Rats in film
Although the animation is gorgeous, The Secret of NIMH is not as good as Ratatouille.The mystical element subverts the courage and ingenuity of Mrs. Brisby. I'm pretty sure this wasn't in the book. But then again, almost all the "good" characters in this movie are alloyed with tragic flaws. Mrs. Brisby and her kids seem to be the only ones who seem untarnished.
Mr. Ages: crotchety asshole.
Jeremy Crow: nice but addled with lust and dangerously unaware.
Mrs. Shrew: very brave and resourceful, she disables the tractor. She's arrogant and self-important but she's still second to Brisby in admirable qualities.
The Owl: Gives sensible advice, but only when he finds out Brisby is associated with the NIMH rats.
Nicodemus is rendered foolish and rather craven. He feels obligated to help Mrs. Brisby, he apparently knows about her plight, he doesn't proactively do anything for her. Clairvoyant fatalism I suppose. Also, he does not follow basic safety practices on a worksite.
Justin: abandons Mrs. Brisby to her dangerous mission, leaving her to fend for himself against the humans and the cat in the house. He doesn't even know about her capture.
The visuals of this movie are really good and seem to serve the theme of it really well. The movie is full of sharp points and edges. There's a mechanical, impersonal sense to the various dangers. Even the organic ones: The cat, the farmer, the spider and the owl just doing what they do. I interpreted the owl stepping on the spider as an accident rather than charity. Jenner's villainy is entirely incidental to Mrs. Brisby's concern (as is his willingness to help her).
The moral I take away from this story is that no matter how brave and good you are, only magical powers can save you from the wickedness of your allies. Which, all in all, may not be such a bad lesson for young people.
It was disappointing to see this again. I didn't have enough of an impression of the movie to remember it the first time. I remember liking the book a lot; not as much as Watership Down but still a lot. I wish they had ditched the magic, and been more faithful to the rats in the book. I don't remember how the book resolved Mrs. Frisby's problem, but the solution in the movie: move the house with the kids still in it, is so absurd I can't believe the rats of NIMH are credited with any intelligence at all. Mrs. Shrew seems to have had their number all along.