Scientists from the National Institute of Mental Health are still laying traps for the escaped rats. An older Timmy Brisby is sent to Thorn Valley where the rats of NIMH have created a thriving civilization. One of Mrs. Brisby's sons is prophesized to save the valley. Older brother Martin believes himself to be the savior and sets off on his own. While on a mission, Timmy finds Jenny who turns out to be able to read. Her parents are part of the Lost Six and she had come to get the rats' help. The rats refuse but Timmy joins Jenny on her mission fearing that Martin had also been captured.It's sad to see a bad sequel to such a classic. The animation is inferior. The writing is inferior. Everything is inferior. The shadow of the original's greatness is overwhelming. It's a straight to video cartoon and the quality is at that level. Dom DeLuise does return as Jeremy. He's the most recognizable voice in the original. The story starts functional and deteriorates. It gets worst and worst. It's watchable until it's not.

...as a lesson in stupidity.The recent announcement of the new Secret of NIMH remake has everyone abuzz with concerns that it could either be as good as the original, or as bad as the sequel. Obviously the fan rage is at an all-time high and quite frankly, you can't blame them for being nothing short than ticked off.Secret of NIMH 1 was a daring experiment that no other animated film wanted to do. Disney was rampant almost everywhere, Bugs Bunny's films were nothing more than classic copy-pasted shorts with a wrap-around segment, and Ralph Bakshi's films were specifically limited to a specific kind of audience. And yet an animated children's film that doesn't insult your intelligence and follows off of it's source material with respect came out, so beautifully designed, and amazed quite a fair amount of us.At some point MGM decided to do a sequel. Gone were the original actors, actresses, writers, and animators. Gone was the sense of hope, adventure, love, and lost. Added in were song and dance numbers with a horrific animation style that looked as if a league of 7-year old children had rejected their teachers to form 'their' animation studio, in an effort to show how intelligent they really were. The result, was utter atrocious. Was it a deliberate move against people who like dark and gloomy atmosphere, was it crafted by the PETA or One Million Mom's to prove that all that is good in the world is a complete lie? It's almost as if all the organizations we've come to hate worked on this film to prove some sort of point that never gets across.Dom DeLuise is the only cast member to return and that is a bit of a pity. Jeremy the crow is so underplayed as is the shocking truth that the Great Owl was played up as a scam. Martin Brisby apparently hates his relatives so much that he hijacks one of the most ridiculous looking laboratories in New York. So for all of that stuff we enjoyed and were fascinated by, the mystique and intrigue behind a powerful magician or an actual animal testing facility being turned into a Scooby Doo-rejected concept... is that all they could come up with? If MGM is listening, likely not so, but should they - hopefully they've learned their lesson. This isn't an episode of Family Guy, this is a children's book that deserves a lot more respect than they could possibly ever give to it. For your consideration, save your sanity and forget any positive reviews you've seen on this film: a lesson in stupidity from stupid people - Secret of NIMKH 2.

