A 1986 sequel to Robert C. O'Brien's novel Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, written by his daughter, Leslie Jane Conly.
It was followed by R-T, Margaret, and the Rats of NIMH in 1990.
Tropes:
- Ascended Extra:
- Jenner, who was the leader of a dissenting faction of rats, was only described in flashbacks in the original novel, and not even very well. He's killed offscreen and given a passing mention. Leslie Jane Conly did a Retcon on Jenner's death and promote him to a major part of a new character's backstory. He's even shown to be the father of a major character, which the character tries to hide due to worries over Jenner's controversial opinions. However, he still turns up very rarely, mostly in flashbacks, and is killed off-page during the climax.note
- Isabella, a very minor character from the first novel who is a major supporting character in Racso and R-T.
- Christopher was a minor character in Racso, and the main character in R-T.
- Carnivore Confusion: The Great Owl nearly kills Timothy by snatching him up to eat until he realizes that Timothy is Mrs. Frisby's son. Timothy is really, really hurt badly.
- Death Equals Redemption: Jenner is revealed to have survived his apparent first death and gained some perspective from it (as well as, understandably, a fear of technology and electricity), suggesting he has to some degree learned his lesson. But when it comes to his son, he is willing to risk dealing with it again, even to save Thorn Valley (which he does not hate, precisely, but certainly is far less disposed to stick his neck out for). The result is an offscreen Heroic Sacrifice for them all, but mostly for his son.
- Precocious Crush: Isabella's crush on Justin, which was introduced in the original novel, is a significant sub-plot here. He does not encourage it and ends up marrying a rat his own age. Isabella, after doing some painful soul-searching, ends up "special friends" with Racso instead.
- Ret-Canon: The book makes several references to elements exclusive to the movie adaptation, such as Mrs. Brisby's red cape and the characterization of Jeremy. Ironically very little of the book (aside from Timmy venturing to Thorn Valley) was put into mind for the film's sequel. The sequel takes some very minor elements from the original book, such as referring to Brutus's gentler real persona and the number of mice that survived the escape from NIMH (though this also causes a contradiction with the first film).
- Sdrawkcab Alias: Racso, because 'Oscar' doesn't sound nearly as cool.
