Created February 20, 1997
What's new you ask?
-I recently got my commercial pilot's
license and will be pursuing my dream of having a career in aviation. My
webpages will be coming down around the new year indefinitely, or until
I settle somewhere which may be a number of months. A big thanks to all
the NIMHphomaniacs who have supported my page!! See you all later!
-September 12, Added some new art of my own and
some things to the "Crazy Things..." page.
-August 15, Added a link to a new NIMH page,
some new fan art, and another drawing of my own.
I decided it was time to oust the
counter since it didn't want to work anymore, but I know it was well over
5000. Thanks for the hits everyone!
This has got to be one of the best animated movies of all time, and it is certainly my favorite. I first saw The Secret of NIMH when I was about eight or nine, and I loved it. It was based on Robert C. O'Brien's novel Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH with some interesting twists. I actually didn't read the book until I was a freshman in college, and it was definitely worth reading. The movie is animated by Don Bluth, who also did both American Tail movies.
So why is an aeronautical engineer doing a webpage on a cartoon about a bunch of rats? Well, I like this movie, and I like all its characters. Besides, I think it deserves more recognition. It beats the hell out of most animated movies since it came out in 1982. The only movies I thought came close to comparison were the Fievel movies, Beauty and the Beast, Watership Down, and The Lion King. Don't get me wrong, I liked many other movies, but the were not like The Secret of NIMH. It was just so original.
As I said, I first saw this movie
around 1984 or so. I remember my first time watching it because Mr. Ages
had his leg in the cast already. That's right, I didn't see it all the
way through the first time. But it still entranced me. I thought it was
so intense. The sword fight between Jenner and Justin at the end was 
wicked;
and to cap it off, Sullivan throwing the knife into Jenner's back. Oh,
I almost forgot, the part where Justin says "Damn". I honestly didn't think
he was saying that. I had to watch it a few more times to convince myself.
I must have watched The Secret of NIMH two dozen times over the
next few years. The last time, for a while anyway, being summer before
seventh grade. Then, strange as it may sound, I sort of just forgot about
it.
It wasn't until summer before eleventh grade that I got back into it. It was another movie that reminded me of it, and of all movies to remind me, it was Pink Floyd, The Wall. I went to my cousins house in Pennsylvania and we rented The Wall(also made in 1982). It was a very interesting experience, the animation in The Wall of the bird of death flying up in the sky, reminded me of Jeremy and his girlfriend flying up in the sky at the end of The Secret of NIMH. And would you believe it, The Secret of NIMH was on HBO a few days later. I made sure not to miss it, and I made sure not to ever forget it. I was 22 when I finally got my own original copy.
No you are not seeing things. That is Mrs. Brisby in front of Pink Floyd's Wall. Since that strange experience, every time I listen to The Wall, or so much as hear a song from it, I think about The Secret of NIMH.
Once I got hooked up to the internet, I figured I'd look and see what there was on The Secret of NIMH. There was almost nothing! I found one picture of Mrs. Brisby at the Cartoon Factory and that's it. A few weeks later, I came across World Animation Galleries, which had a pretty good supply of Secret of NIMH stuff. Finally, summer of 1996, I stumbled onto someone's personal Secret of NIMH page. Her page inspired me to do my own home page which of course, includes this page(Thanks Jess). Now the number of Secret of NIMH pages on the web are starting to mount up. Hopefully they will continue.
I have read on a few other Secret of NIMH pages that the movie may be released on the big screen once again. I would love to see it on the big screen, digital surround sound would be an added bonus. I wonder how well it would do. If it did make it big, there would be Secret of NIMH merchandise galore, and there would be a lot more Secret of NIMH web pages out there.
Here are some pictures of the characters from this awesome movie. Most of these are just my favorites from other pages. There are some pictures here that I modified so this page could be somewhat original. Feel free to download, but please, do not use any pictures from the last group here or the logo picture at the top of the page without asking me first.
My own drawings and picture editing.
My furry art page (not
NIMH related)
Crazy Things That Obsessed Fans Do!
Does anyone notice a trend in the
links above? Female Secret of NIMH fans tend to have a thing for Justin.
