# Andrew's Secret of NIMH Page

You can unlock any door if you only have the key.

Mrs. Jonathan Brisby

The Secret of NIMH, produced and directed by Don Bluth, was released in 1982, has been released on video cassette as recently as 1994, and is, in my humble opinion, one of the best animated films to come out of the western world.

The film's story is based (more or less) on the children's novel Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien. First published in 1971, it won the 1972 John Newbery Medal for excellence in children's literature and has displayed the medal on its cover ever since. Robert O'Brien died in 1973, never seeing the film. His daughter, Jane Leslie Conly, has since taken up where her father left off, and has written two sequels, Racso and the Rats of NIMH and R-T, Margaret and the Rats of NIMH.

The film opens in a dimly lit study. An ancient hand records the passing of a friend and ally, Jonathan Brisby, who gave his life helping the escaped Rats of NIMH. In saying farewell, the old rat also laments that Jonathan left behind a wife, and that despite all that Jonathan had done, she must remain ignorant of the Rats.

A year later, Mrs. Brisby is at the home of a family friend, Mr. Ages. Despite the dangers of crossing the field with the cat around, she came in the hopes of obtaining medicine that will ease the fever of her youngest child, Timothy. Mr. Ages is his usual curmudgeonly self, but diagnoses Timothy's pneumonia and gives Mrs. Brisby what she needs. He advises her, however, that he is to remain indoors for several weeks, or the chilly spring air could be fatal. Mrs. Brisby begins to protest that the warming air means that she must move her family out of the farmer's fields and into the neighbouring woods soon, lest they be killed by the farmer's plow, but Mr. Ages is adamant. Mrs. Brisby reluctantly goes home without a solution to her problem.

Along the way, she comes across a curious sight. A young crow has tangled himself up in a length of string, and is quite unable to get himself loose. After watching him struggle for a moment, she introduces herself and offers to help him get free. As he struggles more, however, she cautions the crow to be quiet, as the farmer's cat, Dragon, could be around and may decide to snack on them both. Sure enough, as Mrs. Brisby chews through the string holding him down, the crow spots the cat approaching, chasing the occasional prospective lunch away in the process. Mrs. Brisby chews through the final string in just enough time to dive for cover, and barely manages to escape with her life. Taking refuge in an old mill, she realises she has lost the medicine intended for Timothy! Fortuneately, the crow has picked it up, and returned it to Mrs. Brisby as he was assuring her that he is all right. At last, he introduces himself as Jeremy, and explains that he was trying to get enough string to make a nest for two. Only problem was, he hasn't found Miss Right yet. Mrs. Brsiby patiently weathers his battery of questions about girls as she makes her way home.

At the Brisby home, Martin, the eldest son, suggests he go looking for their mother when they are paid a visit by Auntie Shrew. As Teresa patiently tries to explain to Auntie that their mother isn't home and young Cynthia tries to explain that her brother is ill, Martin decides that he's had enough of his Aunt and starts insulting her, saying that he doesn't need Auntie Shrew ordering him about. She leaves, insulted, but meets Mrs. Brisby at the door as she reutrns. Auntie warns that the frost is gone from the ground, and that Mrs. Brisby and her family should move immediately.

Meanwhile, Farmer Fitzgibbons and his wife are just getting to sleep when Mrs. Fitzgibbons mentions a strange phone call she got that day. A scientist from the National Institue of Mental Health had asked if they'd noticed odd behaviour among the rats on the farm. She was worried that they may have an odd disease, but the farmer shrugs it off, saying that he has to be up early the next morning. They weren't quite quick enough to notice a large number of rats carrying an electrical cord into their garden's rosebush.

