Rotten Tomatoes
Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

The Secret of NIMH

Play trailer Poster for The Secret of NIMH G 1982 1h 22m Kids & Family Fantasy Animation Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
93% Tomatometer 70 Reviews 86% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Mrs. Brisby (Elizabeth Hartman), a widowed mouse, must move her children out of their home in a field before the local farmer starts plowing. Unable to leave because her son is ill, Mrs. Brisby seeks the help of nearby rats, who have heightened intelligence after being the subjects of scientific experiments. She receives an unexpected gift from the elder rat, Nicodemus (Derek Jacobi). Soon Mrs. Brisby is caught in a conflict among the rats, jeopardizing her mission to save her family.
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

The Secret of NIMH

The Secret of NIMH

What to Know

Critics Consensus

The Secret of NIMH seeks to resurrect the classical style of American animation and succeeds, telling a mature story with rapturous presentation.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More
Rita Kempley Washington Post 11/11/2021
Sadly, The Secret of NIMH is beautiful but unbalanced: The animators gambled when they should have gamboled. Go to Full Review Susie Eisenhuth Sydney Morning Herald 11/11/2021
3/4
Parents wistful for the world of mystery and magic fondly remembered from the best of the Disney cartoon features should hasten along to this rather endearing fantasy. Go to Full Review Neil Jillett The Age (Australia) 11/11/2021
This American full-length animated cartoon lives up to its publicity as a return to the meticulous artwork and storybook charm of the golden days of Disney. Go to Full Review Katie Hogan FILMHOUNDS Magazine 12/11/2024
4/5
At its heart, The Secret of NIMH is aimed at children, but it still hits all the same nostalgic notes for those who watched it as a child and again as an adult. Go to Full Review Mat Brunet AniMat's Review (YouTube) 09/06/2024
10/10
The Secret of NIMH is an animated feature that has every right to be called a masterpiece. Just about every element of this picture is amazingly crafted to present how animation can truly be a storytelling medium. Go to Full Review Stephen Silver Tilt Magazine 08/05/2022
4.5/5
Known for its beautiful hand-drawn animation style, one very unique to that time period and a far cry from the computer-generated style that would take hold in the Pixar era. (40th anniversary) Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Jason B @RT90795834 Apr 3 When I was younger, my class watch this movie it is a horrible movie. It is really dark in dramatic. I think you have to be really old to understand it. Well, you probably won’t even understand it when you’re old is there’s no matter and the other a rat that get injected with needles and there’s a sword fight and stuff in the main character gets killed and I wish it was more like the book but I thought the book was even sad. I would’ve gave it zero of stars, but I can only give it have a stars cause that is low as it goes. If there was negative I’d give it 1 million negative this is a horrible movie. I don’t think you could watch them at all and my daughter got scared by hearing the interview. I think you might even got nightmares and I just think you’d get really scared so I don’t think you should watch it when I watched that school, that was just not for me. See more Leigh H. @NautiAuti Feb 25 One of the Greatest movie of all times See more Nicholas t @nicktalbert2025 Jan 12 I dont cared about the movie See more Gregory S @Gregory566 Jan 8 Loved it as a kid, and loved it while watching with my kids. See more James H @RT51557711 Nov 2 These type of movies were much needed when they came out, and they are even more needed to be made now! Great movie, was a favorite when I was a kid and even now as an adult is a movie I want to sit down and emerse myself in. Please make more movies like this Hollywood, and if not Hollywood, anyone make them! See more Kim P @RT98672688 Nov 1 Pretty imaginative and better than any animated Disney movie from that era. See more Read all reviews
The Secret of NIMH

My Rating

Read More Read Less WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW POST RATING

Cast & Crew

View All

Don Bluth

Director

Elizabeth Hartman

Mrs. Brisby

Derek Jacobi

Nicodemus

Dom DeLuise

Jeremy

Shannen Doherty

Teresa

Edie McClurg

Miss Right

More Like This

View All
The Last Unicorn 75% 86% The Last Unicorn Watchlist TRAILER for The Last Unicorn An American Tail 76% 71% An American Tail Watchlist All Dogs Go to Heaven 46% 63% All Dogs Go to Heaven Watchlist Rock-A-Doodle 20% 56% Rock-A-Doodle Watchlist The Care Bears Movie 50% 58% The Care Bears Movie Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

The Secret of NIMH

Poster Art The Secret of NIMH (1982) The Secret of NIMH (1982) A scene from the film THE SECRET OF N.I.M.H. A scene from the film THE SECRET OF N.I.M.H. A scene from the film THE SECRET OF N.I.M.H. A scene from the film THE SECRET OF N.I.M.H. A scene from the film THE SECRET OF N.I.M.H. A scene from the film THE SECRET OF N.I.M.H. View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Mrs. Brisby (Elizabeth Hartman), a widowed mouse, must move her children out of their home in a field before the local farmer starts plowing. Unable to leave because her son is ill, Mrs. Brisby seeks the help of nearby rats, who have heightened intelligence after being the subjects of scientific experiments. She receives an unexpected gift from the elder rat, Nicodemus (Derek Jacobi). Soon Mrs. Brisby is caught in a conflict among the rats, jeopardizing her mission to save her family.
Director
Don Bluth
Producer
Gary Goldman, Don Bluth
Screenwriter
Don Bluth, Will Finn, Gary Goldman, John Pomeroy
Distributor
United Artists, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co
Aurora, Don Bluth
Rating
G
Genre
Kids & Family, Fantasy, Animation
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 30, 1982, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 25, 2012
Runtime
1h 22m
Sound Mix
Dolby, Surround
Aspect Ratio
35mm, 1.66:1, Flat (1.85:1)
Most Popular at Home Now