Tuesday
28Jul2009
'The Secret of NIMH' Gets a Remake
Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 9:07AM
It was not all that long ago that we told you The Secret of NIMH was now available on Hulu. I watched it again, and it holds up reasonably well. The one issue it had was probably wrestling with how approachable it would ultimately be, because it was certainly darker than most animated fare in the early 1980s.

Now Neil Burger (The Illusionist) is negotiating a deal to adapt Robert C. O'Brien's book, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, for another version of the film. The Hollywood Reporter says the update would likely follow the formula of Alvin and the Chipmunks and G-Force formula of mixing live-action human performers and background with computer generated vermin.
The new NIMH will find a home at Paramount, which usually spins this kind of thing through Nickelodeon Films or its relationship with DreamWorks. There's no word on a director, and that may be something to keep an eye on. After all, the first NIMH was guided by Don Bluth, who is one of the visionaries of the genre. I'd hate to see this one fall into the hands of someone who's lucky to get the gig.
I don't mind the remake on the grounds that it's been 30 years, it's not going to conform to the same style, and it's a good enough book to revisit every now and again. The addition of Burger intrigues me; he's also writing the new Bride of Frankenstein movie. On the whole, I raise my glass to this one for the time being.

Colin Boyd |
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Reader Comments (33)
/facepalm no no no, they will screw it up.
Oh god, let's REALLY REALLY pray they don't!!
I might be speaking only for myself when I say that to remake this movie in the style of The Chipmunks or G Force lessens the beauty of it. The original was a beautifully styled movie. This new wave of CG, while impressive, I think would sully many peoples memories of a great movie. I'm not a movie critic and have don't have the experience of Colin, however, so I'll try to squelch any negative opinions, like the ones stated above, until I see a trailer for it.
Oh my goodness, no... 2D animation is beautiful. It's art. This movie, therefore, was a masterpiece.
A remake? In 3d? It's going to be god-awful.
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
If they remake this in the same theme as the Chipmunks or G-Force, thousands upon thousands of underground cult Nimh followers will rise up as one. A mass of infuriated fans, already embittered by the collosal, abysmal, embarassing failure that was the so-called "sequel" to the Secret of Nimh, whose rage will reach critical mass the moment Mrs. Brisby breaks into a showtune and dance. A churning sea of bodies whose combined rage will suck the light out of the sky and cause angels to weep in the heavens as they descend as one onto Paramount, screeching their outrage with pent-up fury that has been broiling within them since 1998. And when the blasphemers who dare taint this most treasured childhood memory are writhing on the floor in misery and agony from the den of outrage, the collective will rise up in unison to open their mouths, and as one will sing The Song That Ends The World.
Someone, for the love of all that is good and cherished, steer them towards Care Bears.
PLEASE NO!!!
THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE CHILKDHOOD MOVIES AND THEY WILL DESTROY IT!
Please let this be a joke
why would they mess with somthing thats already perfect?
*Face Palm*
They mess with thiat movie for one reason: MO' MONEY!!!!
They'll be selling off poor mrs. Brisby as a prostitute!!!
Well, I do like the idea for making the characters 'realistic' in CG on real backgrounds. I've always liked that for some reason. But the fact that this will trickle down into a Nickelodeon film disturbs me...
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-
This movie was an artistic masterpiece. It had feeling, energy, wonderful characters, a great book as it's base that was followed faithfully while being improvised on skillfully, and was a great staple for young people at that time... most of whom are still alive to see this movie when it comes out.
To take it and defile it by trying to make it like Alvin and the Chipmunks or G-Force right off sounds wrong to me. The feel of this movie is what made it a beloved classic; tossing in 3D crap will ruin it. And considering how dark it was, and the standard of these kinds of movies, how are they expecting to ply up any of the parts of the story? Like Jenner dying, Nicodemus getting crushed, Mrs. Brisby running around 'naked' in the house... all of these things are going to have to be removed, covered up, etc. to make it conform to those standards.
If the people involved with this have any kind of intelligence, they will scrap this idea. Maybe they should turn to the abysmal failure that was Secret of NIMH 2, and try to redo it so that it's actually worth calling a movie, instead of taking something so wonderfully done and destroying it in the name of making a few dollars.
I've spoken to literally hundreds of people online in various groups and places, and ALL of them who know what the movie is or care think it's a horrible idea. The few that were left over were the types this movie will draw in; zombies who follow whatever media is put in front of them and say 'Very nice.' not caring either way. This is a HORRIBLE IDEA. I suggest those thinking of doing it reconsider.