Next morning, Mrs. Brisby is awakened by a curious sound. Going outside to see, she realises that the noise is that of the farmer starting his tractor. Auntie Shrew arrives, warning her to leave immediately, but Mrs. Brisby says she can't move Timothy, lest the cold air aggravate his pneumonia. But all debate is ended when the tractor finally starts. Mrs. Brisby gets her other three children to safety, but then heads after the tractor in a desperate move to save Timothy's life. Auntie Shrew can do nothing but follow, and when Mrs. Brisby becomes catatonic with fear above the blades of the tractor's plow, Auntie Shrew pulls on the tractor's fuel line, severing it and stopping the tractor. Finally, Auntie shrew leads Mrs. Brisby away to safety to recover. Mrs. Brisby is panicking, desperate to find a way to keep Timothy alive. Auntie Shrew suggests she go to the Great Owl, who may be able to suggest a solution.

Jeremy takes Mrs. Brisby to the Great Owl's tree, despite her fear of heights. She also is apprehensive about seeing the Owl, as owls are known to eat mice, but for the sake of her son, she manages to bring herself to entering the Great Owl's burrow. The Owl hears her problem, and suggests that her house, an old cement block near a large stone in the field, be moved behind the stone out of the way of the plow, so that she and her family may wait out the remainder of Timothy's illness in safety. But Mrs. Brisby tells him there is no way she could do that. The Owl tells her there is no other solution, and leaves to hunt, but first asks her name. When she tells him, the Owl reacts quite differently, and suggests a new course of action. As the widow of Jonathan Brisby, she should seek the help of the Rats, specifically of a rat named Nicodemus, who lived under the rosebush in the farmer's garden, and that they would be able to help in the moving of her house. He leaves Mrs. Brisby confused, but she agrees to go to the Rats.

The next day, Mrs. Brisby searches the rosebush for some sign that the Rats live there. She is aided, and the term is used loosely, by Jeremy, who insists that he is in disguise (under a sheet) so that Dragon would not notice him. Mrs. Brisby eventually convinces him to leave by asking him to safeguard her children in the meantime. He agrees, and flies away.

After Jeremy leaves, Mrs. Brisby comes across an entrance, barely noticeable as it is disguised heavily among the leaves. As she enters, an odd system of ropes and vines pull the branches tight behind her, concealing the way in. Finally, she comes to an entrance tunnel, leading underground. However, this entrance is guarded by a large and imposing rat carrying an electrified polearm!

Mrs. Brisby timidly asks if the rat is Nicodemus, but barely gets to finish her plea for help before the rat starts swinging the polearm towards her. Mrs. Brisby ducks under leaves and branches as the rat slashes them behind her, but the rat doesn't pursue her out of the rosebush, satisfied that she is gone. Outside the rose bush, Mrs. Brisby attempts to catch her breath, but barely gets a chance when a new rodent appears. Fortuneately, this time it's Mr. Ages, with his leg in a cast. At first Mr. Ages admonishes Mrs. Brisby for being anywhere near the rats, but then he learns that she had talked to the Great Owl, a feat no other had done, and had been told by the Owl to come here. With this revelation, Mr. Ages agrees to take Mrs. Brisby to see Nicodemus, and advises her not to worry about Brutus, the guard rat who had chased her.

Meanwhile, Jeremy is tied up, hanging upside down and being interrogated by the Brisby children and Auntie Shrew as to the whereabouts of Mrs. Brisby. No one believes him when he tells them she went to see the Rats, so they gag him, too!

Mr. Ages leads Mrs. Brisby down a series of tunnels, passing an imposing row of wooden soldiers. Neither of them notice, however, when one of the toys breaks ranks and begins to follow them! The shape creeps up behind Mr. Ages, only to surprise him by covering his eyes and shouting "Guess who!". Mr. Ages admonishes the young rat at first, then introduces him to Mrs. Brisby as Justin, Captain of the Guard. Justin is duly honoured to meet the widow of Jonathan Brisby, and shows her every courtesy.

As they continue on, Mrs. Brisby stares in amazement at the Rats' underground settlement. A whole city has been built, and it's even lit with electricity, something Mrs. Brisby remembers her husband mentioning. They make their way to the debate hall, where Justin says a heated session is in progress. A rat named Jenner has been continuously opposing a plan of Nicodemus's to move their civilization to the wilderness of Thorn Valley. Now, he's vocally opposing both this Plan and Nicodemus. It is into this session that Justin leads Mr. Ages and Mrs. Brisby. As Justin introduces Mrs. Brisby to the assembled rats, Sullivan, a cohort of Jenner's, shouts to have Mrs. Brisby ejected without their help, but he is silenced by Jenner, who pledges his support in any way that would help the widow of Jonathan Brisby.

