#animated august

[elizas-writing]

Animated August, Day 12: Corpse Bride

Touching back on stop motion animation, this time with one of the most creative visionaries of my time: Tim Burton. Usually his name is associated with films like The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, despite just being the producer and not the director of those two. Well, this is the first of his stop motion animated films where he’s actually the director, bringing his own flavor of quirkiness to the production. Here is Corpse Bride!

In a Victorian era village, Victor Van Dort is in an arranged marriage with Victoria Everglot, so both of their families will finally be well-to-do and avoid poverty. However, Victor is too socially awkward for his own good, especially at the idea of marrying someone he’s never met. After screwing up his vows during a wedding rehearsal, Victor runs off embarrassed into the woods to practice. Yet he accidentally marries, no duh, a corpse bride, who rises from her grave and takes him to the Land of the Dead as her new husband. Despite the otherwise horrifying circumstances, the bride, Emily, is a sweet young woman who just longed to have someone to love after being murdered on her wedding night. Unfortunately, Victor just doesn’t feel the same, and there’s still the fact that he’s alive and she’s dead. Meanwhile, Victoria’s parents grow antsy of the groom’s disappearance and plan to wed her off to some mysterious newcomer who may have more dastardly intentions. And it’s up to Victor to figure out where his new home will be, and where his true love lies.

The animation and designs carry through Burton’s creepy artistic style with exaggerated features to make the characters distinct. Most of the sets are in shadows and grays, but whenever color comes in, it just pops. There’s also a fun contrast between the Lands of the Living and the Dead as the former is more drab and glum-- like everyone’s ready for a funeral-- while the latter is more energetic. It plays a lot with assumption of the undead being evil, but when you get to know them, they’re actually pretty cool people who aren’t bummed out about where they’re at; they have nothing else to lose, so might as well party it up and have some fun, celebrating the creepy and macabre.

This contrast is best highlighted when we first meet Emily, voiced Helena Bonham Carter. We see her through Victor’s initial shock of a dead woman rising from her grave, complete with eerie whispering and Danny Elfman’s wonderful music. But in the next scene, she’s cracking jokes and is nothing more than a young, hopeless romantic trying to love again. There’s a sweet, childlike innocence about her which makes you feel sorry for her tragic situation and understand why she acts the way she does.

And being a Tim Burton film, we also have Johnny Depp as Victor. I’m used to seeing Depp in super-eccentric roles, so it’s a bit unusual to see him play the every-man. He’s incredibly shy, soft-spoken, and kind-hearted, but he’s a work in progress in figuring out what he wants in a relationship and how to communicate, which works well in a Victorian setting given the ultra-conservative mindset around romance and marriage at the time. In any other film like a rom-com, this miscommunication would seem like an annoying cliche, but these two characters come from understandable backgrounds on why one can’t commit and why the other will throw herself to anyone asking for her hand. They hurt each other, but they eventually come to realize what they did wrong and want to set everything right so they’ll both be happy, even if what they need isn’t what they want. It’s a bittersweet and hard-hitting take on what love is and exploring the little ways a relationship can be unhealthy. And Victor and Emily are a wonderful pair to take that journey and overcome their own problems.

Despite the themes and macabre imagery, the tone is a lot more subdued than Burton’s usual work. There’s still plenty of eccentric side characters and their unique designs, a hell of a voice cast, and of course, the stop motion animation is amazing. Most of the humor is very dry, and it doesn’t shove a whole lot of plot details in your face. It keeps to very simple points, but has enough character and imagery to allot for audience speculation and interpretation. And even though there’s kinda a goofy villain who’s obviously evil from the get go (like who shows up at a wedding rehearsal he wasn’t invited to where no one knows his name), the focus of the story isn’t on good versus evil. You’re mostly with Victor and Emily as they figure their shit out, and that’s all you need.

Corpse Bride is a beautifully grim tale of romance and the boundaries of life and death. It’s everything you love from Tim Burton with an excellent cast, stylized macabre elements, an always wonderful soundtrack by Danny Elfman, and an odd, bittersweet dive into romance on what it means to be happy in a relationship. If you’re a fan of his work, this is one you won’t want to miss.

