#the longest post i've ever written and it's about a damn mouse movie

[matchflares]

forgive me

i just rewatched the secret of nimh and it disturbed me even more than it did when i was a kid. i think what hit me so hard this time was the realization that its message is not only anti animal-cruelty, but i believe anti-incarceration. it's impossible to see the animals locked and trembling in their cages, stripped of their bodily autonomy and physical safety, without experiencing a sudden, sharp fear and distrust of our prison system and empathy for all those trapped against their will. incarceration is not just scary; it is cruel and unethical. and the strong morals of the rats - their commitment to building a life without stealing, even from the humans who oppress them - provides a sharp contrast to the amoral violence of NIMH (who not only captured and tortured the rats, but remain their pursuers, intent on their extermination, or genocide).

also why did jonathan not tell mrs. brisby that he wouldn't age? did he know he wasn't long for this world?

and what was the connection between the great owl and nicodemus? their character designs are so similar, and nicodemus called the owl a dear comrade. what was the owl's connection to the rats of nimh?

not to go off again but i think the fact that the great owl not only leaves mrs. brisby alive (even though she insists, "owls eat mice"), but even goes so far as to advise her, illustrates how even groups pitted against each other can come together to aid one another in liberation

i just started reading the book (by robert c. o'brien) to see if i can find the answers to any of these questions, but i can already tell it's not going to be enough! it is, for all its merits, a children's book, and my heart aches for a 500-page fantasy/science fiction novel with descriptions as full and glittering as don bluth's animation.