If you grew up in the eighties, The Secret of NIMH was probably your first introduction to "prestige" animation that wasn't made by Disney. Don Bluth’s 1982 masterpiece was dark, oily, and terrifying. It had stakes. It had a mechanical owl with glowing eyes. Fast forward to 1998, and MGM decided to capitalize on that legacy with a direct-to-video sequel. The Secret of NIMH 2 Timmy to the Rescue exists in a weird space where nostalgia meets corporate necessity. It’s a movie that many people remember through a haze of rental-store dust, but looking back on it now, it feels like a fever dream compared to the original.
Let's be real: sequels to beloved cult classics are almost always a gamble. Usually, they lose. This one is no exception, but it’s fascinating because of how it fails and what it tried to do differently. While the first film was a grounded (well, as grounded as talking rats get) story about a mother’s love, the sequel pivots into a traditional "hero's journey" with musical numbers. Lots of them.
The Massive Tone Shift from Rats to Rhythms
The most jarring thing about The Secret of NIMH 2 Timmy to the Rescue is the color palette. Gone are the deep shadows and the grim, rain-soaked landscapes of the Fitzgibbons' farm. Everything in the sequel is bright. It’s bouncy. It’s almost aggressively cheerful at times, which is a bizarre choice when your source material involves animal experimentation and a literal death-trap laboratory.
Timothy Brisby, the youngest son who was bedridden with pneumonia in the first film, is now the chosen one. There’s a prophecy. Honestly, that's where they lost a lot of the hardcore fans. The original movie was about Mrs. Brisby—an ordinary person doing extraordinary things despite her fear. By making Timmy a "destined hero," the sequel strips away the very thing that made the first story feel special. You don’t need courage when you have destiny on your side, right? That's the vibe here, and it’s a bit of a letdown.
Director Dick Sebast, who worked on heavy hitters like Batman: The Animated Series, was at the helm for this one. You can see flashes of competency in the layout, but the budget just wasn't there. It was produced by MGM Animation, a studio that was trying to compete with the "Disney Sequel" machine of the late nineties. Think The Lion King 2 or Aladdin: The Return of Jafar. Those movies had a specific formula: simplify the plot, add a sidekick, and make sure there’s a song every fifteen minutes.
Where the Story Goes (And Why It’s Weird)
The plot kicks off with Timmy leaving home to head to Thorn Valley. This is the promised land the rats were searching for in the original. When he gets there, he finds a society that is basically a rodent utopia. But, shocker, things aren't perfect. We meet Jenny, a mouse from NIMH who tells Timmy that his brothers are still being experimented on.
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This leads to the introduction of the villain, Dr. Valentine. He’s voiced by Eric Idle. Yes, that Eric Idle. It’s a strange casting choice that leans into the campiness of the film. Valentine is a mad scientist who has basically turned the mice into his own personal army through brainwashing. It's a far cry from the cold, clinical horror of the scientists in the 1982 version. Here, it’s more "Saturday morning cartoon villainy."
Speaking of voices, the cast is actually stacked. You’ve got Dom DeLuise returning as Jeremy the crow, which provides the only real tether to the original film’s soul. You also have Ralph Macchio (The Karate Kid himself!) voicing the teenage Timmy. It’s a 90s time capsule in audio form.
The Animation Quality Gap
We have to talk about the visuals. Don Bluth’s style was defined by high frame rates and back-lit effects that made objects glow. It looked expensive. The Secret of NIMH 2 Timmy to the Rescue looks like a television pilot. The lines are thinner, the backgrounds are static, and the character designs are simplified for ease of animation.
It’s not "bad" in a vacuum, but as a sequel to one of the most visually stunning animated films ever made, it feels like a downgrade. It’s the difference between a hand-carved wooden toy and a plastic one from a grocery store bin. Both work, but one has a soul.
The Secret of NIMH 2 Timmy to the Rescue and the "Prophecy" Problem
One of the biggest gripes fans have is the retconning of Nicodemus. In the first film, Nicodemus was a wise, ancient leader who died during the move of the rosebush. In the sequel, he’s basically a ghost-mentor who left behind a prophecy about Timmy saving the rats.
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This is a classic trope. It’s the "Luke Skywalker" effect. But NIMH was never meant to be Star Wars. It was a story about the ethics of science and the strength of the family unit. Turning it into a "chosen one" narrative makes the world feel smaller. It takes the agency away from the characters and puts it onto "fate."
Interestingly, the movie tries to address the fate of Justin, the fan-favorite captain of the guard. In this version, Justin is the leader of Thorn Valley, but he’s relegated to a supporting role to make room for Timmy’s growth. It’s a bit of a slap in the face to anyone who thought Justin was the coolest character in 1982.
What Actually Works?
Look, I’m being hard on it, but The Secret of NIMH 2 Timmy to the Rescue isn't without its charms if you’re seven years old. The songs, written by Mark Watters and Richard Sparks, are catchy in that earworm way that only 90s direct-to-video movies can manage. "Step Up" is a decent enough "hero" anthem.
The relationship between Timmy and Jenny is also surprisingly sweet. It gives the movie an emotional core that, while not as deep as the original, still provides some stakes. You actually want them to succeed, even if the world they inhabit feels a bit flimsy.
Also, the return to NIMH (the National Institute of Mental Health) at the end of the movie provides a nice circularity to the story. We finally get to see the "Evil" side of the lab in a more direct way, even if it is through the lens of a singing mad scientist.
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The Legacy of a Sequel Nobody Asked For
Why does this movie even exist? In the late 90s, the home video market was exploding. Studios realized they could make a killing by taking an existing IP, slashing the budget, and putting it on VHS shelves. The Secret of NIMH 2 Timmy to the Rescue was a product of that era.
It currently holds a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics (though there are only a few reviews) and a pretty low audience score. But for a certain generation of kids who saw this on Cartoon Network or rented it from Blockbuster, it’s a nostalgic staple. It’s a reminder of a time when sequels didn't need to be "cinematic events"; they just needed to be 70 minutes of colorful distraction.
How to Approach Watching It Today
If you’re planning on revisiting this or showing it to your kids, here’s the best way to handle it:
- Distance it from the original: Don’t think of it as a direct continuation of Don Bluth’s vision. Think of it as a spin-off set in the same universe.
- Embrace the 90s kitsch: The music and the voice acting are very much of their time. Lean into it.
- Watch for the voice cameos: It’s fun to hear Eric Idle and Harvey Korman ham it up. They clearly had a blast in the recording booth.
- Focus on the themes of bravery: While the "prophecy" is annoying, the core message about Timmy finding his own identity away from his father’s shadow is actually a solid lesson for children.
The Secret of NIMH 2 Timmy to the Rescue will never be the masterpiece its predecessor was. It lacks the grit, the mystery, and the artistic flourish. But as a weird artifact of animation history, it’s a fascinating look at how the industry changed in the sixteen years between the two films. It moved from "art" to "content," and while that’s a bit sad, the movie itself is a harmless, colorful adventure that at least tries to give the Brisby family a happy ending.
The real secret of NIMH isn't the intelligence or the long lives; it’s that some stories are best left exactly where they ended—under a rosebush, in the rain, with a mother who did the impossible just to keep her family safe.
If you really want to appreciate the franchise, watch the original 1982 film first, then read the original book by Robert C. O'Brien, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. You'll see just how much was changed for the sequel. If you still have an itch for more, go ahead and pop in the sequel, but keep your expectations as low as a mouse’s belly. It’s a wild ride, just not the one you might expect.