Day 11 >> Day 12 >> Day 13

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[elizas-writing]

Animated August, Day 21: Ice Age

You know something sad? I actually forgot how fucking great the first Ice Age movie was. This was the shit when it first came out, and we watched it dozens of times and never got tired of it. And it’s still just as amazing as when I saw it as a kid. How the hell did I forget?

The first feature-length film of Blue Sky Studios, Ice Age took the animation world by storm with high critical praise, the biggest opening weekend for a movie released in March, and one of the top 10 highest grossing films of 2002. Hell, it even got an Academy Award Nomination for Best Animated Feature the same year Spirited Away won. That’s right; Ice Age was once considered in the same caliber as fucking Hayao Miyazaki. So what is it about the first of the franchise that made it stand out?

Migration has begun, and all the herds of animals are heading south to escape the harsh winter. However, two lone animals just happen to cross paths as they head the opposite way: a woolly mammoth named Manny and a ground sloth named Sid. Manny just wants to be left alone, but Sid keeps sticking to him like glue for protection against predators. Their journey takes a wild turn when they come across a human baby separated from his tribe. Soon after, a saber-tooth tiger named Diego arrives, claiming to know where the humans moved to. Manny and Sid let Diego join as their tracker, not knowing he’s actually planning to bring the baby to his pack leader as an act of revenge. Despite the obvious, obvious differences between them, the three start to grow fond for each other and figure out where their journey will lead them next.

This movie has all the great parts and execution of a family adventure film. The setting allows for a ton of grand, natural landscapes and a massive variety of now-extinct animal life. You can tell they did a lot of research, but also took some liberties in the designs to gives these characters life. Nowadays, the backgrounds look a little foam or plastic-like, and the animal fur is really stiff. But for it’s time, especially against Pixar and Dreamworks, this is still impressive animation. I really love how the ice structures look when the group goes into the cavern. There’s a perfect balanced amount of slapstick, action, peril, and emotional self-discovery. Hell, I forgot how intense some of the dramatic scenes get, like when Manny and Sid find the human baby. Most of the emotional scenes have little to no dialogue and rely on the character animation to carry it through.

Ray Romano’s blunt, deadpan humor fits for someone as no-nonsense as Manny. He’s reclusive and short-tempered, but it’s all a front because he already lost too much. When you think about it, he’s pretty much planning a suicide by going north instead of south for the winter. And, as you do, the facade slowly cracks the longer he’s with this group, and he laughs, cracks kind-hearted jokes, and even grows a strong bond with the baby. Diego, voice by Denis Leary, also go through a ton of change, which gets really complicated when he’s forced to decide between his pack and his newfound herd. He’s a lot of fun as he lets down his defenses and has a bit of fun. The only character I’m kinda on the fence about is Sid, voiced by John Leguizamo. Stupidity and incompetence as character traits tend to get old after a while. I think I couldn’t see Sid past some of his more annoying moments in later films. But thankfully, the first film knows to limit Sid’s comic relief before it becomes too much, and even give him a few serious, heartfelt moments too. And Scrat, as far as filler comic relief goes, has his fun, silly moments for some extra entertainment.

It’s also weird that the first film was the only one with humans. I don’t know why they don’t have humans in the other films, because it has a similar vibe to The Jungle Book with bits of social commentary on man’s relationship with nature and vice versa during this point of natural history. That’s a dozen times more fascinating than the half-assed crap I see in Ferngully and Avatar. But it doesn’t take advantage of that potential for some reason (well, okay, probably cause their original ideas were too dark for the kids). It’s still a great film as is, but it sucks when I think of the quality drop when it became a franchise.

But I’m really glad I kept Ice Age on the list, because it took me back to when I was a kid and watched this on repeat. It’s good animation for its time, the characters are fun and likable, and the story balances out the comedy, action and drama for a wonderful family adventure for all to enjoy. And I just might have to watch it again sooner than later.

Day 20 >> Day 21 >> Day 22

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[elizas-writing]

Animated August, Day 20: Song of the Sea

How in the FUCK have we been sitting on Tomm Moore for so long? Why aren’t we eating his movies up at this point? Give the guy a fucking Oscar already!

