You can unlock any door if you only have the key.
Mrs. Jonathan Brisby
Mrs. Jonathan Brisby
The film's story is based (more or less) on the children's novel Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien. First published in 1971, it won the 1972 John Newbery Medal for excellence in children's literature and has displayed the medal on its cover ever since. Robert O'Brien died in 1973, never seeing the film. His daughter, Jane Leslie Conly, has since taken up where her father left off, and has written two sequels, Racso and the Rats of NIMH and R-T, Margaret and the Rats of NIMH.
The film opens in a dimly lit study. An
ancient hand records the passing of a friend and ally, Jonathan Brisby, who
gave his life helping the escaped Rats of NIMH. In saying farewell, the old
rat also laments that Jonathan left behind a wife, and that despite all that
Jonathan had done, she must remain ignorant of the Rats.
A year later, Mrs. Brisby is at the home of a family friend, Mr. Ages. Despite the dangers of crossing the field with the cat around, she came in the hopes of obtaining medicine that will ease the fever of her youngest child, Timothy. Mr. Ages is his usual curmudgeonly self, but diagnoses Timothy's pneumonia and gives Mrs. Brisby what she needs. He advises her, however, that he is to remain indoors for several weeks, or the chilly spring air could be fatal. Mrs. Brisby begins to protest that the warming air means that she must move her family out of the farmer's fields and into the neighbouring woods soon, lest they be killed by the farmer's plow, but Mr. Ages is adamant. Mrs. Brisby reluctantly goes home without a solution to her problem.
Along the way, she comes across a curious sight. A young crow has tangled himself up in a length of string, and is quite unable to get himself loose. After watching him struggle for a moment, she introduces herself and offers to help him get free. As he struggles more, however, she cautions the crow to be quiet, as the farmer's cat, Dragon, could be around and may decide to snack on them both. Sure enough, as Mrs. Brisby chews through the string holding him down, the crow spots the cat approaching, chasing the occasional prospective lunch away in the process. Mrs. Brisby chews through the final string in just enough time to dive for cover, and barely manages to escape with her life. Taking refuge in an old mill, she realises she has lost the medicine intended for Timothy! Fortuneately, the crow has picked it up, and returned it to Mrs. Brisby as he was assuring her that he is all right. At last, he introduces himself as Jeremy, and explains that he was trying to get enough string to make a nest for two. Only problem was, he hasn't found Miss Right yet. Mrs. Brsiby patiently weathers his battery of questions about girls as she makes her way home.
At the Brisby home, Martin, the eldest son, suggests he go looking for their mother when they are paid a visit by Auntie Shrew. As Teresa patiently tries to explain to Auntie that their mother isn't home and young Cynthia tries to explain that her brother is ill, Martin decides that he's had enough of his Aunt and starts insulting her, saying that he doesn't need Auntie Shrew ordering him about. She leaves, insulted, but meets Mrs. Brisby at the door as she reutrns. Auntie warns that the frost is gone from the ground, and that Mrs. Brisby and her family should move immediately.
Meanwhile, Farmer Fitzgibbons and his wife are just getting to sleep when Mrs. Fitzgibbons mentions a strange phone call she got that day. A scientist from the National Institue of Mental Health had asked if they'd noticed odd behaviour among the rats on the farm. She was worried that they may have an odd disease, but the farmer shrugs it off, saying that he has to be up early the next morning. They weren't quite quick enough to notice a large number of rats carrying an electrical cord into their garden's rosebush.
Next morning, Mrs. Brisby is awakened by
a curious sound. Going outside to see, she realises that the noise is that
of the farmer starting his tractor. Auntie Shrew arrives, warning her to
leave immediately, but Mrs. Brisby says she can't move Timothy, lest
the cold air
aggravate his pneumonia. But all debate is ended when the tractor finally
starts. Mrs. Brisby gets her other three children to safety, but then heads
after the tractor in a desperate move to save Timothy's life. Auntie Shrew
can do nothing but follow, and when Mrs. Brisby becomes catatonic with fear
above the blades of the tractor's plow, Auntie Shrew pulls on the tractor's
fuel line, severing it and stopping the tractor. Finally, Auntie shrew leads
Mrs. Brisby away to safety to recover. Mrs. Brisby is panicking,
desperate to find a way to keep Timothy alive. Auntie Shrew suggests she go
to the Great Owl, who may be able to suggest a solution.
