Pick a character...

Here's a question. I am getting the feeling from various sources that Timothy has quite a large fan following. For a little mouse who did very little in the film (though he was, I suppose the driving force behind the story, but not through choice) I thought at first this is quite surprising. But then I thought it might be the fact that he does very little and he got little character development that appeals to people. It leaves things to the imagination. Speaking for myself I usually end up favouring the villain, but I wanted to ask for other's opinions on why Timothy is so popular and/or which is your favourite character and how do you go about choosing (in general or just in NIMH I suppose).
So whose your favourite and why? What do you look for in a favourite character?

Later all!

Procyon

Hey, Procyon! Welcome to the forum! :)

Well, I've already mentioned elsewhere[=http://www.thornvalley.com/timothy/]elsewhere on my site that Timothy is my favorite character. First off, I agree with you; the movie didn't develop Timothy enough for me to identify with him there. The reason that I came to regard Timothy as my favorite character is more because of the books, especially Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. As I mentioned in my introduction[=http://www.thornvalley.com/entr/intro.php]introduction, this was mostly because he was the character that I identified with the most (and still do, I'd say). He reminded me of myself in a lot of ways, I guess.

I think the things that most impressed me about Timothy was his quiet courage and his thoughtfulness. In the book, he was not afraid of death, although he had surmised correctly that he was in danger of dying, either from exposure when they finally had to move, or from the plow if they remained in their home. He wasn't boastful nor did he consider himself superior to others. He also, in my mind, seemed something like an 'underdog' -- not very strong, physically, and the sort of character that would probably sit by himself during lunch at a school's cafeteria (something that I identified with a lot). I don't know if this is the same criteria I use for picking my favorite characters in other stories, but I imagine it isn't too far off.

I also can't discount the fact that (as you said) there isn't much to go off of when talking about his character. It's most likely for this reason that I saw the greatest potential in Timothy for developing a character, which is part of why I decided to write my fan-fic mostly about him.

Anyway, not sure if my ramblings make sense, but that's more or less my feelings on the matter.

Greetings Procyn!

Its hard for me to say which is my favourite characterbut if I had to choose it would definately be Mrs. (Whatever her first name is) Brisby (or Frisby).

Why? I hear you cry, well this is going to be one long post so stand by.

First off when I first became interested in Nimh (mid-2003) she was the first character I saw and I was captivated my the way she was. Then I purchased the film on Amazon and just watched the whole thing through, over, and over and over again which, only increased my obsession with her.

I loved the way that she was portrayed matched perfectly with how she was supposed to be (in my oppinion): A widowed mother who cared very much for her children (Even at the expense of her own life). Someone who can and does come to terms with the fact that there are some things that may be completely beyond her, and that she was by no means a simpleton. There are other reasons way I like her as a character but if you asked me to type it all out there would be too much for anyone could read.

Also I find that she was beutifly drawn, as well as having a superb voice.

Timmothy although in the film did not get much of a visual role (a hand full of screenshots and just 10 words). I found that in the first book he was given a very inquisitive personality, he was very observant of his surroundings an dwhat was going on outside them. He reminded me of me in some respects. There are some times were I am not able to go anywhere and do somethings that most people take for granted and yet due to my ever growing independance I usualy find my way around them but enough about me.

There are very few children of his age that could cope with the realization of being near death which laeds me to bieve that Timmy has a great inner strength despite not being as we all know physicly strong.

Mine would have to Jenner. I think when it comes to a bad guy, I think Jenner is one of the best. He came up with a plan to kill Nicodimus and pulled it off. He also seemed like the kind of character that wouldn't take any crap from anybody.

I'm sure that I have said it before, but I'm quite willing to say again that my favorite character in the movie would be none other than Mrs. Brisby. The reason that I say this would be due to her quiet courage and determination. She was not necessarily the bold stand-out or show off type, but just the same, she found the strength within herself to do what had to be done even if it meant her death, all for the sake of her family. She is a true positive role model that I feel we should all try to emulate and learn from. I have since changed my mind as to whom my second most favorite character is. After reading some of the previous responses to this poll and much consideration, I've come to regard Timothy as my second most favorite character. The reason for this are that in some ways, he reminds me of me. In "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH", Timothy as pointed out by others, is somewhat shy, not really athletic or strong, but very intelligent. He's very inquisative about his surroundings and is not afraid to ask questions about whatever he may be unfamiliar with. Even to this day, I find certain traits of Timothy in my own personality and I do not necessarily regard that as a bad thing.