In any case, Moore, the same director for The Secret of Kells, is back again with his second film, Song of the Sea; a beautiful adventure with gripping, raw emotion and beautiful interpretations of Irish mythology and folktales. I’m starting to wonder if there’s anything Moore can’t do with another knock out of the park. Let’s take a look at a film which many viewers felt was robbed by the Academy.

Just a short boat ride away from a seaside Irish village, a family lives at a lighthouse on top of a hill. Their happy life suddenly changes when the mother mysteriously vanishes, presumably dying after giving birth to her daugther, Saoirse (SEER-sha). Six years pass, the father is still depressed, Saoirse is mute, and her older brother, Ben, resents her and blames her for their mother’s disappearance. On the night of her birthday, Saoirse finds an old chest with a lovely white coat, and finds herself drawn to the ocean. The coat allows her to turn into a seal in the water, revealing her to be a selkie, a magical shape-shifting creature. The father suddenly sends the children to live with their grandmother on the mainland village, so they may have some normal life without grief constantly overwhelming them. Ben immediately decides to run away and go back home, and Saoirse follows. Along the way, Ben learns of what Saoirse is and that the folktales their mother told him of fairies and spirits are true. On top of which, Saoirse is the key to save the spirit world, but grows weaker without her coat and must hurry back home before she dies or is taken by dark creatures.

Once again, the animation style borrows a lot from Celtic mythology and art with flat, geometric shapes and saturated colors. As The Secret of Kells captured medieval art, Song of the Sea more emulates the look of a children’s bedtime story-- a perfect fit given the main characters’ connection to folktales. It favors dark blues which match for any scene throughout the film. Aside from the fairies and spirits, the character designs are very simplistic while the great detail work pops in the backgrounds. And the spirits are just delightful in how they interact with the kids and do whatever they can to help them, even this seemingly malevolent owl spirit who just wanted to alleviate her son’s grief. It’s a magical world of wonder and danger you just want to see more of in all its splendor. Even though it has a similar slow, atmospheric tone to The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea has a more fleshed-out plot to work with, making way for intense drama, chases, and a race against the clock. And the animation and voice acting carry through each scene with perfect pacing to develop the characters and their dilemmas.

From the plot summary, it sounds like we’re mostly following Saoirse’s self-discovery. She still has sufficient screen time with subtle character changes, but the focus mainly falls on Ben’s grief. He’s stubborn and projects his anger far too much on his younger sister, but as he learns more about his mother and the spirits, the guilt steadily piles on as he has to move on and be a better brother, especially when it comes to passing down the stories he grew up with. It’s really nice to see his attitude slowly change as he remembers how he felt when he was first told these stories, how much more dark and depressing they are now that he’s older, and how similar his experiences with grief are to those folktales.

And Saoirse, despite her sweet demeanor, eventually comes to not take her brother’s shit, and when she want something, she’ll be damn sure he pays attention. Their development from estranged siblings to sacrificing for each other is incredibly well-paced and feels earned when the film reaches the climax. And it ties together amazingly with remembering/discovering cultural roots, connecting with people, learning from the past, and coping when one of your few major connections to your heritage just vanishes from your life. It’s all specific to Irish folklore, but has a ton of universality which anyone can pick up.

Song of the Sea is a film unlike most in the animation world, especially as one of the rare 2D animated movies still being made. It takes a simple premise and juices it up with Irish mythology and a grand commentary on the importance of maintaining and passing down your heritage. It’s a breathtaking and magical visual marvel celebrating the beauty of Irish culture from the stories to the music. But why listen to me go on and on? Experience Song of the Sea for yourself... with tissues on standby.

Day 19 >> Day 20 >> Day 21

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[elizas-writing]

Animated August, Day 24: Persepolis

It’s the film adaptation of the highly praised graphic novel, Persepolis. I first heard of it when my mom read it for a college class, and out of curiosity, I picked it up. It was a funny and intense autobiography with simplistic yet emotionally powerful art, even if I didn’t completely understand the historical context. But my mom returned her copy before I finished it, and I just forgot to pick it up since. Despite not finishing the novel, I was still interested to see how it was adapted to film, and it was a great pick for this month because of its story structure and adult rating.

