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Directed by: Don Bluth Starring: Derek Jacobi, Elizabeth Hartman, Dom DeLuise, Wil Weaton I have nothing but praise for this movie. Wil Wheaton does some voice acting, Dom DeLuise makes his voice acting debut, and it is made by none other than the animation Grand Master, Don Bluth. In 1980, about halfway through the completion of animating Disney's "The Fox and the Hound," disney animator Don Bluth decides that disney is taking too many shortcuts and is bringing the quality and spirit of animation down. So he walks out, leaving Disney with a half finished movie and taking most of the other project animators with him. He began his own project based on the book "Mrs. Frisbey and the Rats of Nimh." The animation was assisted in no way with any CG augmentation of any kind, yet, frame for frame, is almost as good as any modern Computer assisted animation. The frame rate is very high, the rotoscoping is very well done, and some of the background effects are fungasmic. Of course, coming from the guy who animated the laserdisc game, "Dragon's Lair," we can expect nothing less. Anyway, the story is about a bunch of superintelligent rats created by the National Institute of Mental Health (https://www.nimh.nih.gov) that are living in a thorn bush, stealing electricity from the farmer. The rats don't like it, so their leader, Nicodemus, is planning a move to a valley where the rats can farm and raise their own food. All in this time, Mrs Brisbey (Frisbey in the book) has a child, sick with pneumonia, that can't go outside, or the chill in the air will kill him. Yet, at the same time, the mice family needs to move, or the farmer's plow will kill them and destroy their house. Mrs Brisbey's husband, Jonathan brisbey, was killed, but he was a major player in helping the rats escape Nimh, so when she goes to the rats for help, Nicodemus, who is comparable to Gandalf or Dumbledore, agree to help her move her entire house, which is a heavy cinderblock, too heavy for many rats to pick up. I recommend you buy this movie, and show it to your kids, as it is the only cartoon still G-Rated that will show a scene of a cinderblock crushing and killing a rat. RATING: 5.5 PROS: Awesome traditional hand drawn animation by Animation Legend Don Bluth CONS: The lovely sequal ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084649/
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Aug 8, 2005 02:13
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I agree with a lot of the afforementioned review, except for one story factor (spoilers ahead): Nicodemus bestows a magic gem upon Mrs. Brisby, but does not explain where it came from, what it can do, or why it can do what it can do. Then, at the end, in a moment of crisis, the gem saves the day. Why? Because a Deus Ex Machina is a great way to resolve the plot. Other than that, a fabulous movie. 4.5
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Aug 8, 2005 02:45
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This movie is one of the great dark animated films of the 80s. Back in the day when they didn't hide things from children. If you ever have to sit through the sequel, realize that if they did this movie today, it would be just like that. I loved this movie for the voice acting, and the incredible atmosphere it maintains throughout the movie. Aside from the great story of course. When they need to creep you out, they will. When you need to laugh at something, you can. Music is never out of place, and is really good. What always stood out to me, was how normal the humans in this film seemed, going about their daily life in a way we would never question. Not once are they portrayed as more malicious or evil then they would actually be. But since the film is done from the rats' point of view, we see the horrible consequences of their regular actions. As for the plot holes, there are a few. I always thought that the gem from Nicodemus was a kindof "incarnation" of his power, or something. Obviously he had mental powers greater than a normal human, for some reason. Also, the gem only works after he dies. rated 5 
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Aug 11, 2005 08:07
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I didn't really think the animation in this film was that spectacular. That said, given the knowledge that it was done using traditional techniques, I am impressed, but that still doesn't make it look any better. The story was kind of interesting, but I would have liked to see more about the rats while they were in the institute -- I more development of the history of how they became intelligent would have added a lot to the story. It's a kids' movie, so I guess you have to be a kid to appreciate the characters, which seemed pretty stock to me. In fact, there isn't much in this movie for adults, except the fighting at the end, which was surprisingly realistic (outside of the fact that they were talking animals.) In the end, I have to say I was disappointed. I don't think this film is worth watching. PROS: Floats a fun idea CONS: Generally speaking, boring. Also kind of ugly most of the time, but that might be because I'm accustomed to modern animation. 1.5/5
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Dec 15, 2007 22:59
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