tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post1561908455018296574..comments2024-03-27T10:27:59.266-04:00Comments on John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV: The Films of 1982: The Secret of NIMHJohn Kenneth Muirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-50861692020126836442012-02-25T14:42:52.885-05:002012-02-25T14:42:52.885-05:00Definitely a classic animated tale with a rousing ...Definitely a classic animated tale with a rousing musical score by the late and the great jerry Goldsmith. Like you and DLR, I enjoyed the swordfight between Justin and Jenner. Both Peter Strauss and the late Paul Shenar did an excellent job in voicing their respective characters. Especially the violent verbal exchange between the two during the swordfight. I'm still amazed that Shenar never appeared in a Star Trek film! The late John Carradine and Derek Jacobi are also to be commended for their voicework(The Great Owl and Nicodemus). This film certainly had some powerful moments in the realm of fantasy.<br /><br />Thanks again for a wonderful review, John. As always, they are a delight to read.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-53483962050244974572012-02-19T12:33:27.056-05:002012-02-19T12:33:27.056-05:00Hi, everyone!
John: I absolutely concur. The Sec...Hi, everyone!<br /><br />John: I absolutely concur. The Secret of NIMH is old-school Disney quality in terms of animation, and absolutely daring in terms of adult, serious themes. I love the film, and think it is a real classic of the form.<br /><br />Hi David: Great minds think alike! :)<br /><br />DLR: You bring up some great points about the film, all right on the mark as far as I'm concerned. The swordfight is scary, and serious, just for the reasons you enunciate. We realize, given what's already happened, that anything could happen. I knew the little mice weren't going to drown in the muddy water, but jeez...there are a few moments there where you entertain the thought that it could happen.<br /><br />I agree that the amulet thing is a little weird in a film ostensibly about science, and not magic. It doesn't quite fit. I love the message -- the power of the pure, courageous heart -- but it could have been voiced in some other fashion, I think.<br /><br />You're also spot-on about the un-altered mice and other creatures seeming just about as intelligent as the altered NIMH mice, which has the effect of lessening the important distinctions between them.<br /><br />Great comments!<br /><br />best,<br />JohnJohn Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-45193209138114615472012-02-18T07:50:17.925-05:002012-02-18T07:50:17.925-05:00Personally, I've always felt that the "sw...Personally, I've always felt that the "swordfight" between Jenner and Justin at the film's climax is one of the most tense in movie history; first because of the stakes and the characters, but equally because the movie has already established a sense that characters can die (the flashback flight from the lab where most of the mice are killed is nightmarish) and we recognize that, though heroic, Justin is not the film's "hero" (which is Mrs. Brisby) and is expendable even by kids' movie standards. Though the film does have a few problems (the fact that the non-NIMH animals are almost as intelligent as the rats and the existence of the 'magic amulet' undermine the strong science-fiction themes; and there's an exaggeration about the way characters emote in Don Bluth films that I have never liked)it is certainly one of the best animated films of its era and better than many (most?) Disneys of any era. Thanks for the analysis, and for reminding me of this minor classic, whose scenes are still strong in my mind after seeing it just the one time, back in '82. Off to Netflix!DLRnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-16384695006614849022012-02-17T13:05:19.775-05:002012-02-17T13:05:19.775-05:00Now this is weird. I was thinking about this class...Now this is weird. I was thinking about this classic the other day.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03097420555737415471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-32624185477937025902012-02-17T12:37:11.469-05:002012-02-17T12:37:11.469-05:00Thanks for tackling this film. I am a lifelong fan...Thanks for tackling this film. I am a lifelong fan of animation, and this is right up there with those of the classic Disney films, even surpassing them in terms of the willingness to address adult themes. I'd recommend adding this to the library of any animation fan.John W. Moreheadhttp://www.theofantastique.comnoreply@blogger.com