Persepolis follows Marjane Satrapi, called by her nickname “Marji,” from childhood to early adulthood during and after the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Ever since she was a young girl, Marji always had a rebellious spirit, taking pride in her parents’ support of Marxism rising against the Shah. However, when the Islamic Fundamentalists take control of Iran, Marji’s faith is put to the test as close friends and family are constantly taken to either fight in the war or be executed for disobeying the regime. Yet her outspoken behavior never fades as she gets into punk music and challenges her teachers. Fearing for their daughter’s life, Marji’s parents send her to study abroad in Europe for some time until it is safe for her to return home. And Marji is sent in a whirlwind journey of self-discovery and identity as she gets in and out of trouble constantly and wonders what freedom really means.

This coming-of-age story flows in a series of vignettes of Satrapi’s life. Of course, with it being an autobiography, it doesn’t smoothly build up into one grand arc or moment of realization-- it’s just her life. Even the ending, while having a profound message in a simple sentence, is quite anticlimactic. But often, someone’s life with everything they learned over the course of about 20 years is more fascinating than having a solid beginning, middle, and end. Many of Satrapi’s stories were condensed so the film would be short, but it keeps many of the major highlights like her conversations with God and Karl Marx, her bond with her grandmother, learning to stay proud of her heritage in a foreign country, etc.

The animation follows Satrapi’s artistic style from the graphic novel, mainly sticking to black, white and gray scale (with exception to scenes of her in the present day which are in color) and flat shapes, reminiscing shadow puppet theater. According to Satrapi, she wanted to avoid the perception of Iran as just another foreign country, and maintain the simplistic designs and color use to show that any place could easily fall into corruption. It’s a fascinating combination of simplicity and complexity with the fast-paced fluidity, exaggeration facial expressions, surreal character designs (like the two guardians in the above GIF questioning Marji’s clothing), and abstraction when Marji is left to her thoughts. I especially love some of the darker scenes where figures are entirely black against dark gray backgrounds, and you’re left to interpret what kind of face they’re making in the moment.

But what I love most of this film is how Satrapi re-evaluates how her acts of rebellion changed over the years. From the get-go, her parents are brutally honest on the oppression of the Shah, but she’s still an immature child under the naive mindset that justice will triumph no matter what. It’s a brutal realization upon her uncle’s execution that freedom is never obtained so easily, and sometimes you’ll be worse off than where you began. Marji is also in a constant back-and-forth between rebellion and remaining silent, the former being much easier said than done when the slightest transgression can be punished with torture and death. It’s a constant struggle of knowing how to pick and choose your battles, how to fight them and how your choice could affect others. There is never an easy answer for this in moments of political and social turmoil, and I love seeing Marji constantly change how she rebels against misogyny and racism, whether at home or abroad.

Persepolis is an autobiography which explores how often we take the concept of freedom for granted, and you never stop growing up. Doing the right thing is never easy when you need to prioritize living to the next day and not risk everything you work for. Satrapi and her team do fantastically well to convey so much of a complicated life in simplistic, yet powerful animation. It captures the comedy and drama of a coming-of-age story in the most brutally honest ways it can. It’s not just a staple film for animation buffs; it’s a staple film you need to see before you die. It deserves all the praise it gets, and you need to check it out if you haven’t done so already.

Day 23 >> Day 24 >> Day 25

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[elizas-writing]

Animated August, Day 7: Hoodwinked!

Yeah, it’s a Weinstein-distributed film. This is as awkward for me as it is for y’all, but I needed more variety on this list besides Don Bluth.

Aside from Miramax bringing Princess Mononoke to the United States, Weinstein didn’t have the best of luck with animation. I give credit they tried to give indie animators a spotlight while Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks were pumping out hits, but most animated films under Miramax or The Weinstein Company are of mixed quality at best. And we’re here to talk about one of them: Hoodwinked!

It’s the story of Little Red Riding Hood, but not as you know it. The film begins in media res as Red finds the Wolf in her grandmother’s house. Yet things go awry when she also finds Granny tied up and a mysterious woodsman breaks into the house. Cut to a few hours later, the police gathered at the home while in the middle of their own investigation of the Goodie Bandit, who’s stealing bakers’ recipes left and right and forcing them to go out of business. They believe the trail might end here with these four people, and they each tell their stories how they ended up where they are. Secrets emerge, and the police piece together what they all have in common to finally put an end to the Goodie Bandit.

