Mrs. Brisby and the Secret of NIMH
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Mrs. Brisby and the Secret of NIMH |
| Original title | The Secret of NIMH |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1982 |
| length | 82 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Don Bluth |
| script | Don Bluth Will Finn John Pomeroy Gary Goldman |
| production | Don Bluth John Pomeroy Gary Goldman |
| music | Jerry Goldsmith |
| camera | Bill Butler |
| cut | Jeffrey C. Patch |
Mrs. Brisby and the Secret of NIMH (original title: The Secret of NIMH ) is a 1982 cartoon based on the novel Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh (original title: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH ) by Robert C. O'Brien . It was produced by Aurora Pictures and published by United Artists . Directed by Don Bluth . The first performance in Germany was July 15, 1982.
action
The story begins after a brief introduction in which Nicodemus, with an amulet in hand, explains that Jonathan Brisby was killed while helping his friends carry out a plan.
The now widowed Mrs. Brisby, a wood mouse, seeks out the very busy looking Mr. Ages - also a wood mouse - and asks him for medicine for her little son Timmy. According to Mr. Age's remote diagnosis, Timmy has pneumonia and has to keep strict bed rest for the next three weeks. With all the medicine, Mrs. Brisby makes her way home to an old cement block in the middle of a field and meets Jeremy. The somewhat clumsy crow is looking for a girlfriend. Shortly afterwards, both of them are pursued by the evil cat Dragon, but are able to escape.
Meanwhile, in the apartment of Brisby's aunt Shrew meets her children, who fight a word with her. When she is furious and wants to leave again, Mrs. Brisby arrives, who tells her that the "move day" is soon at hand. After Mrs. Brisby has taken care of her Timmy and sent everyone to bed, a cohort of rats can be seen in front of the house of the local people carrying a power cable through the garden to a glowing rose bush.
The next morning the farmer starts the plow to plow his field; all animals flee in a panic ("the day of the move"). Mrs. Brisby, however, is in a bind because her son dies if he does not keep his bed rest. While Aunt Shrew is supposed to run away with the other children, Mrs. Brisby decides to stop the plow, which she and Aunt Shrew - who actually wants to keep her from doing - succeed. Since this only delays the accident, Mrs. Brisby wants to seek advice from the old owl.
After Jeremy flies her there, she meets the venerable and terrifying owl, and is advised to seek help from the rats in the rose bush in their move to the "shelter of the stone", named "Brisby" by their late Jonathan Brisby is not unknown. There in the rose bush she is supposed to look for a rat named Nicodemus. Before Mrs. Brisby enters the rose bush, she asks Jeremy to protect her children in case the farmer comes back with the plow.
In the farmer's garden she penetrates the dark and thorny rose bush, but is scared away again by the guard Brutus in front of the actual entrance to the rat den. Suddenly Mr. Ages appears, who seems to be very familiar with the rose bush. He explains that Nicodemus is the leader of the rats and brings them meter by meter deeper underground. On the way they meet the friendly Justin, the captain of the watch, who apparently it is an honor to meet Mrs. Jonathan Brisby. The three of them go on and talk about a great plan the rats (apparently together with Mr. Ages) are pursuing.
You enter a council meeting of rats disputing that plan. The advocates of the plan no longer want to steal their food and no longer want to live “like rats”, but rather in honor and dignity, without doing injustice. The opponents around the evil Jenner, however, are satisfied with the situation of the rats. The plan is for the rats to leave the area and move to Thorn Valley. The council agrees to move Mrs. Brisby's apartment first and save her from the plow.
Meanwhile, Jeremy was captured and tied up by Aunt Shrew, who had suspected that Jeremy would eat the children.
After that, Mrs. Brisby finally meets on Nicodemus himself, who explains that some rats and mice then in a laboratory (NIMH - National Institute of Mental Health , to German about: National Institute of Mental Health ) had lived there through various experiments intelligent and escaped four years ago. On the run, only two of the mice survived: Mr. Ages and her late husband, Mr. Jonathan Brisby. The latter had enabled everyone to escape. He died while trying to stun and distract the farmer's cat (Dragon), something Mrs. Brisby only learns now, as she never knew the circumstances of his death. Nicodemus gives Mrs. Brisby a magical and "sleeping" amulet, which only develops its power for a brave heart.
Meanwhile, the vile Jenner is planning an "accident" at the Brisby house during the move that Sullivan, his henchman, is supposed to carry out. Nicodemus is said to be killed so that the rats' grand plan would not be carried out.
When Mrs. Brisby leaves the rat burrow to go to her house to prepare the children for the upcoming move, she meets Jeremy, who has been able to escape in the meantime and is on the run from Aunt Shrew. Mrs. Brisby asks him to get as much string as possible to move her house.
In the dark of the evening, Justin brings Mrs. Brisby into the people's apartment. Her goal is to stun the cat Dragon. The plan succeeds, but Mrs. Brisby is caught by one of the farmer's children and locked in a bird cage as a pet. Justin has to go to supervise the move to the Brisby house. The captured Mrs. Brisby overhears a phone call from the farmer, according to which NIMH wants to destroy the rose bush of the rats or to catch the rats the next morning. She decides to warn the rats and can finally break free.