In the 1970s, Don Bluth left Walt Disney Studios and ventured out to do his own thing. He made one short film, I believe, and then his first full-length, theatrical, animated film was "The Secret Of Nimh," based off the book "Mrs. Frisby and The Rats of Nimh" by Robert C. O'Brien. It did well enough in theaters, but it had healthy competition with E.T: The Extra Terrestrial. Still, critics liked it, audiences as well, and it even had the honor of receiving an AFI nomination for Best Animated Feature.This is a lot to live up to, but MGM studios thought they could do it. Unfortunately, they couldn't. In 1998, they released the atrocious "The Secret Of Nimh 2: Timmy To The Rescue." I have to admit, I did like this film when I was young, now I can't stand it. This film doesn't live up to the original in any mean, shape, or form. While fans of the original film were treated to a dark, well-animated, mystical movie; this is nothing but cartoony, lazy, and what's worse: A MUSICAL! Okay, for people who've not been treated to the original film (which I highly recommend), I should point out that there was no songs in it. Well, there was "Flying Dreams," but it was in voice-over and no character opened their mouth to sing it. In SON2, there is song after song. Apparently, no one was taught that if the original is not musical, then there is no reason to make the sequel a musical.Another gripe I have with this movie is the plot holes. Even the prologue, which has clips from the original film, is riddled with them. For starters, they tell us that the Great Owl said: "Jonathan Brisby was the greatest mouse to ever live." (or something to that extent, I can't remember the exact words). This is wrong! The Great Owl never said anything of the sort, all he did was tell Mrs. Brisby that Jonathan's name wasn't unknown to the woods. The prologue makes another mistake in telling us that Nicodemus, the leader of the rats of NIMH, made a prophecy about one of Jonathan's sons would save them all. This didn't happen either. Later in the film, the rats are seen going on a mission to steal food, but in the original this is exactly why they wanted to leave the farm, so that they wouldn't have to steal anymore. Of course, there's more plot holes including: Auntie Shrew suddenly admiring the rats, The Lost Six (when it's suppose to be NINE!), and NIMH suddenly going from being this simple mental facility performing experiments, to a mental facility filled with craze doctors, shock treatments for kitties, and a unhealthy determination to recapture the rats of NIMH.The third issue I had with this film was the animation and characterization. Starting with the animation, I have to say one thing about it: Terrible. It's like the animators all watched Animaniacs and said: "Ooh, so vivid! We must animate the sequel like this!" They just forgot one little thing; this is not how a sequel for TSON is suppose to look. The original animation was dark and gritty, not bright and colorful. It also wasn't lazy. Seriously, the animators have trouble with finishing drawings. A fan site pointed out that there is flowers that were drawn in but never finished and put on the film; also, I'm plenty sure (according to one screen-cap), that Jenny (Timmy's love interest) was also drawn in one frame but never finished. Oh yes, as many others have pointed out, Jenny has boobs. She's a mouse with breasts....Anyway, about the characterization. They got the characters all wrong! For starters, Mrs. Brisby, our spunky heroine in the original film is replaced with an old lady mouse. What's worse, is that she doesn't even care that her son is leaving. As someone on another site pointed out, this is wrong. Timmy was the sick son that Mrs. B fought so hard to protect from the plow in the first film. Now, she doesn't even really care that he's leaving for some distant place? Also, fans of the original will recall Brutus, the silent rat guard that frightened Mrs. Brisby off by threatening to electrocute her! Okay, Brutus is nothing like that now. He can talk, he actually smiles, and he's not too bright either. Mr. Ages hasn't changed, he's still wise and old (no offense, of course). Justin, the captain of the guards in the original (and leader of the NIMH rats at the end), is semi-leader now but he's changed as well. No more sword, voice sounds nothing like the original Justin, and it seems like the only thing he is around for is to offer Timmy advice.What also makes me mad is that MGM made this film without Don's help or support (according to Wikipedia). I know this can be most likely said about most sequels, but with a film like TSON, a little support and aid from Mr. Bluth would have been wonderful. Instead, MGM decides to go ahead and make the unworthy sequel that is: "The Secret Of Nimh 2: Timmy To Rescue." P.S-Some things I have mentioned about TSON2 were thoughts echoed on other fan-sites for the original film. I apologize if it sounds like I'm just mimicking them.