Neil Burger needs to be hit. Hard. Perhaps some sense will be knocked into his skull? DON'T TOUCH THIS MOVIE!
I think i'd rather burn down the movie theater than watch this masterpiece butchered.
NIMH is one of my childhood favorites, both in film and print.
I dearly hope this doesn’t come to pass. The original is nothing short of an animated masterpiece, but with today’s moviegoing audience yearning for bland humor and straightforward plots… I just can’t imagine this turning out well.
Needless to say, with NIMH’s complexity and serious themes, I don’t think many families will be as open to it as they were with, say, G-Force. Not to mention that the original animated film will likely fade further into time and become just a 'cult' thing.
This remake is neither necessary nor desired, even if it miraculously ends up more faithful to the novel than Bluth's adaptation did.
Sweet meta muffins.
How could this EVER sound like a good idea?
Who the hell gives the thumbs up for these kind of things?!?! Don't they have to do reserch for this stuff? I mean who in their right mind would say "yeah a piss poor movie with horrible dialogue and cheezy jokes is a great way to remake a classic!' BOOOOO I really hope this is just one of those "talked about" things and not a product in the works.
Do people run out of ideas so pathetically that they need to butcher everything that was done before ?
NIMH is one of my all time favorite animated films. And the best one Don Bluth ever made.
The animation was absolutely wonderful, the music powerful and wisely chosen. A dark and unique atmosphere skillfully adapted for children. Believable and deep characters, greatly designed in the film.
Like someone said, what is the point of remaking something already perfect?
So NO... Let's hope this NEVER happens.
PLEASE DONT! This is one of my favorite movies as a kid. They will take away the beauty and depth of it. They will try to make it to PC and less dark and then that will just ruin the whole thing. I normally dont mind a remake but this one should not be redone. And why do they need to remake everthing are they that short on ideas!. PLEASE DONT!
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
Looks like they`re going to do the Joel Schumacher to Secret of NIMH. By removing the dark mature story and realistic characters, they replace it with childish lightweight storyline, corny CGI critters and campy pastel schemes.
I guess Paramount only wants to insult the fans of the original NIMH, and please those who are fans of Dreamworks-esque idiot comedies or those who think that cartoons without flashy CGI,camp songs, love stories or bright atmosphere are weak (Little Mermaid-fanatics for example). Somebody needs to make some sense around here and revive the traditional animation as it once was.
Yet I think a stop-motion NIMH by Tim Burton would actually work. Nevertheless, they shouldn`t make NIMH look like the junker cartoons of this decade. At least the ones made in the 70s and 80s had some serious subject matters and old-fashioned craft in them.
Don Bluth`s NIMH deserves all the respect.
when will they air this in theatre, i wanna see it! Because im a fan of don bluth's film, Secret of nimh. PLEAAE DONT LET BURGER RUIN THIS PERFECT ORIGINAL MOVIE! THE ORIGINAL IS THE BEST AS IT IS! DONT YOU DARE MAKE IT TO A CGI, PROBABLY YOU WILL MAKE IT MORE UGLY AND AWFUL LIKE THE CHIPMUNKS AND G-FORCE! IF THEY MAKE IT TO A CGI, PEOPLE WONT DARE GO TO THEATRES TO WATCH IT, ANYWAY. HAH!
Ok, as much as I love the original movie, this interests me. First off I could never understand the whole "a remake ruins the original" mentality, it don't make much of a difference if you ask me.
Now first off I found the most interesting that there going for the rights to the book, not the first movie. With any luck this will be a more direct telling of the book, witch I would love to see.
Now I will admit that bringing up G-force and Alvin and the Chipmunks in the same report did leave a bad taste in my mouth as well, but that is only talking about what it will likely be... and it by a reporter that just heard it's got rodents and just assumes.
I'll hold my judgment till I at least see something coming from the ones that are actually making the film.
NO, They shouldn't mess with a classic every thing that the fuckers in hollywood touch turns to shit , this was one of my faves and still is the animation was beatuifly done and colored, it was perfect and as someone said in their post why mess with perfection ?
why is not a concept that is familiar with the people of hollywood. If they all think that we have the tecnology to make it better, well wrong jsut beacuse we have all these programs to do 3d and what not does not mean that you can replace the hand crafted master peices that we have come to love.
There have been enough remakes of great films that are terrible, and you know what? I just don't watch them. I pretend that they're not there. And it works perfectly fine for me. So don't worry. Put it out of your head. If you don't go to see it, then it's not really there. Existentialism, baby.