It’s very much along the same vein of the Shrek films as a modernized parody of classic fairytales. While it doesn’t pack as much sharp wit as Shrek, it carries its own special charm of stereotype shattering and a quirky environment of talking animals and fairytale characters which is wrapped up in baked goods. Some of the humor is more dry and doesn’t try too hard to make you laugh; it just shows the world as is and lets the characters bounce off each other.

And it has another great all-star cast for these characters. Anne Hathaway plays Red who everyone assumes is just a sweet delivery girl but can kick a lot of ass and speak her mind in the most blunt way she knows. The wolf turns out to be an undercover reporter, voiced by Patrick Warburton, and let’s be honest, how could you go wrong with Warburton? He fancies himself a smooth-talker to get the story, but his plans often backfire. Jim Belushi plays the woodsman who’s actually an actor working on a callback, and I dare not give away anymore because his whole story is just bizarre. And Granny, as played by Glenn Close, is secretly an extreme sports fanatic constantly training for dangerous competitions, which is as amazing as you would imagine.

It’s just a wild ride to see these stories unfold, what everyone’s goals are, and how they all seem to connect in more ways than they realize. As the audience, you can probably piece together the mystery yourself quite easily, but it’s still fun to see the characters come to the conclusions themselves.

The animation though.... Oh, boy.

Now to be 100 percent fair, all things considered for one of the first indie CGI films working with a budget of less than $8 million-- whereas Pixar’s and Dreamworks’s budgets at the time were 10 times the amount--, it’s really not that bad. The style was inspired by Rankin-Bass stop motion animation, which you’ll either like or hate. To this movie’s credit, it’s much more fluid and energetic than Rankin-Bass ever was, and it works wonderfully for the comedy. It’s often awkward and unfinished-looking, but I’ve seen this film enough times to be used to it and see it for what it is. I know not everyone can see past that, and if it’s not your cup of tea, I can’t blame you.

It doesn’t break a whole lot of ground for animation, but Hoodwinked is a passable, entertaining family film I always enjoy revisiting for the nostalgia. It’s as silly as I remember it, and you’re bound to get out a couple laughs yourself.

Day 6 >> Day 7 >> Day 8

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[elizas-writing]

Animated August, Day 6: The Iron Giant

The underrated classic of the late 90s/early 2000s which gained a hell of a following since its release-- it’s Brad Bird’s The Iron Giant!

As the Cold War steadily peaks to its highest tensions, a young Hogarth Hughes still spends his days in leisure in his Maine hometown. Yet that small town normalcy flips upside when he finds a giant robot in the woods. Despite his intimidating demeanor, the giant turns out to be more like a child, just learning how to communicate and explore the world. Hogarth eventually finds him a hiding place in a junkyard and continues to visit, play, and teach him about life on Earth. However, an overly paranoid government agent is hot on his tail to find out where the giant came from and bring in the army to destroy him.

Being a Brad Bird family film, he’s not scared to treat the kids maturely, mainly with the film’s backdrop of the Cold War. Obviously, it’s not going to go full Red Scare, but it showcases just enough of the time’s prejudices, fears of the other, and the extremes of the military industrial complex. It’s simultaneously hilarious and disturbing to see just how bad the paranoia and government control got, which is best represented through this one mentally fragile agent who wants to blow the giant away and is willing to threaten a child to get what he wants.

And at the heart of the movie, you have the relationship between Hogarth and the Iron Giant, with the former teaching the latter about life on Earth and how to interact with his surroundings, and protecting him from those who would want to hurt him. Hogarth is a very energetic but understanding kid who’s willing to see the good before the bad, regardless of what adults would say otherwise, and give the giant a chance before running away. And as I said before, the Iron Giant has the personality of an innocent child just learning about life and death and war. As he remembers why he came to Earth, he has to figure out what role he’ll follow and what having a soul means. His arc explores a lot of the conflicting emotions of being othered or the “enemy” and if he’ll go along with what everyone says or make his own choice. Even though he doesn’t talk much, Vin Diesel brings so much passion to the Iron Giant and ups the emotional scenes by a million.

