(c) MGM 1998

Well, everyone said it was terrible, but I watched it anyway!   And my opinion?   Well, this isn't a sequel.   Its a story using established characters, but its not really a progression of The Secret of NIMH any more than a fan-fiction story.   I'm not going to be unfair - it would stand up as a decent animated children's film without its classic predecessor to live up to, and probably will, but it is so different in artistic style, character voices and even in spirit, that this couldn't be called a sequel - its more of a spin-off.

This reminds me of the treatment An American Tail got when a sequel for that was made, although with some differences.   It was always planned that there would probably be a sequel to Tail, and when it was made it was made by a good quality team under Steven Spielberg, with almost all of the original voice actors (except Tanya, who I think was voiced by Cathy Cavadini).   The similarity though is the way the sequel became a more light-hearted version of the original.   I suppose it comes down to a matter of taste as much as anything as to which you actually prefer, but light-heartedness doesn't really suit NIMH.   The Secret of NIMH was more in the vein of Watership Down - it was a story of a battle for survival - both for Mrs Brisby's family and for the rats of NIMH, and battles for survival are rarely light-hearted!   It comes over too much as watering down the story to make it more passable for the children's video market, and the loss of the original voice actors left me with the same feeling that I got when I saw Carry on Columbus - you miss the old voices!   They become not just part of the characters they are voicing, but also together build up a lot of the film's character, and considering this is supposed to be a sequel, they could have made some effort to find sound-alike actors.

If you get this film what will you get?   Well, you'll get a nice, light-hearted colourful, fun film for young children with lots of songs - and if that's what you're looking for, and you don't care about the debate over the quality of NIMH 1 against NIMH 2, then get it - you'll probably enjoy it! (but get the first NIMH too!)   Will you really get a sequel to The Secret of NIMH though?   No, I don't think so!

There is a fan-fiction comic strip Unauthorised Sequel by Ken Singshow on Robin's Fan Fiction Page.   Have a look!