Meanwhile, Jenner is assassinated. He himself - his henchman refuses and is injured by Jenner for this - cuts the cords on which the hoisted cement block hangs, which kills the leader of the rats. When Mrs. Brisby finally arrives to warn the rats, Jenner wants to kill her too, but Justin throws himself in between and injures him. When the supposedly defeated strikes a final blow shortly afterwards, a knife of his henchman hits him in the back before he too succumbs to his injuries.
Justin now wants to continue the grand plan in Nicodemus' place, but suddenly the Brisbys cement block threatens to sink into the mud. In fear of death for her children, who are now locked in the cement block, she has to watch helplessly as her house goes down. Justin saves her from sinking into the mud. Desperate and on solid ground, the amulet suddenly begins to shine around her neck. It is getting lighter and lighter, a strong force seems to emanate from it and then also to take over Mrs. Brisby. She stares spellbound at the place where her home and family have sunk, and as if in a trance she picks up one of the thin strings that are still hanging on the cement block. It begins to glow, and slowly her apartment rises from the mud, slowly floats through the air and over to the shelter of the stone. Mrs. Brisby collapses exhausted after saving her family.
The next morning the sun is shining while Mrs. Brisby sits with her children. Timmy seems to be doing a little better as he complains about not being allowed to leave the house. The family is visited by Jeremy, who brings in his entire supply of string, only to find that the house has already been moved. Just then he collides with a female crow who is just as clumsy as he is. Mrs. Brisby also mentions that she passed the amulet on to Justin, who is now the leader of the rats and would lead them to Thorn Valley. Jeremy and his new girlfriend fly away in a love dance in the last film sequence.
Reviews
“Sometimes very imaginative in design, the cartoon does not find the right balance between fantasy elements and superficially funny passages, so that the story falls apart. Some scenes that are all too frightening make it appear only partially suitable for smaller children. "
“The animation technology is clearly based on the classic Disney style, which Bluth understands with loving care. In addition to wonderful "Fantasia" effects and funny animal figures, there are also those rough sweets that sometimes reduce the pleasure (at least for adult viewers). "
Others
The name " B risby" only developed towards the end of production, after the actual, original name " F risby" looked too much like the Frisbee . To avoid tangles with the frisbee maker Wham-O , the F became a B, which required some new dubbing and new sound editing.
synchronization
| role | German speaker | English speaker |
|---|---|---|
| Auntie Shrew | Alice Franz | Hermione Baddeley |
| The old owl | Herbert Weicker | John Carradine |
| Jenner | Michael Cramer | Paul Shenar |
| Jeremy the crow | Horst Sachtleben | Dom DeLuise |
| Justin | Michael Brennicke | Peter Strauss |
| Martin | Andreas Klein | Wil Wheaton |
| Mr. Ages | Michael Habeck | Arthur Malet |
| Mrs. Brisby | Christina Hoeltel | Elizabeth Hartman |
| Nicodemus | Holger Hagen | Sir Derek Jacobi |
| Sullivan | Bruno W. Pantel | Aldo Ray |
Awards
The film received the following award or was nominated:
| Tabular overview of awards and nominations | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| year | Award | For | category | result | ||||
| 1983 | Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA | Saturn Award | Mrs. Brisby and the Secret of NIMH | Best Animated Film | Won | |||
| Best Fantasy Film | Nominated | |||||||
| Young Artist Awards | Young Artist Award | Mrs. Brisby and the Secret of NIMH | Best Family Feature - Animated, Musical or Fantasy | Nominated | ||||
continuation
The sequel Timmy and the Secret of Nimh was produced in 1998 only for the video and DVD market. Don Bluth and his team were not involved in the production. The film could not build on the success of the first film and wasted its potential. The film is about the now grown up youngest son Timmy, who goes in search of the rats in Thorn Valley. Former main character Mrs. Brisby only makes a brief appearance at the beginning and end of the film and shows traces of the aging process. This was very criticized and rated negatively by the audience.
literature
- Robert C. O'Brien : Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh (Original title: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH ). German by Stella Junker . (4th edition.) Verlag Jungbrunnen, Vienna and Munich 1996, 190 pages, ISBN 3-7026-5533-6
- Robert C. O'Brien: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh (Original title: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH ). German by Stella Junker . Carlsen, ZEIT Edition, [Hamburg] 2008, 223 pages, ISBN 978-3-938899-45-8
Web links
- The Secret of NIMH in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Mrs. Brisby and the Secret of NIMH in the online movie database
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mrs. Brisby and the Secret of NIMH. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ^ Die Zeit, July 23, 1982
- ↑ Mrs. Brisby and the Secret of NIMH -cartoons on German Synchrondatei
- ↑ Overview of Mrs. Brisby's Awards and the Secret of NIMH (1982) on IMDb.Retrieved May 14, 2018.