Another character highlight goes to this artist named Dean, who Hogarth befriends as he hides the giant. He’s incredibly cautious, but tries to be a realist given the social environment of the time and the inevitable possibility of something bad happening. But over time, he softens up and sees more of Hogarth’s side of giving the benefit of the doubt and not judging just because someone looks or acts differently.

It’s also fun to see Hogarth duping the government agent, talking with his classmates, and even having dinner with his mother to keep the giant a secret and maintain the small town normalcy. And the animation is so damn colorful and expressive. Most of the designs are simplistic, with exception to the Iron Giant himself, but the emotional range is incredible. It’s funny and heartfelt where it needs to be, the scenes blending from one to the other wonderfully.

With each viewing of The Iron Giant, it just gets better as I notice more details. It’s an interesting blend of simplicity and complexity of an endearing friendship between a boy and a robot and of critiques of Cold War era fears, some of which still linger to this day. It hearkens back to the days of childhood as it faces adult realities, but sticks through the innocent mindset to drive away those irrational fears. I love every minute of it and any chance I can to put it on repeat again and again.

Day 5 >> Day 6 >> Day 7

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[elizas-writing]

Animated August, Day 18: The Triplets of Belleville

Let’s get back into some weird shit with The Triplets of Belleville. This was one of the first PG-13 movies I ever saw when I was 7-years-old. Despite being way too young to understand the artsy-fartsyness, I was just mesmerized and kept watching. If it was on the shelves at Blockbuster, I had to see it again. And it’s still just as great as I remember it.

Madame Souza sparks a love for cycling in her grandson, Champion, at a young age. As he dedicates his life to extensive training, Madame Souza is always there by his side to help him achieve his dreams. However, in the mountains during the Tour de France, Champion is kidnapped by the French mafia. Madame Souza takes it upon herself to pursue her grandson and his captors with his faithful, yet overweight dog, Bruno, by her side. They eventually end up across the sea in the town of Belleville and befriend a trio of eccentric jazz singers known as, who else, the Triplets of Belleville. With the help of the triplets, Madame Souza uncovers the criminal underbelly where her son is being held, and figures out a way to save him before he’s hurt or worse, killed.

The most notable stylistic choice of this film is that everything is done in pantomime with probably 10 lines in total of actual spoken dialogue and some singing. It’s a great trick to make the audience pay attention and critically analyze the animation, environment and character actions to understand the story. It takes a few watches to understand, especially with what the French mafia is up to, but even when I was young, I could still pick it up just fine. And story is not much of the focus as it is character and atmosphere; the journey over the destination.

Madame Souza is up there as one of the great, badass animated grandmothers (alongside favorites like Pocahontas’s Grandmother Willow and Mulan’s Grandmother Fa). A resourceful mechanic, she’s very loving towards her grandson and will do everything to support his dreams, including being his coach. And she’ll take whatever risks necessary to save him. She may have a lazy eye and a platform shoe from polio, but when she gives that look and power stance, she’s not fucking around anymore. You go Madame Souza!

The titular triplets, of course, are a ton of fun, matching on Souza’s resourcefulness with their own zany touches. They’re very much a French-Canadian version of The Golden Girls if they had bombs and musical careers. They’re incredibly odd in their quirks, but that just draws you in more, and you want to see how they live their daily lives. Hell, you’d just want to live under the same roof as them and eat whatever weird ass frog dinner they concocted. And despite their age, it doesn’t stop them from going out and performing in style.

Among many of the more surreal character designs, Champion and the rest of the cyclists all resemble horses, which is as creepy as you would imagine. Bruno is ludicrously obese, but still has that adorable dog face constantly begging for food. The French mafia have the same look of suits and intimidating broad shoulders. And all the people of Belleville are the classic American stereotype of severe obesity-- just in case you couldn’t tell it was a French production.

The environment is as surreal as the characters with cartoonishly exaggerated buildings, vehicles, boats, and more. And there are a ton of outrageous situations our characters go through, whether it’s a new adventure or a part of their daily lives. Champion’s cool down after an intense work out is still one of the freakiest yet fascinating things I ever saw. As the film continues, the situations just get weirder, but you can’t look away because you wanna know what happens and how our protagonists constantly get in and out of trouble.