8) 8) 8)

Even after a lot of thought, I still can't say who my favorite character is. I do agree with many and adore Mrs. Brisby because.... well just because! What I look for in a character is something I can relate to at a time when I need it. Though even this is not the true reason why I loved the movie (and the books). It's more what I look for in the story as a whole. I look for certain elements in a story, philosophical stuff. It's the reason I still like NIMH, because it's just ovrstuffed with symbolism, if one only knows where to look...
Unfortunately I couldn't fit all the symbolism into my head at one time, let alone write it down, so all I can offer are a few minute details of symbolism.

Notice when villains (such as Dragon and Jenner) are up to no good, the background has a red hue. According to the readings of Edgar Cayce, red, especially dark red, can indicate anger and hatred. It can also indicate love so it might show how the two can be confused at times.

And for the color of Brutus's eyes. They glow blue, indicating a spiritual presence, which might sybolize Mrs. Brisby's having to overcome her own pessimistic spirit.

That's about all of my very strange opinion I think is safe to share at this point. The symbols are there if you look for them. And remember the words engraved on the back of the Stone. They come in handy when searching... :wink:

--Tzolkin
ﺶﺞﻚﷲ

i choose jonathan because i know so little about him yet he is refered to so much . hes sort of the nameless hero. when i heard thier was a secret of nimh 2 i orignaly asumed it would be about him and the stone.not timmy

My favorite character would have to be Mrs. Brisby because (like everyone else has stated thus far) of her courage and life-and-death efforts of protecting her children, animated characters like that are very hard to come by these days. I've never read the books, so I don't really know everyone's true characters or how everything really went on, I'm speaking all from the movie.

My second favorite character (or characters) is pretty much of a tie between Justin and Jeremy. I like Justin because of his brave and humorous attitude, and I must say he put up quite a good fight with Jenner towards the end of the movie. Jeremy is my second (tied with justin) favorite character because...well..he's just a very humorous and laughable character that just keeps me entertained throughout the movie.

Mrs. Brisby as ther most favorite and Brutus as the most enigmatic because apart from his rather "unusual design", his rather aggressive nature, and Mr. Ages saying "That's just Brutus" there is really very little known about that character.

Cheers!

mal

Cool. An old post of mine seems to have been rejuvenated. Thanks all. Interesting stuff. Lots of mentions for Mrs. Brisy. A Jonathan, a Timmy. Smattering of others. None for Auntie Shrew (I couldn't believe it either). As a consequence I realised I asked everyone else for their favourite with reasons, yet only stated (briefly) that I usually root for the villain. I didn't even refer to good old Jenner by name. Shame on me! Right, well now's a good a time as any to set things right.
As you've probably gathered from the above my favourite character is Jenner. Dark, nasty, callous, powerful; everything a bad guy needs to start terrorising weaker, goody-two-shoes characters. And he has a cloak! Dragon would seem to be another choice as he does pretty much the same thing, but is lacking one critical quality that Jenner has in spades. Personality. Without personality (however subtle) you're just a violent piece of furniture, Jenner was nasty, and he blatantly enjoyed it. A lot! There's hardly a shot where he’s not grinning to himself. You get the idea it's a very violent little world that Jenner has in his head. But of course, that's just a means to an ends. No mindless thug is Jenner, no! He wants his way with the settlement and the Stone. Just happens that the best way to get it is to create some 'accidents', though he's not above trying some manipulation and the old double-cross. There was a bit of the thespian is old Jenner, and that brings us nicely to the performance.
What helps immensely in creating the striking character we all love to hate was the quality of the voice actor and the animators who brought Jenner to the screen. Maybe it's just me, but his movements, speech and expressions seem so much more fluid, more energetic, more dynamic than a lot of the others, and the level of detail of his design is also impressive. So many little lines, folds, creases on his evil, grinning face, though each really does lend something to the overall character. He even has a tiny little goatee. A sure sign or true evil! His voice is also spot on. Deep, powerful, and superior. All round, a cracking performance on the part of those who worked on him.
Being a villain must be great, as you can get away with whatever you want. Rules are for your victims!