source novel. Even the poorly received sequel seems to be more famous. This is not helped by the ebook being available only on the UK iTunes Store.

** "Flying Dreams" is even cooler when you realize that it's one of the few songs Music/PaulWilliams has recorded since he stopped releasing albums in the early 80s.
** It really says something about how amazing the musical score when Music/JerryGoldsmith himself stated this was one of his personal favorites.

** Jeremy may count, due to his comic relief role, being voiced by Creator/DomDeLuise. WordOfGod in the DVDCommentary confirms that Jeremy's role was heavily expanded after seeing his potential from both his voice actor and animator.

* FanPreferredCouple: Justin and Mrs. Brisby. There's obviously ''some'' attraction going on there, but their species difference and the fact that Mrs. Brisby is very recently widowed makes this something of a hot-button subject. Here's what the actual script has to say about their introduction:

* HarsherInHindsight:
** In one scene Mrs. Brisby jumps out of a bird cage with a string to break her fall. In real life, her voice actress Elizabeth Hartman committed suicide a few years later by jumping to her death.

* CompleteMonster: [[YouDirtyRat Jenner]], in contrast to his noble brethren amongst the rats of NIMH, desires nothing but power. When [[TheHero Mrs. Brisby]] comes to the rats for help moving her family and house to be safe from a farmer's plow, Jenner sabotages the moving so the wise and kind leader of the rats, Nicodemus, is crushed to death, while the Brisby house is sinking in mud with Jenner not caring about the impending deaths of the kids trapped inside. When he sees Nicodemus bequeathed it to her, Jenner attempts to murder Mrs. Brisby for a special stone. Jenner, like all the rats, owes his very life to Mrs. Brisby's deceased husband and the father of her kids, but [[UngratefulBastard displays zero remorse or gratitude to Jonathan's memory]]. After his henchman Sullivan finally has enough with Jenner's lunacy, Jenner [[SlashedThroat slashes Sullivan's throat]] and attempts to kill his rival Justin, declaring his only philosophy in life: [[ItsAllAboutMe take what you can when you can]].

* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Jenner]] is a nasty, murderous piece of work. In contrast to his noble brethren amongst the rats of NIMH, Jenner [[AmbitionIsEvil desires nothing but power]]. When TheHero Mrs. Brisby comes to the rats for help moving her family and house to be safe from a farmer's plow, Jenner sabotages the moving so the wise and kind leader of the rats, Nicodemus is crushed to death. When he sees Nicodemus bequeathed a special stone to Mrs. Brisby, Jenner attempts to murder her for it. What makes it even worse is Jenner, like all the rats, owes his very life to Mrs. Brisby's deceased husband and the father of her kids and displays zero remorse or gratitude to Jonathan's memory. After his henchman Sullivan finally has enough with Jenner's lunacy, Jenner [[SlashedThroat slashes his throat]] and attempts to kill his rival Justin, declaring his only philosophy in life: "[[ItsAllAboutMe Take what you can when you can.]]"

* FirstInstallmentWins: Though he did plenty of [[WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail other]] [[WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime good]] [[WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}} films]] after this one, most people still agree that this is Don Bluth's most consistently good film.
* HarsherInHindsight: In one scene Mrs. Brisby jumps out of a bird cage with a string to break her fall. In real life, her voice actress Elizabeth Hartman committed suicide a few years later by jumping to her death.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTlRrgE8wWM "Flying Dreams".]] To which you could add the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k8o8yNb6aM opening credits]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdV0OGoMhB8the closing credits]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA5njxUSDrA Mrs. Brisby & Jeremy's flight to meet the owl]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlRSs63umH4 the rescue of the Brisby house]]... well, the entire score...
** "Flying Dreams" is arguably a lot cooler when you realize that it's one of the few songs Music/PaulWilliams has recorded since he stopped releasing albums in the early 80s.

** Jeremy may count, due to his comic relief role, being voiced by Creator/DomDeLuise.
*** WordOfGod in the DVDCommentary confirms that Jeremy's role was heavily expanded after seeing his potential from both his voice actor and animator.

* FanPreferredCouple: Justin and Mrs. Brisby. There's obviously ''some'' attraction going on there, but their species difference and the fact that Mrs. Brisby is very recently widowed makes this something of a hot-button subject.
** Here's what the actual script has to say about their introduction:

* AdaptationDisplacement: Book? What is this book you speak of? The film is much more well known than the source novel. Even the poorly received sequel seems to be more famous.
** This is not helped by the ebook being available only on the UK iTunes Store.
** The book is far more popular among elementary school students in the US.

* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Jenner]] is a nasty, murderous piece of work. In contrast to his noble brethren amongst the rats of NIMH, Jenner desires nothing but power. When TheHero Mrs. Brisby comes to the rats for help moving her family and house to be safe from a farmer's plow, Jenner sabotages the moving so the wise and kind leader of the rats, Nicodemus is crushed to death. When he sees Nicodemus bequeathed a special stone to Mrs. Brisby, Jenner attempts to murder her for it. What makes it even worse is Jenner, like all the rats, owes his very life to Mrs. Brisby's deceased husband and the father of her kids and displays zero remorse or gratitude to Jonathan's memory. After his henchman Sullivan finally has enough with Jenner's lunacy, Jenner slashes his throat and attempts to kill his rival Justin, declaring his only philosophy in life: "[[ItsAllAboutMe Take what you can when you can.]]"

* GeniusBonus: Creator/RobertBurns' famous poem, ''To a Mouse'', was inspired by his accidentally destroying a mother mouse's nest while plowing his field (notice the combine is consistently, anachronistically referred to as "the plow" throughout the movie). In the opening line, he refers to the mouse as (translated) a "wee, well-groomed, cowering, timid beast". Remind you of anyone?

* FanonDiscontinuity: Many fans are happy to pretend ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNIMH2TimmyToTheRescue'' never actually happened.

* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: The song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTlRrgE8wWM "Flying Dreams".]] To which you could add the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k8o8yNb6aM opening credits]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdV0OGoMhB8the closing credits]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA5njxUSDrA Mrs. Brisby & Jeremy's flight to meet the owl]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlRSs63umH4 the rescue of the Brisby house]]... well, the entire score...
** "Flying Dreams" is arguably a lot cooler when you realize that it's one of the few songs Music/PaulWilliams has recorded since he stopped releasing albums in the early 80s.
** It really says something about how amazing the musical score when Music/JerryGoldsmith himself stated this was one of his personal favorites.

** Creator/JohnCarradine as the Owl. The whole scene on both a technical and emotional level could be considered Bluth's CrowningMomentOfAwesome.

* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: Between the lightning sparking off Brutus's halberd, the lightshows from Nicodemus' CrystalBall, the MindScrew-y visuals during the NIMH flashback sequences, and the amulet coming to life at the end, the light effects are utterly ''dazzling.''

* MagnificentBastard: Jenner is regarded as one of the most successful villains in film history. [[spoiler:Since he makes the falling of Mrs. Brisby's house and Nicodemus' death look like an accident, no one suspects his cruel deed... until Justin finds out about his plans from Sullivan. Had he counted on that as well as Mrs. Brisby warning the other rats about NIMH coming to exterminate them, he would've gotten away with it]].