Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
A widowed field mouse must move her family -- including an ailing son -- to escape a farmer's plow. Aided by a crow and a pack of superintelligent, escaped lab rats, the brave mother struggles to transplant her home to firmer ground.
Don Bluth's breakaway from Disney is a genuinely distinctive piece of American animation — dark, painterly, and unusually earnest in its emotional stakes for a family film. The hand-inked cinematography is rich and moody, with deep shadows and glowing jewel tones that remain stunning decades later, earning a clear 4. Novelty is high because the film's Gothic atmosphere, morally complex rat society, and willingness to treat children's fears seriously give it a singular voice largely unreplicated in animation. Acting (voice work) is solid and committed — Derek Jacobi and Dom DeLuise lend real weight — but not transcendent. The plot is serviceable and propulsive but leans on fairly conventional quest-and-motherhood beats; the mythology of NIMH is tantalizing but underdeveloped. The ending, featuring a somewhat abrupt magical resolution via the amulet, feels rushed and deus-ex-machina, slightly undercutting the grounded tension built earlier.