There is one thing that 1982's "The Secret of N.I.M.H." and its sequel, produced sixteen years later have in common. And that is that they both conclude with a song that beautiful, touching, and wonderfully-performed. Yes, the song, called "My Life and My Love" as performed by Al Jarreau and Bobbi Page, is truly intoxicating to the ears. And it is, by far, the best thing about the sequel. Unfortunately, it does play over the end credits, and we have to wait that long to hear it.That's not to say that the second movie, "The Secret of N.I.M.H. 2: Timmy to the Rescue" is necessarily a bad movie. It features third-rate animation, cringe-worthy lines such as "That's for being so evil!", and far too many musical numbers for its own good, but as a totality isn't insufferable. I can't honestly say I like it, but I can't honestly say I dislike it, either.Still, why, I must ask, was there a need for a sequel? The original "The Secret of N.I.M.H." was a near-masterpiece and like most films at that caliber, ended on a note that, although open for a continuation, really begged to be left alone. And the film was a financial success, but not a smash-hit. So the meaning of "The Secret of N.I.M.H. 2" being green-lighted was obviously one of kids-movie box office exploitation. And whereas the first movie was geared so that adults could enjoy it, and probably would need to sit through it with their youngsters, the second one is aimed directly at children. Young children, specifically.Mrs. Brisby, the heroine of the first film, plays neither first nor second-fiddle in the second movie. She's a cameo; the star is her youngest son Timothy, who occupied a small portion of running time before. At the end of the first film, Mrs. Brisby saved her family with the help of some intelligent rats who escaped from a laboratory at N.I.M.H. The rats then went to a haven we never saw, called Thorn Valley. In "The Secret of N.I.M.H. 2," Timothy is sent to live with them. He grows up to be a valiant, but disobedient teenager, when he runs into a mouse named Jenny, who recently escaped from N.I.M.H. As it turns out, some mice are still there, being tested upon, and Jenny came seeking their former comrades for help. When a rescue mission proves impossible, Tim and Jenny set out on their own.In fact, the next two scenes after this moment describe how the good and bad about "Secret of N.I.M.H. 2" rhythmically fluctuates. The two characters leave Thorn Valley in a makeshift hot-air balloon. The scene with them sailing through the air, accompanied by some wonderful music by the talented Lee Holdridge, is magical in its own small way. They are attacked by a hawk, also entertaining, and are forced to the ground. That is all good. But the very next scene is an abomination. They run into a caterpillar who claims to be the "spokes-bug" for the Great Owl. But as it turns out, Jeremy the crow (still voiced by Dom DeLuise) is really just posing as the Great Owl to scam the woodland animals out of their jewelry and credit cards.Well, the scene's even worse than that, as it's accompanied by a really irritating song.There are far too many songs in the film; all but two are forgettable. Many are badly-performed. The worst: "I Will Show the World," which Tim sings throughout his childhood. The lyrics are flimsy at best, and two of the singers (representing Tim at different ages) have no special singing talent. When Ralph Macchio, as the teenage Tim, takes over, it improves a tad, but not enough to save the song. But there is also a very good song, "Just Say Yes" performed with enormous spirit by Eric Idle. And his part in the film is a completely unexpected twist that though alarming, actually picks up the pace of the third act a bit.The animation is the film flips between atrocious and acceptable. There are moments where characters and objects appear out of nowhere in the middle of a shot. At another point, a returning character named Justin (now voiced by William H. Macy) changes color schemes with another rat. And the film is full of sloppy moments such as these. Other problems concern the screenplay, which, like everything else, toggles between good and bad. The first third is really slow-going, when Tim is a little kid, picks up some in the second act, but does not really come to life until the final part. And again, this really is because of Eric Idle's terrific work as the film's villain, whose identity I will keep secret. Mr. Idle, like any great actor, presents a tremendous amount of joy in his role, and this communes to the audience. Also, the romance between Tim and Jenny, though in sight from a mile away, is pleasant in a simplistic way.Voice acting, in general, is pretty good. Mr. Macchio, in particular, does a courageous job as Timothy. Mr. DeLuise also keeps Jeremy the crow lovable despite not having played the part for sixteen years. The film's saving grace is its running time: a mere sixty-eight minutes. Any longer than that - any more songs! - and it might have completely collapsed. But as it is, "The Secret of N.I.M.H. 2: Timmy to the Rescue" is a nice little kids movie, best suited for those under the age of ten. And its good parts - its wonderful parts - make me feel a little guilty for not being able to really commend it. For a straight-to-video quickie sequel, it stands over some, but not quite enough. For every good moment, there is also a bad one. And the sloppy animation and mostly-inept songs really do wear you out after a while.