Book Made Into A Movie Review: The Secret Of NIMH

To save her ill son, a field mouse must seek the aid of a colony of super-intelligent rats, with whom she has a deeper link than she ever suspected.

After reading Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH, I had to get the movie out and watch it. I remember loving the book and the movie a lot, although I knew there were some differences that I wasn't too fond of. Those things can be overlooked though sometimes.

What I found very strange about watching The Secret Of NIHM is HOW MUCH it was different. Sure, the main plot is still there, Timmy is sick and his mother needs to find a way to move their home before the plow comes. But there were so many other little things that were just not the same. AT ALL. First off, Mrs. Frisby's name was changed to Mrs. Brisby. Why? I have no idea. I can let that one go. There were, however, several overly dramatic scenes added to the story that were not in the book. I'd elaborate, but I don't want to ruin either the book or the movie for any of my followers who haven't seen/read one or both.

One thing I AM going to point out is this: there was no magic in the book. I have absolutely NO IDEA how that got placed in the movie when it had nothing to do with the book. Maybe they thought the book wasn't dramatic enough. Or maybe it's because in the book there were a lot of stories intermingled together. A lot of detailed stories that probably wouldn't be too easy to convey in the movie.

Another thing was that Jenner wasn't present at all in the book. He was spoken of often, about how he didn't approve of The Plan and how he and a few other rats took off on their own, but he wasn't there trying to ruin plans. And some of the characters were a teensy bit off when it came to the way they spoke and acted. Mr. Ages was a bit too gruff, and Mrs. Brisby got a little too irritated with Jeremy, neither of those things being the case in the book. I have to say though, that I found myself giggling in spite of how atrociously off a scene was from the book, just because of how silly it was. Especially the scenes with Jeremy. You can tell they probably did that for the kids.

Although there were a lot of differences between the two, I still adore each just the same. I still can't help but wish that they created the movie a teensy bit closer to the book (I mean, seriously, adding in magic when that wasn't even in the book? Come on...). I am, however, quite pleased at the animation. It is amazing. I would have loved to see this one in the movie theater when I was a kid. The backgrounds are gorgeous:

So, my conclusion is this: While I loved them both, I still recommend the book over the movie. But, once you read the book, you should see the movie at the very least for the animation. Oh, and Wil Wheaton voices a character in the movie as well, so that's a bonus.