At long last, Mr. Ages takes Mrs. Brisby to see Nicodemus. Timidly entering the old rat's chambers, she again asks for the Rats' help in moving her home so as to save Timothy's life. The elderly leader of the Rats agrees, saying that any help needed by Jonathan Brisby's family would be given. Finally, Mrs. Brisby asks how virtually everyone on the farm had come to hear of her late husband. Nicodemus points to an old book sitting on the desk, and opens it so she can read it. Mrs. Brisby says Jonathan had taught her to read, a little, so she climbs onto the chair and reads the page devoted to her husband. "Jonathan Brisby was a mouse of great courage. He made possible the Rats' escape from the terrible cruelty of NIMH. He was killed today while drugging the farmer's cat, Dragon." She finishes the passage with a sigh, and then asks why Jonathan had never told her about the rats, or NIMH, or anything. Nicodemus begins his story, then, of how he and a number of rats and mice were captured from off the street, caged, and sent to a place called NIMH. He relates how many other animals were kept there, and how they were used for experiments, given injection after injection of an odd serum. Finally, one day, he was able to look at the latch instructions printed underneath the cage door, and understand them!

Nicodemus and the other rats quickly freed themselves and the mice who had been given similar injections, and together made their way out of the building through the ventilation system. Unfortuneately, the vents activated while they were inside, and all but two of the mice, Jonathan and Mr. Ages, plunged to their deaths. Reaching the grate that led outside, Jonathan was the only one able to squeeze outside and open it, allowing the rats to escape.

Again, Mrs. Brisby asks why Jonathan never told her about NIMH. Nicodemus says that for Jonathan, it would have been too difficult to admit. The injections they had received not only gave them advanced intelligence, but also slowed down their aging. The last thing Jonathan ever wanted to admit, to himself or anyone else, was that he would stay young while his beloved wife grew old and passed away.

Before taking Mrs. Brisby home, Nicodemus gives Mrs. Brisby a present. It is a pendant, a red stone set in gold, that Jonathan had meant to give to Mrs. Brisby. Nicodemus advises her that the stone is a very powerful item, but only those with a courageous heart could tap it. Mrs. Brisby lovingly reads the inscription on the back, "You can unlock any door, if you only have the key." It's then that Justin arrives to say that Nicodemus' boat is ready and that they can leave anytime. Nicodemus escorts Mrs. Brisby out to home to prepare the children for the move.

Meanwhile, Jenner and Sullivan conspire. Jenner reminds Sullivan that the Brisby home is an old cement block. If there were a carefully arranged "accident", then there would be little opposition to Jenner's scheme to stay in the rosebush and live off the humans of the farm. Sullivan is doubtful, but reluctantly agrees.

The boat ride home takes Nicodemus, Justin and Mrs. Brisby under the farm's old mill, falling apart as it is. Justin notes that he hopes it will stay together long enough to complete the plan. When Mrs. Brisby asks what they mean, Nicodemus tells her that, although they have acheived a great deal, they're still stealing the electricty that lights their city. The Plan is for the whole community of rats to move to Thorn Valley, a wilderness area where few humans ever go. There, they would be able to live away from humans, without stealing, and be allowed to be smart without attracting attention to themselves. Sometimes, though, when a part of the plan forces them to work outside the rosebush, Mr. Ages would make up a powder that would keep the cat asleep while they worked. Unfortuneately, Mr. Ages had done this only last night, and when delivering the powder to Dragon, he had broken his leg. Not quite believeing herself, Mrs. Brisby volunteers to drug the cat in preparation for the night's activity. Justin initially objects, but relents and agrees to meet Mrs. Brisby outside the farmer's house at sundown. Mrs. Brisby says goodbye and heads for home.

