Excerpts from an online chat with Don Bluth Studios
Acknowledgement to
MaximumNimh and ThornValley
for all images used in this article
Don Bluth and a dozen other animators grew so disenchanted that they left Disney in the late 70's to embark on their own projects. NIMH was Bluth's first and most satisfying film. Though at a domestic gross of $13 million, its initial theatrical release -- though far from a failure -- was a significant commercial disappointment. Dwarfed by the now legendary movie marketplace of the summer of '82 (with E.T., Star Trek II, Psycho II, Blade Runner, Conan The Barbarian, and Tootsie among them), NIMH also had the misfortune of a poor marketing campaign thanks to studio politics. Still suffering insurmountable losses from its Heaven's Gate debacle, United Artists had fathered NIMH before MGM bought out the company -- they, in turn, acquired control of the film. Having little interest in an animated film of its own, and wanting to place greater emphasis on two of its "tentpole" releases (Rocky III and Poltergiest), MGM dropped the ball, giving the release little, if any, fanfare.
Yet The Secret of NIMH has endured over the years, thanks largely to television screenings and home video sales. Ask anyone who was a child during the eighties, and they've likely seen and loved the film. But it is with the advent of the internet that the movie's popularity has reached its widest audience; literally scores of NIMH-related fan pages exist -- featuring love shrines dedicated to the movie's characters, extensive fan art and original writings, games, and even an internet webring. They have propelled it to the status of Modern Classic. (And one might be surprized to find that the wide majority of its most devout fans are well into their adulthood....and some fansites contain a more, well... adult... perspective!)
Based on Robert C. O'Brien's Newberry Award-winning novel, "Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH," the movie combines a dark yet awe-inspiring view of nature while adding fantasy elements. It's a rather liberal view of the book, true, but faithful in its spirit -- evoking the same feelings as Richard Adams' "Watership Down." (Itself made into an under-appreciated animated film a few years prior.) The images deliberately used the old fashioned style of animation, utilizing extremely detailed paintings with deep, vivid, dreamlike colors and rich blacks. Expertly voiced by a fine cast (including the late Elizabeth Hartman as the widowed mother field mouse trying to save her family), NIMH still holds up against today's CGI-aided features. It still feels fresh, as it avoids many of Disney's usual traits -- NIMH's NOT a musical, and presents some rather intense scenes for a G-rated film. Like The Wizard Of Oz or The Black Stallion, it is one of the few family films that adults may enjoy every bit as much if not more than younger audiences. Jerry Goldsmith's score (his first for an animated film) remains one of his best.
It is clear to me that Mr. Bluth does not only love animation, but feels a geniune sense of gratitude and appreciation toward all those who enjoy his work. No where is this more evident than his website, DonBluth.com, where he and his team provide internet users a first-hand showcase of their films, their art...and their love of the drawn image.
I recently posted several questions to their chatroom, to which they replied with many insightful answers. I found it to be so interesting that I had to showcase it here.
What follows are excerpts from this online conversation...