The Secret of NIMH

[tealin]

A fabulous article on the singular and vastly influential Secret of NIMH, written by an articulate animation professional.

BBC QUOTE OF THE DAY(haven't done one of these in a while):
"Who doesn't love a flood? It's like a swimming pool that surprises you."

Comments

This is awesome!

[thefordmustang.livejournal.com]

I think this fellow sums up exactly why I like animation. The movie was a turning point for me in believing animated features could be more than kidstuff. My parents turned me off any sort of artistic path (and probably with good reason), but I still will always savor well done animated movies and graphic novels. I think one of the reasons I read your journal is to get pointers on some animated works I should look out for.

In a sense the author could be commenting on all media in general. Most entertainment (movies, popular music, certain genres of books) is created not by artists but by people who want to get a lot of money with little risk. At the moment, Hollywood is putting out very little original stuff anymore. If you want to make a lot of money, you follow the formula. But the art worth pursuing you have to pursue through other means like those courageous animators in the article you mention, or musicans who go on their own through independent music sources.

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

You know what's funny, though? At practically any point in time you can find people saying 'Hollywood isn't doing anything original anymore.' Only the good stuff floats to the top of recollection; there have been rehashes and sequels forever. I recently read a book on screenwriting and the last chapter was all about how everything's sequels these days and studios are just following fads, not generating original content – and it was written in 1983. What has come out since then? Well, let's see, off the top of my head ... Princess Bride, Beauty and the Beast, Kill Bill, Lord of the Rings, Iron Giant, everything Pixar's ever done, The Hudsucker Proxy, Moulin Rouge, Labyrinth, The Matrix, Jurassic Park... yeah. For each one of those, there's a dozen Dude, Where's My Cars. So all hope is not lost.

[thefordmustang.livejournal.com]

Hello.

That is a good point. I can probably add some other things there, too, that were very good but suffered from bad marketing, like "Frequency." There is good stuff out there, and it sure does stand out. Some of it is succesful and some of it never gets the recognition it deserves. I just wish there were more of it.

[fairy-gany.livejournal.com]

The Secret of NIMH really marked my childhood. I started imagining stories in my head and I kept doing it since then, I think it played a great part of me wanting to be a writer.
And I cried at the end of Frequency, wondering what was happening to me.

[thefordmustang.livejournal.com]

Wow! Isn't it amazing how the really great movies and stories of our youth can inspire us so much!

That is totally understandable about "Frequency!" It was a rather chilling (in a good way) moment at the final climax of the film- y'know people meeting each other who thought they never would. I also thought Garth Brooks' song was amazing there. The words totally fit the film. Also the acting was good, too- mnostly spot on character actors and only a few big stars. It amazed me that Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel only spoke directly to eachin one scene in the movie- their acting would lead you to believe otherwise. Also Mr. Kamen's score was gorgeous, too. Ah, but the lady doth protest too much...

By the way, I hope you are still writing!

[tannhaeuser.livejournal.com]

[leucocrystal]

Man, I remember that movie.  While it wasn't the film that kick-started my love for art and animation (even though I'd been writing and illustrating since age 5, and didn't see NiMH until I was 7 or 8)m The Little Mermaid was, since I was fascinated and inspired by the way the animators captured underwater movement, and it's nice that the reviewer makes mention of that film as well, it definitely impacted my childhood, and I still love it today.  Thanks for linking to such an excellent review. :)

[azvolrien.livejournal.com]

I've never seen The Secret of NIMH (read the book, though), but I've always been a fan of Anastasia.

[noodledaddy.livejournal.com]

You are right, a terrific article.

[gardendoor.livejournal.com]

Man, that movie completely blew me away when I was a kid. Still does. And he's right, it completely changed what you could do with American animation.

Who doesn't love a flood? It's like a swimming pool that surprises you.

Hee! I'm writing that one down.