What makes the story of Secret of NIMH interesting?

I'm curious what aspect of NIMH (movie or books) people find most interesting, story-wise? What questions does it raise that you find most interesting? If someone were to continue or expand upon the story, what aspects would you most like to see explored?

I confess, I have some ulterior motives in asking this, but I won't color the answers by saying what they are. :3

I mostly like the fact that the story had the courage to be about a mother going through hell to save her son. I wish there was a video game that revolved around the idea of a helpless mother going through hell to save her family. That would really be interesting.

What would I like expanded upon? The Wandering Days/the Rats' history comes to mind.

I know EXACTLY what I'd like to see expanded in NIMH. The Soundtrack Album for Jerry Goldsmith's score.

lirimshotli[=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Frd53vbCHLg]lirimshotli

Steven

As Shivermetimbers alluded to; I think that the wandering days/years of the rats after their escape from NIMH would make an excellent story. In fact I would think that it would be a great prequell to the SON movie itself. Another element of the NIMH story that I think is really important is the lives of the children. What's to become of these very special kids especially Timothy. As they grow older, what becomes of their relationship with their mother? Or for that matter, with the other animals that live on the farm with them?

Peace :D
NIMHmaniac

I’ve mentioned in earlier posts how I couldn’t quite explain why it stimulated my imagination as it did, given my other tastes; but I guess what I found the most interesting was that it invited a wealth of speculation on what the characters had done in the past that brought them to this point, and what they would go on to do. An enormous sense of more story yet to be told. And certainly the overall theme of a mother doing anything possible to save her children attracted me. What would I like to see expanded upon? If you’ve read my fan-fics then that’s pretty obvious, and though I haven’t done much with the Wandering Days myself that would be a great subject for expansion.

BTW, Simon, since you mentioned ulterior motives, you’ll have to level with us sooner or later… :wink:

I loved all the mysterious imagery, especially in the Rosebush scenes. When I first saw the movie, I thought Nicodemus could literally communicate with Jonathan as opposed to just getting his thoughts out and making it like he's speaking with him, and that was fascinating to me.

But the film shows the sheer power of a mother's love, and that's the best thing about the movie for me.

As Mrs. B might put it:

About those ulterior motives...maybe...

Oh, nothing! Goodbye!

:lol:

Funley enough the least interesting thing for me about the movie was in fact the title itself. Before I actually saw the film I had somehow (don't ask me why) thought that "The Secret of NIMH" was actually (what I now know is called) "Furngully: The last rainforest."

However, after actualy watching the film for the first time (2003) I can honestly say that it rekindled my fasination with animated films. To be honest, I can't narrow down just one aspect that made it stand out for me. I think that every part of the story added something to the overall experience: The vivid, fantastical imagery, the wonderous musical score...

To paraphrase the Nostalgia Critic, I would say that one of the films strongest elements is the presence of three main elements: The world of man (science), imparts knowledge onto the rats (nature) who then. through their own devices, found an understanding of what we might call...the unknown.

For me, the biggest draw to Secret of NIMH is Mrs. Brisby. It is such a rarity to see a strong female character who is so easy to relate to. Most of the time a 'strong' female character is a cardboard cut-out made to be just that, strong and not much else. Mrs. Brisby is an unlikely hero, one that you can look at and say, "I would react similarly in this situation." and to see that character grow and find courage within herself is a beautiful sort of story arc. In most animated films, we see women as entirely dependent on men (and never a single mother as a main character)... In Secret of NIMH we see just the opposite as our lead character finds out she can do anything she sets her heart to on her own.