The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue (1998)

Scientists from the National Institute of Mental Health are still laying traps for the escaped rats. An older Timmy Brisby is sent to Thorn Valley where the rats of NIMH have created a thriving civilization. One of Mrs. Brisby's sons is prophesized to save the valley. Older brother Martin believes himself to be the savior and sets off on his own. While on a mission, Timmy finds Jenny who turns out to be able to read. Her parents are part of the Lost Six and she had come to get the rats' help. The rats refuse but Timmy joins Jenny on her mission fearing that Martin had also been captured.It's sad to see a bad sequel to such a classic. The animation is inferior. The writing is inferior. Everything is inferior. The shadow of the original's greatness is overwhelming. It's a straight to video cartoon and the quality is at that level. Dom DeLuise does return as Jeremy. He's the most recognizable voice in the original. The story starts functional and deteriorates. It gets worst and worst. It's watchable until it's not.

When I first watched the original movie (The Secret of NIMH) it was fantastic. It had a perfect mix of dark and cute and it was beautifully animated and written. But this, it's not. Timmy is now an annoying mouse who saves the day from his evil brother. I swear it was so sugarcoated and childish, it made me gag at some of the parts of the movie. The songs are awful and the animation looks cheap and sometimes even choppy. I can see why Bluth did not want to even be related to this movie. What a shame too because the main antagonist had a good twist for the movie and the voice actor at least tried to make him interesting. If you like movies that is so kid friendly it makes you feel like snapping some character's neck in half to stay sane, be my guest. But for the rest of us, please don't see it.

The title pretty much says it all for this inferior direct-to-video sequel to the now legendary animated classic from Don Bluth. Eric Idle's performance and musical number is a high point (only marginally), but SECRET OF NIMH 2 is obviously no match for its predecessor, which features disappointingly choppy animation and a story that is better suited to an average Saturday morning kids' cartoon. In other words, the whole tone of the movie plays out like one. Really embarrassing considering that the original had a more realistic, gritty edge to it. NIMH itself, for instance, is portrayed in this sequel as a Dr. Frankenstein sort of castle with a mad scientist as opposed to a facility of scientists oblivious to the cruelties they inflict on animals. Even the music is second-rate; apparently the filmmakers wanted to steal Disney's formula, as evidenced from the uninspired songs. The original NIMH had a far better and more inspiring score, courtesy of the late Jerry Goldsmith. Other elements of ripoff: the overeager hero, comic sidekicks, and the inclusion of a love interest. But none of these ingredients mesh into a tale with any of the depth, drama, or magic of far better animated features. Alas, such is the case with so many of these direct-to-video sequels. As a matter of fact, you can just skip it and not miss much at all.

I liked the original NIMH film, I did. Dark and somber. I'd say it's Don Bluth's best film. The sad thing, sequels to Bluth films tend to be better than the original film (An American Tail, All Dogs Go to Heaven) but I betcha he's happy for once that did not happen. Not with NIMH 2.We start off with a recap of what happened in NIMH 1. Seeing that they re-used the old footage instead of re-animating them I was hoping to see the same sort of dark visual style. I was wrong. NIMH 2 looks like an episode of the Smurfs without the Smurfs on crack. It's the antithesis of the previous film. Bright, cheery, uninspired backgrounds and basic character design devoid of any detail. Yeah, good stuff.Either way, without going into too much detail, after seeing your favorite characters from the original film make horrid re-appearances the protagonist Timmy and his stacked girlfriend along with yourself are thrust into a land where the headquarters of NIMH is Castle Frankenstein and Timmy's brother becomes a British insane genius voiced by Eric Idle possibly singing the most cheery "I'm gonna take over the world" song ever. You know, I seriously think the original VHS tapes came with complimentary marijuana to enhance the viewing pleasure and ease the pain. That's what sucks about DVDs, you don't get stuff like that no more.I was laughing my ass off for the entirety of the film because nothing made sense. Suspension of disbelief is all well and good, but mine won't stretch this far. Watch it back-to-back with the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour and your drug addiction will have been cured. I feel pretty sure that you will not think this film is a complete waste of time if you see it after not having slept for 72 hours, like me. It's not that bad of a film really.