Movie #104- "The Secret of NIMH" (1982)

Rating: 7/10
Movies I've previously seen: 6
First time viewings: 98

In terms of animation, the last few generations don't realize the wealth of options they have had available.  Starting in the late 1980s, Disney had a resurgence in their animation department, then Pixar came along, raising the bar and providing plenty of high quality product.  I don't know if the success of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" was responsible back in 1988, but that film appeared to be a game changer, proving a viable market for top notch animation.
I say this, because when I was growing up in the 1970s, most of the animation took place on your television, usually on a Saturday morning.  The cartoons were generally churned out by Hanna-Barbera, and while they produced the classic Scooby-Doo, there were plenty of duds in the mix.  If you watch some of these older cartoons, you'll notice the limited animation due to a small budget.  Suffice to say, most of my animation memories come from television and not the big screen.  I don't recall any classic feature length animation from my youth (I'm sure there had to be some.  Oh, how the memory goes).  Don Bluth must have realized it as well.  He didn't like the way Disney was run in the late 1970s, so he set out to form his own company and this was his first full length feature.
"The Secret of NIMH" is a surprisingly dark film.  You immediately find out that the main character, Mrs. Brisby is recently widowed, with several children.  Her home is being threatened with a field being plowed, yet finds she is unable to move her family because of a sick child.  If that's not dark enough, SPOILER ALERT, animal testing is one of the plot points.  Scary rats and owls also populate the forest.
For its time, the animation has some depth to it as Bluth was trying to bring back some of the animation of old.  It may look strange to kids weaned on computer animation, but there is a lushness to the forest and farm scenes.  Unfortunately, an absent-minded crow is used for comic relief, and really throws off the tone of the film.  Granted, a few lighter touches would ease the dark nature, however the slapstick seems really out of place.  This film is based on a book, which I have not read, so I'm not aware if the character was added.
A lot of people appear to have a special place in their heart for "The Secret of NIMH".  Given the drought of animation during that period, I understand the reason.