I guess that's not surprising, he is the Knight in Shining Armor of the
movie. It's being revealed on guy's Secret of NIMH pages and fan art that
Mrs. Brisby is quite the heart-throb among male fans. She is my favorite
character of the movie, and she is kinda cute for a mouse. If I were a 
mouse
I'd...., well, we won't go that far. Anyway, Mrs. Brisby is the main character
of The Secret Of NIMH. Her husband Jonathan was killed while attempting
to drug Farmer Fitzgibbon's cat. Her son Timothy is deathly sick with pneumonia,
and she must get her house moved before the farmer makes gravel out of
it with his plow. Her quest leads her to discover a clan of intelligent
rats, who her husband was once part of. By the time the movie is over,
Mrs. Brisby is nearly sliced up by the farmers plow, almost eaten by his
cat, given a wild ride by a crow, barely escapes being barbecued by a rat
with an electrified spear, caught by the humans, saved from being stabbed
by a rampaging Jenner, almost drowns in the mud, and finally has all her
energy drained by a magic stone. I'd say she's pretty tough. As for her
personality, she is a little shy, whiny, and worries a lot, but she is
level headed, courageous, and irresistible.
Jonathan Brisby is Mrs. Brisby's
late husband. NIMH's experiments were done on rats and mice. Jonathan was
the leader of the mice. During the escape from NIMH, all mice but Jonathan
and Mr. Ages
were blown
away. Jonathan was the only one who's butt was skinny enough to fit through
a locked gate. He allowed the rats to escape from NIMH. Like the rats,
he was very intelligent. He passed this on to his children and to Mrs.
Brisby the best he could. He was a caring father and husband and is missed
by almost everyone in the movie.
"Long live Jonathan Brisby, The one whose taken the fall. His bravery and courage, will forever Inspire us all." -Silver
The whole point of Mrs. Brisby risking
life and limb is to save her family. She has four of the cartoon world's
cutest kids. They are Teresa, Martin, Timothy, and Cynthia. Teresa is the
oldest and tries to 
keep
the others in line. She acts more grown up than any of the other children.
Let's hope she grows up to be that way, and not like Shannon Doherty who
did her voice(Yes the same Shannon Doherty from Beverly Hills 90210).
Next down the line is Martin. Martin is the oldest son and
likes to act tough. He's a pretty big kid and tends be the most disruptive.
But he is never the less a good son and cares a lot for his mother and
siblings. Timothy, the younger son, is very sick 
with
pneumonia. The movie doesn't show enough of him to give a good idea of
his character. But according to the books, he is the brightest of the four
and shows the most interest in the Rats of NIMH. The youngest is Cynthia.
Cynthia is about the equivalent of a four year old in mouse years. She's
probably best known for referring to Jeremy the Crow as a turkey. Together,
the Brisby kids make quite a handful for anyone to handle, except Mrs.
Brisby. They literally drive Auntie Shrew from their home after laughing
at her falling down the stairs,"Prepare to move your very, very odd family!"
Auntie Shrew says to Mrs. Brisby.
Speaking of Auntie Shrew. She is
responsible for the welfare of all the animals in the field, and it is
her 
duty to
make sure everyone is ready for moving day. She's kind of a suspicious
grumpy old hag. When Jeremy comes to watch over the Brisby kids, Auntie
Shrew practically mummifies him thinking he's just a snooper. All her intentions
are good, the just needs to chill out a bit.
Jeremy the crow is the movie's comic
relief. His entire quest throughout the movie is to find the best 
string
to build his love nest. Jeremy is friendly, immature, and clumsy,"Jeremy,
you're stepping on my tail!"-Mrs. Brisby. He cares a lot for Mrs. Brisby,
without him, she never would have made it to see the Great Owl, thus never
knowing to go to see the Rats.
Mr. Ages is the movie's old fart.
He is one of two mice who survived the escape from NIMH, the other 
being
Jonathan Brisby. He is very intelligent and knowledgeable in medicine.
I guess you could call him the Rats' outside contact. Mr. Ages is somewhat
grumpy and prefers to be left alone.
Justin is the captain of the guards
of the Rats of NIMH. He can best be described as witty, relaxed, 
friendly,
and a little immature. He is very good with a sword and brave in the face
of danger. He becomes the leader of the Rats when Nicodemus is killed.
Mrs. Brisby thinks he's a stud.
Nicodemus is the wise and mystic
leader of the Rats of NIMH. Although weakened by age, he is capable 
of
using magic. Nicodemus feels the Rats owe much to the Brisby family for
what Jonathan did for them.
Jenner is the main villain in The
Secret of NIMH. He is opposed to the plan for all the Rats to move to 
Thorn
Valley. He would prefer staying in the rosebush and living off the luxuries
of human technology. Jenner is evil, dangerous, intelligent, and determined
to overthrow the Plan. I don't think Don Bluth could have drawn Jenner
much better. The goatee, sideburns, big eyebrows, piercing green eyes,
and just his size make him an intimidating foe.
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This The
Secret of Nimh Ring site owned by Charles
Duke. |
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So does it look like I'm a little obsessed? Well guess what, I am. I'll be adding more to this page as I get ideas. If you have comments, questions, or ideas, feel free to email me.