History Headscratchers / TheSecretOfNIMH

** That explains why they wouldn't let ''Mrs. Brisby'', an ordinary house mouse, inside. But her ''kids'' are uplifted too, or at least half-uplifted. In a pinch, surely they could've let the sons and daughter of their "greatest hero" crash there for a few weeks, even if their Mom had to camp out somewhere else until the riverbank house was warm enough.

*** It's also possible that Mrs. Brisby, herself, happened to be in the highest %tile of ''natural'' mouse intelligence, hence more receptive to such learning than the average wild mouse. Perhaps that's why Jonathan was attracted to her, in the first place.

* One thing that bugs me about the movie is that the rats of NIMH aren't really any more intelligent than the other animals in the movie (with the exception [[CatsAreMean of Dragon]]). Take Mrs. Brisby for example: She wasn't one of the mice that were experimented upon, and yet she is apparantly smart enough to understand the concept of electricity and learn to read. And then there's the Great Owl, who (at least as far as we know) wasn't part of the experiment either, and yet he seems to be at least as wise as Nicodemus. So really, what did the experiment change for the rats of NIMH?

** In This Troper's opinion, the Great Owl scene is Creator/DonBluth 's proto-BigLippedAlligatorMoment. Nothing about who or what the Great Owl is supposed to be is explained, how the Great Owl knows about the rats of NIMH is never explained, it's never explained if the Owl is some sort of magical being or whether he has any connection to the experiments at NIMH. It's not even really explained why Auntie Shrew thought consulting him was a good idea. She just kind of [[AssPull randomly suggests]] to Mrs. Brisby that "the Great Owl" would know what to do without really elaborating on who this character is. Is the intended implication that the animals of the forest consult the Owl about their problems on regular basis? Well, that's never really explained either. And of course, the Owl [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse never appears again and is barely even referenced]] after his scene.

** Given the way the owl's eyes glow just like Nicodemus's, I would say it's pretty apparent that he was another of the animals from NIMH (unless he somehow got into [[Franchise/{{Dune}} the spice]]).

* I want to know how injecting a rat to give it higher intelligence will suddenly make it know how to read. You have to be taught to read, no matter how intelligent you are.

* Even though this is one of my all-time favourite movies, there is one thing that bothers me - the lack of explanation for "moving day". I understand that it's the annual plowing of the field, but how many times has it happened before? Do the family just vacate the house until the plowing is over? Where do they go to? When they return do they have to dig their house out of the dirt? Why is their house there in the first place, when there is a spot safe from the plow several feet away?

** [[AllThereInTheManual This was explained in the book, too.]] The family only ever expected to use it for a single winter. They knew that it would be destroyed by the plow, but used it anyway because it was a very lucky find--it's much warmer and drier than any other shelter they could expect to find to spend the winter. The conflict comes from Timothy's sickness and Moving Day coming too soon. If Timothy had never become ill, they would have left with plenty of time to spare to their summer house (which is located next to a river and is too open and chilly to use in the winter) and looked for a different place to spend the next winter. As it turns out, Timothy's sickness becomes a blessing in disguise, because it means the block is moved to a secure place and can be used as a permanent winter residence.
* Where the HELL does the ending come from? Ms. Brisby suddenly 'opens her heart' and the stone gives her the power to levitate her house? Because?

** The creator wanted so. No, rly. Mr. Bluth made the change simply because he felt like it. This troper likes the change.
*** I once heard that Mr. Bluth was going on the idea that there was a lot more to this world than simple intelligence can reveal. Nicodemus and Mrs. Brisby tapped into some of these forces with the strength of their hearts and not their brains. Even as a fan of the book I like it.
* WHY does the Great owl have big glowing eyes?
** Owls ''do'' have eyes which partly reflect light, like cats. It helps them see at night. [[RuleOfCool Although it was made more obvious for the film.]]
** See the answers to the question about the owl's identity above.
* On further questioning of the Great Owl, why does he look so damned much like Nicodemus? This troper, honestly, just thinks of the owl being a shapeshifted Nicodemus. I mean, they both have the crazy mustaches, knobbly hands/talons, glowing eyes... Too similar to be a coincidence.
** Don Bluth just has a really distinct style. His Rasputin sort of looks this way, too.
** WordOfGod confirmed they made the two look alike to [[MindScrew further confuse us]]. Source: http://www.adammcdaniel.com/DonBluth/Don_Bluth_Interview3.htm
** It also represents their alignment and their similar natures: one is a singular, ancient, powerful {{Magitek}} mage, one is a singular, ancient, powerful [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragon.]] They are kindred spirits, in a way, and damn good thing for Mrs. Brisby that they ''were''.

