7.7 | / 10 |
Users | 2.9 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
To save her ill son, a field mouse must seek the aid of a colony of super-intelligent rats, with whom she has a deeper link than she ever suspected.
Starring: Elizabeth Hartman, Dom DeLuise, Hermione Baddeley, Arthur Malet, Peter StraussFamily | 100% |
Animation | 85% |
Fantasy | 35% |
Adventure | 14% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
French: Dolby Digital Mono
Portuguese: Dolby Digital Mono
German: Dolby Digital Mono
Italian: Dolby Digital Mono
Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono
English SDH, French, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
In 1979, Don Bluth was a rebel with a cause. That cause? The charm and wonders of old-school animation techniques. As part of a generation of Disney animators groomed to assume leadership once the old guard—the so-called Nine Old Men—had passed, Bluth was an up-and-comer within the studio. After years of learning the trade inside and out, however, he came to a conclusion: The House of Mouse had lost much of its magic. Cost-cutting measures employed on productions like The Fox and the Hound convinced Bluth that Disney cared more about profits than artistic credibility, and along with several other fed-up animators—dubbed “The Disney Defectors” by the press—Bluth left to form his own studio, where all effort would be made to keep the traditions of “the golden era” of animation alive. For its first full-length feature, the newly established Don Bluth Productions chose to adapt Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, a children’s story by Robert C. O’Brien that had once been pitched to Disney, but rejected because it was considered too dark. But Bluth knew—as did Walt Disney—that kids are more than capable of weathering adult-sized traumas en route to a happy ending.
Mrs. Brisby and her mousy brood...
Don Bluth and Gary Goldman oversaw a high definition restoration of The Secret of NIMH for the film's 2-disc DVD release, but if this 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer has indeed been sourced from that 2007 remaster I can only surmise that the renovation was far from comprehensive. On Blu-ray, the film exhibits a number of issues that definitely should've been addressed. Dirt and debris are present in varying amounts, there are more than a few scratches, and you'll notice frequent but mild brightness flickering and occasional color fluctuations. I also spotted three or four scenes that are subject to slight telecine wobble—when the image appears to judder from left to right a bit where it should remain static. In short, you shouldn't expect The Secret of NIMH to look like a Disney film on Blu-ray. (Disney also tends to use noise reduction methods to remove grain from their animated films, presenting a more faithful rendering of the artists' original intentions. This is one of the few areas where I think DNR can be a good thing. Here, grain is thick and pervasive; NIMH certainly doesn't look as "clean" as a Disney film, but I think the grittiness does give the movie a certain lo-fi charm.) While some of the issues displayed in the transfer can be distracting, The Secret of NIMH's Blu-ray debut is certainly not an altogether unpleasing viewing experience. Colors are eye-catching, the painted backgrounds have a great sense of depth, outlines are fairly strong, and many of the effects—glowing eyes and candle flames, especially—look wonderful. It's just too bad MGM couldn't have sprung for an all- encompassing digital cleanup. Perhaps someday NIMH will get the restorative overhaul it deserves, but for now, this so-so transfer will have to do.
I have few qualms, however, with the film's DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo track. I'm sure some folks probably wish MGM had opted to expand the soundtrack into a full-fledged 5.1 presentation, but I'm fine with the faithful-to-source two-channel mix. The most notable element of the track is Jerry Goldsmith's magical score, the composer's first for an animated feature, and one that he claims as a favorite amongst his prolific output. The music— sometimes tender, sometimes stormy—sounds wonderful, with a rich low and middle range and no high-end brashness. The effects have a similar sense of punch, and despite the lack of rear channel output, the action sequences do often have an immersive quality, thanks to the film's strong sound design. Dialogue can occasionally seem a little thin, but the vocal performances are always easy to understand. As expected, the disc comes with a variety of dub and subtitle tracks. (See above for listing.)
The Secret of NIMH is one of Don Bluth's best, and it deserves to be seen and appreciated by anyone who claims to be an animation fan. I'm not entirely satisfied with the transfer MGM has put together for this Blu-ray release, but the disc features an excellent lossless audio track, a worthwhile commentary from Bluth and co-producer Gary Goldman, and a short-but-informative making-of documentary. Is it worth the upgrade from DVD? That's a tough call, one that will depend largely on your budget and tolerance for middling high definition transfers. That said, if you don't already own the film and you're looking for the best version to purchase, this is definitely it.
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