On the way, she meets the now-fugitive Jeremy, running as he had from Auntie Shrew's interrogations. Jeremy initially becomes fixated on the sparkly pendant Mrs. Brisby is now wearing, but she heads him off with a request for as much string as he could carry, to be brought to her home. He agrees, and sneaks off.

That night, outside the farmer's house, Justin leads Mrs. Brisby to a mouse-sized hole in the floor of the kitchen, coming up just underneath a chest of drawers. Justin tells her how to put the powder in the cat's food dish, just as the farmer's wife lets him in the back door, and how she has to hurry, lest the cat catch her before she's safely back under the chest. Leaving her cloak and pendant behind, she steels herself, only slightly succesfully, and bolts for Dragon's dish as he's being let in.

Mrs. Brisby runs with all her might, dashing the envelope of drug into the cat's dish, then runs for all she's worth back to the hole in the floor, but just as she's approaching safety, a sieve is brought down on top of her by the farmer's eager son. He asks his mother if he may keep the mouse he's found, saying that he can keep it in his old bird cage. Justin curses under his breath and leaves for the work site, promising to come back for Mrs. Brisby when the humans aren't watching.

Later that night, during her forced incarceration, Mrs. Brisby overhears Farmer Fitzgibbons talking on the phone. She hears him talking to people from NIMH, saying that they're free to come and investigate the rats if they want, and that he'll be expecting them in the morning! Mrs. Brisby tries desperately to escape, finally finding a way out through the cage's water dish. Then, taking a deep breath to help over come her fear of heights, and clutching a thread for dear life, she leaps from the cage. She lands right in front of Dragon's mouth! Fortuneately, though, the cat merely casts a glazed eye at her before rolling over and going back to sleep.

Meanwhile, the Rats of NIMH are hard at work, using an elaborate system of wheels and pulleys to lift the Brisby home, with the children still in it to help Timothy stay warm. So busy is everyone under the watchful eye of Nicodemus that no one notices Jenner and Sullivan taking up their swords in position at an anchor point. Sullivan tries to back down from the dirty deed, but Jenner threatens to turn him in for conspiring against Nicodemus, if not actually killing him. Finally, with the block in the right place, Jenner slashes the ropes while Sullivan can only watch in horror. With a resounding crash, the equipment flies out of control. Pieces of wood, rope and cement strike Nicodemus just as the block comes down on top of him. A horrified Justin takes up a torch and runs under the rubble to search for Nicodemus, but is only successful in recovering his body.

As the events of the night sink in, Jenner begins orating to the rats. He tells them that the course of action now is to leave the Brisby home, unmovable without the equipment, and return to the rosebush to live. But his speech is interrupted by the shouts of Mrs. Brisby, desperately trying to warn Justin about NIMH's arrival. The other rats begin murmuring in the crowd, wondering whether or not to run from NIMH or follow Jenner. Furious, Jenner flings Mrs. Brisby into the mud, but then he notices the pendant Mrs. Brisby is wearing. Recognizing it for what it is, he leaps after Mrs. Brisby, trying to take it from her by force.

At the sight of this, another rat fetches Justin to intervene. When he does, Jenner draws his sword on Justin and slashes his arm. Sullivan runs up to the duelling pair and throws Justin his sword. At this perceived betrayal, Jenner turns and guts Sullivan. Then, Jenner and Justin begin to duel in earnest.

It doesn't take long for Jenner to get the upper hand, however. Justin finally realises that it was no accident that killed Nicodemus, but Jenner himself. Jenner even feels high and mighty enough to admit it to the younger rat, just as he raises his sword to kill the now-disarmed Justin. It's then that Jenner suddenly receives a knife in his back. Hissing at the impact, he falls from his vantage point in a heap. Noting his final act had hit the mark, Sullivan then falls limp himself, having made up for his part in Nicodemus' death.