** 2)Telekinesis requires concentration. Not that easy to stop something huge falling down in it's tracks.

*** When Nic and Mrs are leaving he summons his staff to him with a gesture, and when he gives her the pendant, the box it was in floats away offscreen.

* To rephrase a point brought up by a lot of people, if the rats idolize Jonathan and Timmy so much that they give them statues why the hell doesn't Mrs. Brisby have one as well? She was the one who warned them about NIMH coming to they could leave for Thorn Valley in the first place! If it hadn't been for her, they'd have been recaptured or worse!

* I remember in the first movie that Nicodemus said that NIMH's experiments slowed down the aging of the mice and rats, which was why Jonathan never told his wife about NIMH - he and the children would still be young while she got old and died. So it makes sense that she'd be graying by the time the sequel began, but how was she still alive for the ending of the sequel? Furthermore, if that's the case, wouldn't Aunt Shrew be dead by the time of the sequel as well?
** This bothers me as well. Alongside the fact that Mr Ages is shown in the flashback sequence to be the same age as Jonathan, so his aging should have slowed down at the same rate as Jonathan's but he clearly looks older than Mrs. Brisby. It could be that Jonathan married her when he was quite old and looking a lot older than her already, but I doubt that because Nicodemus says in the past tense "He ''would'' have grown old" so he must have been and looked around the same age when they got together. Unless Mr. Ages strain of chemicals is slightly different?

* Where the hell was the Great Owl during the time period of the sequel? Missing? Dead? If he's dead, then that makes Jeremy and Cecil seem ten times more disrespectful for using his image to scam other animals out of their money (I'd complain about them having money in the first place, but I think I've added enough to this page).

** FridgeBrilliance: Mrs. Brisby is likely the most active of them all. She has to feed her children all by herself once her husband is dead, wandering further afield than Auntie Shrew (who seems to confine her life to the field itself). Plus, being a mother, she would have made sure her kids were well-dressed, even if it was at her expense.

* So...The real NIMH. They don't really test on poor little animals, do they? If they do, please say they are smart enough to not stick their intellectually enhanced specimens in easily opened cages.
** They possibly do, it's likely a thing done. Animals are used often for medical tests, particularly rodents. This troper imagines that they DO take steps to ensure the animals are treated well.
** Currently and for a couple of decades already, ethical protocols for the usage of animals in scientific experiments is common practice in most countries, and practically in all the West. Conditions today are much better, though can be improved. The use of rodents for medical investigation has diminished considerably for several reasons, both practical (like the fact that they aren't really that similar to humans so using them as test subjects is not as effective as once thought) and legal (again, the ethical protocols and most anti-animal cruelty laws are very harsh in many countries so using animals is sometimes very expensive and very legally complex). That's why experimentation with animals is not that common and currently many scientists go directly with human subjects. And of course there are many ethical considerations to apply also, but the fact that humans can consent to the experiments and many volunteer as it's sometimes paid and/or a way to have a free treatment makes it easier in some cases, more than finding the permissions for a chimpanzee for example.
** The term "NIMH" actually comes as a TakeThat against a guy named John B. Calhoun who made some horrible experiments on rats and mice in the '''N'''ational '''I'''nstitute of '''M'''ental '''H'''ealth known as the "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_sink Mouse Utopia]]". That was the real life MadScientist.

* What the hell was Jenner doing at the end? His plan to kill Nicodemus went off without a hitch, he basically had the Rats of NIMH wrapped around his fingers, and what does he do when Mrs. Brisby comes in to warn them of N.I.M.H coming in to exterminate them? He goes crazy and tries to kill her, ''right in front of the rest of the Rats of NIMH.'' While killing any innocent person for simply warning of potential danger would call his ability as a leader into serious question, this was Mrs. Brisby he just tried to kill, the wife of one of the Rats of NIHM's most beloved members, to whom they felt they owed enough to delay their plan to ensure the survival of their society just to save the house and family of said widowed wife. At no point did Jenner develop a personal reason to want Mrs. Brisby dead, and neither is he presented as a particularly stupid plotter, so why didn't he just try to keep his cool and use his silver tongue to dismiss her warnings to the group, instead of bluntly attacking her and completely discrediting himself in front of everyone?

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*** Something that bugged me even as a kid:When Mr.Ages is taking Mrs.Brisby to see Nicodemus he mentions offhandedly that he doesn't know why Nicodemus sees in "that boy"(meaning Justin).What does Nicodemus see in Justin?