The Triplets of Belleville is another one of those artistic films which has to be experienced to understand what makes it great. It’s completely out of the box compared to mainstream animation and embraces its droll tone for the entire duration. It’s a quirky, surreal watch you don’t want to miss out on.

Day 17 >> Day 18 >> Day 19

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[elizas-writing]

Animated August, Day 1: The Secret of NIMH

Let’s start Animated August with a bit of history.

The 1970s and 80s weren’t the greatest years for Disney since Walt passed away. They still churned out some good movies here and there, but they weren’t at the same high caliber of works like Cinderella or Fantasia. The quality difference is pretty noticeable with the sketchy animation, and the critical reception and box office numbers dropped as well. There was even a point where bankruptcy seemed inevitable.

At this point, many of Disney’s longtime animators were ready to retire and in the middle of training newbies to take over. Yet there were other animators worried for the future of the studio and wanted to get the hell out of dodge before they went under. One of them to lead this mass departure from Disney was none other than the one, the only, and the extraordinary, Don Bluth.

If his name doesn’t ring a bell, I guarantee you’ll definitely recognize his style of film. In charge of wonderful works of the 80s and 90s-- including The Land Before Time, An American Tail, All Dogs Go to Heaven, and Anastasia to name a few--, Bluth presented his own dark edge and grandeur to the animation world. He took risks in stories which even Disney probably wouldn’t have touched, and he delivered some of the most beautiful, fluid, and colorful animation to come out in those decades.

And what better way to start than his feature-length directorial debut: The Secret of NIMH.

I first heard of this movie back when I was still into Nostalgia Critic, and the way he praised this film for its craft and story just drew my curiosity in. Just the imagery alone looked fascinating, so I had to check it out and see if all the praise was true.

A recently widowed mouse, Mrs. Brisby, is in a rush to move her family as the farmer’s ready to plow the field for spring. However, her youngest son fell ill with pneumonia and cannot leave bed or else he’ll die. Desperate to save her family, Mrs. Brisby seeks help from the rats of NIMH, a group of escapees from experimentation who became highly intelligent and established a secret society underground. As she tries to find her courage to save her family, this timid mouse will also learn the secrets of her late husband and the deep connection with the rats to save them as well.

Bluth takes a typical cutesy mouse family film and highlights the danger of such a world with predators, humans, and almost mountainous structures with the shifted perspective. Just a quick trip to pick up medicine is suddenly a massive journey of life or death. The attention to detail given this time period for animation is astounding with a heavy focus on shadows, but also being colorful where appropriate. It’s a scary yet beautiful world you can’t help but want to explore. The animation’s fast pace paired with the music and voice acting heightens the film’s overall tension and adrenaline for an exciting adventure from start to finish.

Mrs. Brisby almost never gets a break with whatever threat faces her next. She's in over her head, is absolutely horrified every step of the way, but even though she may hesitate, she never gives up on her family. She’ll go to hell and back for them despite her fears. It’s the kind of courage I almost never see; the kind where you face danger head on even when you’re scared shitless. The unconditional love and selflessness for family above all else. Mrs. Brisby is just a damn great mother who’s soft-spoken but takes risks when needed.

She also meets some fascinating side characters along the way including Jeremy, a clumsy crow voiced by Dom DeLuise, the intimidating Great Owl, a noble rat named Justin, the list just goes on. Some don’t have as much screen time as others, but the focus stays on the main plot of Mrs. Brisby finding some way to move her family safely. With that comes secrets of her late husband, the rats’ scientific marvels, and some unexplained mysticism.

The film relies mostly on the animation and imagery to set the tone, tell the story, and explore the themes. However, that can also work to the film’s disadvantage as you have to really pay attention to the dialogue and subtext to understand what it’s trying to say. It’s still great movie, but it definitely took a couple watches for me to understand character relationships and the overall themes, especially the ending, which I won’t give away if you haven’t seen it yet.

The Secret of NIMH is a thrilling mouse adventure proving you don’t need to be fearless to have courage and exploring where true strength and responsibility lie. The main character is a wonderful mom, the side characters are fun in their charm, terror, and/or mystery, the animation is downright gorgeous, and this world has a great combination of wonder and danger. It’s regarded as one of the best underrated animated movies for a reason, and definitely worth your time.

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