It's only after the fight is over that Mrs. Brisby learns that Nicodemus is dead. Sad and alone, she shuffles through the mud to where her house is still sitting above ground. She despondantly wonders how her house can be moved now when it shifts a little, then a little more, and then begins rapidly sinking into the mud! Mrs. Brisby frantically cries out for Justin, and he rallies the other rats to help raise the house above the mud, but to no avail. The breaking ropes give way and the block sinks beneath the surface. Justin hauls a hysterical Mrs. Brisby onto solid ground to keep her from suicidally going after it. Mrs. Brisby sobs uncontrollably for a few seconds, but stops when she realises her pendant is now glowing. Cautiously taking hold of it, it begins to burn in her hands and her entire body starts to glow bright red. Almost as in a trance, she picks up the rope that was attached to her house. The block begins to rise up from the mud and float slowly to where the rats had prepared a new foundation for it. Then it slowly lowers into the hole. As the glow subsides, Mrs. Brisby swoons, then collapses unconscious as the rats look on, wondering what had happened.

The next morning, Teresa is busy bandaging her mother's burnt hands when Jeremy finally arrives, eagerly presenting Mrs. Brisby with all the string he had been saving for his love nest. Then he realises that her house was already moved, and that she had given the pendant he had so hoped to get in return to Justin as they set off that morning to Thorn Valley. Jeremy despondently decides that he doesn't need the string, or the pendant. After all, who'd want to share a love nest with him. Right on cue, a young female crow misjudges her landing and slams right into him. After the two finish apologizing, they burst into laughter at the sight of each other, tangled in a mass of string. Jeremy and his Miss Right fly off to start anew, leaving Mrs. Brisby and her family to live safe from the plow for the rest of the spring.

## The Characters

### Mrs. Jonathan Brisby

A widow mouse left to raise her four children, Mrs. Brisby never knew what life her husband had led until forced to seek out his friends and allies, the society of hyper-intelligent lab rats who owed their freedom to him. Although timid and nervous, she eventually finds the inner strength she needs to overcome against all odds.

### Mr. Ages

Wiser and smarter than he lets on, Mr. Ages may be somewhat cantankerous at times, but he always knows what's important.

### Jeremy

Young, headstrong and not too bright, this crow is nevertheless always eager to help when he can... and sometimes when he can't!

### Auntie Shrew

Alwyas looking out for everyone's welfare. She'd be a fantastic neighbour if she weren't so, well, shrewish.

### The Great Owl

Very little escapes the sight or intellect of the Great Owl. As wise as he is frightening, you can at least be sure he's not going to eat you in his own house!

### Justin

The Captian of the Guard, Justin is nevertheless still a kid at heart. But when an emergency strikes, he'll be the first to take charge and responsibility, a trait which Nicodemus saw early.

### Jenner

Although initially a key figure in the rats' secret society, Jenner's own ideas about the future of the rats blinds him to all other considerations, and eventually leads him to make a violent grasp for power. Being unable to see beyond his own importance soon causes his downfall.

### Nicodemus

The Rats' leader, it was he who first discovered how the Rats could escape from the laboratory of NIMH. His first concern is always for others, never himself, and his greatest dream is for the Rats to live free from NIMH and able to start anew with their heightened intelligence.

## Behind the Scenes

### Elizabeth Hartman (Mrs. Brisby)

Elizabeth Hartman's Hollywood career began with the 1965 film A Patch of Blue. Though only her first film, her performance earned her an Oscar nomination. Her last live-action credit was Full Moon High, completed in 1981 but not released until years later. Sadly, The Secret of NIMH was her last film role before taking her own life in 1987. Should a sequel ever come about, her loss will surely be the most profoundly felt.

### Arthur Malet (Mr. Ages)

An actor since 1963, Arthur Malet has also voiced for Disney, portraying King Eidilleg in the 1985 film The Black Cauldron. Most recently, he acted in the Robin Williams film Toys and in A Little Princess.

### Dom DeLuise (Jeremy)

Dom DeLuise was an established comedian long before The Secret of NIMH, but his performance brought a lot of laughs to the film as a whole. He would team up with Bluth again in 1986 in the role of Tiger for An American Tail.

