A New NIMH Adaptation is in the Works

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i64d7e42a898297d743cce7f17982cc1f

This could be good news or very, very bad news to some of you. Not too surprising that a new NIMH adaptation is being compared to the success of G-Force. It looks like NIMH will be made combining live action with animation (CGI), like the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie.

Not a lot of details in that article, just random speculation. If we're very lucky, this will just die a quiet death in a corner somewhere. If not, well, guess we'll see just how much worse it can get than the alleged NIMH 2.

I was going to post about this, as a friend of mine e-mailed me about it this morning and I figured you guys would be interested in it. But it seems I've been beaten to the punch. :)

Though I personally prefer 2D animation, I do not think 3D is the enemy and it can be wonderful if done well. Maybe it would help if the article cited "The Lord of the Rings" or "Chronicles of Narnia" films as examples of live action mixed with CG animation rather than "Alvin and the Chipmunks" or "G-Force," which I haven't seen, but both of which seem to be very different in tone from "NIMH."

I think this could be quite interesting and could only raise the profile of the 2D film. If this adaptation is closer to the original book, it could make for a very different experience from "Secret of NIMH." There's no guarantee that it would be good, even if it is a literal word-for-word retelling of the book, but it would help to distinguish the two films so they don't seem to compete with each other as much as provide different experiences.

That's my opinion, anyway. As DariusGreywind points out, the article contains a lot of speculation and it's probably too early for anyone to say for certain what they film is going to be like.

Hm.

Hmmm...

Very interesting. I'm cautiously optimistic; inkandpixelclub is right about it likely generating interest in the original Secret of NIMH--NIMH2, for all its faults, did have that going for it. But hearing it bandied about with the likes of G-Force and Alvin does not inspire confidence. I guess it really comes to how much they plan to respect the original work. I don't particularly care about the format it's delivered in, really; I personally think a CGI/Live Action mix could work very well for the movie. And for anyone who worries about rats being done in CGI, the short film One Rat Short proves that you can do this sort of movie well in that format: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KniV2OGwSms

We'll see, I suppose. I'm guessing that at this stage, we're looking at a release in no sooner than 2-3 years from now, and possibly longer.

I guess the best stance would be neutrality until we actually know more about it, like screenshots, voice actors, working script, etc. I myself would go as far as to say let's see how the Alice remake does with it and see what could be done. Either way I expect plenty of fun speculation.

By-and-large Ill go with inkandpixelclub and Simon, at the very least it'll generate interest in the original.

It's being picked up by a number of sources, so it's looking legit, at least:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118006562.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&ref=bd_film

http://www.bing.com/news/search?q=nimh+paramount&FORM=BNFD

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1139726/news

Not too surprising that a new NIMH adaptation is being compared to the success of G-Force.

That sentence is horrible to look at.

All I have to say if this is actually going to happen, this will destroy the movie completely. But, if it really does happen, we'll just have to see it and judge it ourselves.

I heard about this on Yahoo today, and have a foot in both camps (so to speak).

On one hand, it could be a nice reboot for the story. Paramount has a joke of a sequel to refer to in order to find out how not to make the movie. There are plenty of mistakes there to learn from. Despite the "3D" promise, we have the Harry Potter movies to show that it could be done.

On the other hand, Paramount could only be interested in making a cheap remake that only appeals to the pre-teens. In that case, prepare for NIMH 2 all over again. :cry:

Hm.


Very interesting. I'm cautiously optimistic; inkandpixelclub is right about it likely generating interest in the original Secret of NIMH--NIMH2, for all its faults, did have that going for it. But hearing it bandied about with the likes of G-Force and Alvin does not inspire confidence. I guess it really comes to how much they plan to respect the original work. I don't particularly care about the format it's delivered in, really; I personally think a CGI/Live Action mix could work very well for the movie.

I agree that a CGI/Live action based adaptation of this tale could generate tremendous interest in the original movie. However like you Simon, I am as you said cautiously optomistic as to the outcome. If Paramount's intentions towards this fine piece of literature are less than honorable, then I'm afraid that we can expect nothing better than, or maybe (if it's indeed possible) something worse than SON2. If on the other hand, they choose to respect the book and the original movie then nothing but greatness can come of it.

Peace :D
NIMHmaniac

I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens. Nothing can top the original movie, of course, but it would be nice to see a longer film, possibly with more detail about the rats' escape from NIMH and thier journey to the farm.

I'd be interested to see what the casting is for the live action actors and voice parts.

I think the best combination of live action and animation is Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
I do hope that a new film will generate interest in the original film but then again it might taint the NIMH name. I do hope (its a stretch) they get Derek Jacobi, Peter Strauss and Arthur Malet. They'll probably get big name actors to do the voices. We're lucky if Jacobi, Strauss, Malet have a cameo (live action or voice).

Like everyone else, I'm cautiously optimistic. But I'm not really going to have an opinion until I learn more about it.

Okay everyone, it looks like it'll hit theaters around 2013. It's named after the book, so we can give a measured guess it'll be following it more closely than Bluth did.

So let's cross our fingers and remain calmly hopeful that it'll be a success. and not another SON2...

Since its another adaptation of the book rather than a remake of the film, they'll more than likely ignore The Secret of NIMH entirely. This isn't a bad thing and nor would it be an insult to Don Bluth's film. I would think of this film as being more like the way Tim Burton approached Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland.

