At its heart, The Secret of NIMH is aimed at children, but it still hits all the same nostalgic notes for those who watched it as a child and again as an adult.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 11, 2024

The Secret of NIMH is an animated feature that has every right to be called a masterpiece. Just about every element of this picture is amazingly crafted to present how animation can truly be a storytelling medium.

Full Review | Original Score: 10/10 | Sep 6, 2024

Known for its beautiful hand-drawn animation style, one very unique to that time period and a far cry from the computer-generated style that would take hold in the Pixar era. (40th anniversary)

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Aug 5, 2022

I was certainly surprised and delighted with every aspect of the film, from its stunning visuals to the character voices and the story.

Full Review | Jul 29, 2022

Sadly, The Secret of NIMH is beautiful but unbalanced: The animators gambled when they should have gamboled.

Full Review | Nov 11, 2021

Parents wistful for the world of mystery and magic fondly remembered from the best of the Disney cartoon features should hasten along to this rather endearing fantasy.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 11, 2021

This American full-length animated cartoon lives up to its publicity as a return to the meticulous artwork and storybook charm of the golden days of Disney.

Full Review | Nov 11, 2021

It is a highly competent piece of work, well organized, sometimes imaginative and beautifully detailed.

Full Review | Nov 11, 2021

The animation is excellent, but I wonder about the overall tone of the film. It ends happily, but along the way there is so much reference to illness, tragedy, grief, pain and other depressing subjects that it bothered me.

Full Review | Nov 11, 2021

The Secret of NIMH does not dazzle so much as glow. It is a reverent, literate family tale that is a tribute to the art of storytelling as well as the process of animation.

Full Review | Nov 11, 2021

Combining the best of the past with technical advances of the present, NIMH vividly recalls the days when animation was considered an art form.

Full Review | Nov 11, 2021

The film carries us to a wonderful, sometimes scary, underworld of colorful animal characters. Grating cynics need not apply.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 11, 2021

If you've given up on good old-fashioned animated movies, the kind Disney used to do so well, cheer up. The Secret of NIMH is quite wonderful, alive with dramatic conflicts, colorful characters, pretty music and sophisticated animation.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 11, 2021

Every scene in The Secret of NIMH is a moving masterpiece.

Full Review | Nov 11, 2021

Walt Disney would certainly be proud of The Secret of NIMH.

Full Review | Nov 11, 2021

Bluth delivers an elaborate, richly-detailed film that dazzles the eye and makes most contemporary animation, with the exception of Ralph Bakshi's, look like the work of children.

Full Review | Nov 11, 2021

A sumptuous celebration of the animator's art... If it were not for E.T., this would easily be the best children's film released this year.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Nov 11, 2021

It's a timely reminder for a generation which has only been finding out secondhand what an enthralling art for young audiences Disney animation once was.

Full Review | Nov 10, 2021

The Secret of NIMH should prove that there is still a market for an intelligently made, G-rated family movie.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 10, 2021

Purely delicious, a perfect summer treat for the entire family, and finally a cartoon film that will not insult the intelligence of any child from 6 to 60.

Full Review | Nov 10, 2021