OK, positive things first. The film has nice and alluring look. The protagonist being not only female, but also a mother, is feels really fresh. Mrs Brisby is instantly likable, and her quest to help her child becomes engrossing really quickly . The obligatory oddball character the Crow is also very likable, maybe somewhat annoying to, but mostly likable. 20 minutes into this film i was still certain that i was watching a stellar Disney film. Unfurtunately i was disappointed. Things does not exactly turn sour, but there are a number of problems that brings the experience down. Halfway through we are introduced to the rats society and its politics, everything here moves at breakneck speed, and its quite hard to care for the everything that happens. Its revelation on revelation before we even have grown accustomed to the surroundings and have any bigger reason to care for the different characters like ex Nicodemus. Its betrayal, sudden information about her dead husband, the weird part that explains how the rats became intelligent, and then the utterly awkward introduction of magic. I though all this elements were forced into drama in a very hamfisted way. Aspects like this needs to get introduced and foreshadowed a LOT more in order to work. As for the resolution its handled nice enough, and has some controversial (???) parts that are decidedly more dark then anything I've seen in Disney before. In short, this is a nice film, but little more.
Review of The Secret of NIMH