Okay everyone, it looks like it'll hit theaters around 2013. It's named after the book, so we can give a measured guess it'll be following it more closely than Bluth did.

So let's cross our fingers and remain calmly hopeful that it'll be a success. and not another SON2...

Do you have a source for that, out of curiousity?

Do you have a source for that, out of curiousity?

Certainly, it's a little blank, but IMDB is usually a good start for it, and ill keep searching around to confirm my information:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1482456/

Edit: IMDB likely has more info, but as it's within the Subscription-based "Pro" section, I can't access it. Getting the free trial going requires a credit card, which I'm not willing to use right now.

::Chris spends several minutes trying to remember his password, and when he finally recalls it, he blows the dust off his account and makes his comments. And finds himself startled to see there's another Chris S. on the board. Wow, we even have the same post count. The only difference is ChrisS and Chris S. :) ::

Hello everyone. Long time, no see. :)

::Chris kicks the internet for eating his first post::

I have mixed feelings about a new NIMH film.

"Variety reports that Paramount Studios are in discussions with Neil Burger -- director of The Illusionist and The Lucky Ones -- to bring Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH to the big screen for a second time."

I haven't seen that guy's stuff, but from what I know of it, its solid, serious material and not exploitive nonsense.

NIMH was the movie that gave wings to my imagination as a child, I dread the thought of something that would deface those fond memories.

The problem with adapting the book is that there's no villain, really. Jenner's already dead by the start of the book, knocking out the cat so the rats can move the cinderblock home is the closest to a villain in the movie. I dread the thought of what they'd do to force it to fit the normal Hollywood story arc.

The problem with adapting the book is that there's no villain, really. Jenner's already dead by the start of the book, knocking out the cat so the rats can move the cinderblock home is the closest to a villain in the movie. I dread the thought of what they'd do to force it to fit the normal Hollywood story arc.

Eh... I'd say the book has a lot of villains, but they aren't quite so direct or clear-cut (or, dare-I-say, formulaic) as, say, Jenner in the movie. For instance, you have NIMH, which is acting (presumably) in the benefit of mankind, and the Fitzgibbons, who are mostly just oblivious as they work their farm. Dragon, who is just acting on instincts. If they're going for a more faithful adaptation of the book, then I'd say that's most likely where they'd focus their efforts.

I could still see them at the very least choosing to keep Jenner around, though; at the very least, by having him there, representing the counterpoint to Nicodemus's Plan, you show the rats as not being a utopian society where everyone agrees on everything. Still, at this point, it sounds like the screenplay isn't even written yet, so who really knows?

Hey maybe we can imagine our own casts. There's this neat site called http://www.imaginecasting.com[]http://www.imaginecasting.com....if you join (it's free) you can make casts


or we could do it in this thread?

I think if they were to play up NIMH a bit as the antagonist, and extend into the Thornbush escape, getting away from the gas, it could make for a climactic ending.

I could see Mrs. Fris being adapted into that scene watching from the sidelines, to keep their main protagonist involved, rather than retelling it second hand.

And is it too late to get Don Bluth involved in at least an advisory role? If they're going to do this, they need to do it RIGHT.

I think if they were to play up NIMH a bit as the antagonist, and extend into the Thornbush escape, getting away from the gas, it could make for a climactic ending.

I could see Mrs. Fris being adapted into that scene watching from the sidelines, to keep their main protagonist involved, rather than retelling it second hand.

And is it too late to get Don Bluth involved in at least an advisory role? If they're going to do this, they need to do it RIGHT.

It sounds like the movie is in very early days, so I don't think it would be too late to bring Bluth on board in an advisory capacity. But I'm not sure why they would want to. From everything I've seen, it sounds like this "NIMH" is going to be based on the original book. If it was intended as a follow-up to "The Secret of NIMH," I'd totally agree that Bluth should be involved. But since that's not the case, I doubt anyone working on the film would feel the need to consult Bluth - who already got to do his version of "NIMH" on what they should do anymore than Tim Burton would have wanted Mel Stuart hanging over his shoulder and telling him how to make "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." (Mel Stuart was the director of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." Didn't know that off the top of my head; I had to check IMDB.)

As for villains and climaxes, I think the movie could work fine if they really drive hoe that Mrs. Frisby's problem is not so much that her son is sick and the famrer is going to run over her house with a plow as that she is a very timid little creature who can't even begin to solve her problems on her own because she is so totally unable to take even necessary risks. Her struggle isn't so much against NIMH or Farmer Fitzgibbons or Dragon but against that frightened part of herself that keeps her from doing what needs to be done. By the end of the movie, she may not have "defeated" any of the forces that have threatened her and her family, but we should know that she is capable of protecting her family from any future threats even without the help of the rats. I would hope that the filmmakers would accomplish this b putting her into situations where she has every reason to do the safe, easy thing, but chooses to do the difficult, dangerous thing because it is the right thing to do. One thing I would like to see carried over from the Bluth film is Mrs. Frisby escaping the birdcage on her own. Make it clear that she could easily just stay in the birdcage and wait to be rescued while the rats take care of moving her house, except that she's learned that NIMH is coming after the rats and even though it doesn't involve her or her family directly, she knows that only she can warn them in time.

Let's hope they at least not make it like many animated films are nowadays. I want the Nimh adaption to at least be accepted by us Nimh Fans.