### Hermione Baddeley (Auntie Shrew)

Born in 1906, Hermione Clinton-Baddeley's career in films and television started in 1941, and included roles in A Christmas Carol (playing Mrs. Cratchit in the difinitive 1951 production starring Alistair Sim), The Belles of Saint Trinian's, Mary Poppins and The Aristocats, as well as the television series Maude. She died in 1986, at 79.

### John Carradine (The Great Owl)

John Carradine, father of Kung Fu's David Carradine, has been a horror movie draw since the thirties, and his career ended only with his death in 1988.

### Peter Strauss (Justin)

Primarily a television actor, The Secret of NIMH was one of his few feature film roles, the only other being Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone. He's starred in numerous miniseries and series, including playing the title character in the 1989 revival of Peter Gunn. Currently, he stars in the CBS police drama series Moloney.

### Paul Shenar (Jenner)

Born in 1936, Paul Shenar didn't get to television until 1974, but very soon afterwards, he portrayed Orson Welles in the TV film The Night That Panicked America, about the 1939 radio dramatization of The War of the Worlds, and as John Carrington in the 1977 miniseries Roots. After The Secret of NIMH, he appeared in such films as Scarface and Raw Deal. Paul Shenar died in 1989.

### Derek Jacobi (Nicodemus)

A long-time fixture in British television and film, Derek Jacobi was knighted in 1994. American watchers of PBS will recognize him in the title roles of both I, Claudius and Brother Cadfael.

### Shannen Doherty (Teresa Brisby)

Shannen's first on screen credit was granted at the tender age of two, when she was billed as the youngest Wilder daughter on Little House on the Prarie. The Secret of NIMH, however, was her first substantial acting role. A decade later, she was the news-making troublemaker on the set of Beverly Hills, 90210. Go figure.

### Wil Wheaton (Martin Brisby)

Wil Wheaton got his big break starring opposite Bill Cosby in a Jell-O commercial. His first major acting role, however, was as the bratty eldest Brisby son, Martin. It wasn't until he had a supporting role in The Last Starfighter that he had a live-action role. Now, of course, he's best known as Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

### Edie McClurg (Miss Right)

She may have played Miss Right in this film, but in Natural Born Killers, she played the mother of Miss Wrong...

### Don Bluth (Producer and Co-Director)

Don Bluth had been working on animated films for Disney before Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH had even been written. His first film was 1959's Sleeping Beauty and, with only a short respite in between that and Disney's animation boom in the seventies, went on to work as animator and animation director on Robin Hood, The Rescuers and Pete's Dragon. While at Disney, Bluth suggested the studio attempt a film version of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, but was turned down when the studio proved reluctant to pay royalty fees to the estate of Robert O'Brien. Ironically, one of the last films Bluth worked on was The Rescuers, which was completed and released while its author, Marjorie Sharpe, was still alive. Finally, in 1979, after calling Disney's films sacharrine trash, he left, along with Gary Goldman and fifteen other Disney animators, leaving the studio barely able to finish its current project, The Fox and the Hound. After forming his own studio, his first project was The Secret of NIMH. Despite financial problems early in the nineties (which delayed the release of Thumbelina by over two years), Bluth went on to make An American Tail (1986), The Land Before Time (1988), All Dogs Go To Heaven (1989), Thumbelina (1994), and The Pebble and the Penguin (1995) as well as the direct-to-video film A Troll in Central park.

### Some Other Links

The Secret of Nimh Drinking Game

Participate in the survey to Name Mrs. Brisby!

The National Institute of Mental Health
The genuine article. See what kind of work these people are actually into. They also have a more whimsical web server at http://secret.nimh.nih.gov

I'm always looking to improve this page, both in visual appeal and informative text. If it doesn't appear here now, I probably don't have it. Please E-mail me with comments, corrections, or additions, or your own site's URL so I can add a link to it.

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DISCLAIMER - This is a fan-operated Web site and is not intended to infringe upon the rights of the Estate of Robert C. O'Brien, Jane Leslie Conly, Don Bluth, MGM/UA or any other holders of related copyrights. In other words, I'm giving you free publicity. Be grateful and please don't sue me.