Jeremy takes Mrs. Brisby to the Great Owl's tree, despite her fear of heights. She also is apprehensive about seeing the Owl, as owls are known to eat mice, but for the sake of her son, she manages to bring herself to entering the Great Owl's burrow. The Owl hears her problem, and suggests that her house, an old cement block near a large stone in the field, be moved behind the stone out of the way of the plow, so that she and her family may wait out the remainder of Timothy's illness in safety. But Mrs. Brisby tells him there is no way she could do that. The Owl tells her there is no other solution, and leaves to hunt, but first asks her name. When she tells him, the Owl reacts quite differently, and suggests a new course of action. As the widow of Jonathan Brisby, she should seek the help of the Rats, specifically of a rat named Nicodemus, who lived under the rosebush in the farmer's garden, and that they would be able to help in the moving of her house. He leaves Mrs. Brisby confused, but she agrees to go to the Rats.
The next day, Mrs. Brisby searches the
rosebush for some sign that the Rats live there. She is aided, and the term
is used loosely, by Jeremy, who insists that he is in disguise (under a
sheet) so that Dragon would not notice him. Mrs. Brisby eventually convinces
him to leave by asking him to safeguard her children in the meantime. He
agrees, and flies away.
After Jeremy leaves, Mrs. Brisby comes across an entrance, barely noticeable as it is disguised heavily among the leaves. As she enters, an odd system of ropes and vines pull the branches tight behind her, concealing the way in. Finally, she comes to an entrance tunnel, leading underground. However, this entrance is guarded by a large and imposing rat carrying an electrified polearm!
Mrs. Brisby timidly asks if the rat is
Nicodemus, but barely gets to finish her plea for help before the rat starts
swinging the polearm towards her. Mrs. Brisby ducks under leaves and
branches as the rat slashes them behind her, but the rat doesn't pursue her
out of the rosebush, satisfied that she is gone. Outside the rose bush, Mrs.
Brisby attempts to catch her breath, but barely gets a chance when a new
rodent appears. Fortuneately, this time it's Mr. Ages, with his leg in a
cast. At first Mr. Ages admonishes Mrs. Brisby for being anywhere near the
rats, but then he learns that she had talked to the Great Owl, a feat no
other had done, and had been told by the Owl to come here. With this
revelation, Mr. Ages agrees to take Mrs. Brisby to see Nicodemus, and
advises her not to worry about Brutus, the guard rat who had chased her.
Meanwhile, Jeremy is tied up, hanging upside down and being interrogated by the Brisby children and Auntie Shrew as to the whereabouts of Mrs. Brisby. No one believes him when he tells them she went to see the Rats, so they gag him, too!
Mr. Ages leads Mrs. Brisby down a series
of tunnels, passing an imposing row of wooden soldiers. Neither of them
notice, however, when one of the toys breaks ranks and begins to follow
them! The shape creeps up behind Mr. Ages, only to surprise him by covering
his eyes and shouting "Guess who!". Mr. Ages admonishes the young rat at
first, then introduces him to Mrs. Brisby as Justin, Captain of the Guard.
Justin is duly honoured to meet the widow of Jonathan Brisby, and shows her
every courtesy.
As they continue on, Mrs. Brisby stares in amazement at the Rats' underground settlement. A whole city has been built, and it's even lit with electricity, something Mrs. Brisby remembers her husband mentioning. They make their way to the debate hall, where Justin says a heated session is in progress. A rat named Jenner has been continuously opposing a plan of Nicodemus's to move their civilization to the wilderness of Thorn Valley. Now, he's vocally opposing both this Plan and Nicodemus. It is into this session that Justin leads Mr. Ages and Mrs. Brisby. As Justin introduces Mrs. Brisby to the assembled rats, Sullivan, a cohort of Jenner's, shouts to have Mrs. Brisby ejected without their help, but he is silenced by Jenner, who pledges his support in any way that would help the widow of Jonathan Brisby.
At long last, Mr. Ages takes Mrs. Brisby
to see Nicodemus. Timidly entering the old rat's chambers, she again asks
for the Rats' help in moving her home so as to save Timothy's life.
The elderly leader of the Rats agrees, saying that any help needed by
Jonathan Brisby's family would be given. Finally, Mrs. Brisby asks how
virtually everyone on the farm had come to hear of her late husband.
Nicodemus points to an old book sitting on the desk, and opens it so she can
read it. Mrs. Brisby says Jonathan had taught her to read, a little, so she
climbs onto the chair and reads the page devoted to her husband. "Jonathan
Brisby was a mouse of great courage. He made possible the Rats' escape from
the terrible cruelty of NIMH. He was killed today while drugging the farmer's
cat, Dragon." She finishes the passage with a sigh, and then asks why
Jonathan had never told her about the rats, or NIMH, or anything. Nicodemus
begins his story, then, of how he and a number of rats and mice were
captured from off the street, caged, and sent to a place called NIMH. He
relates how many other animals were kept there, and how they were used for
experiments, given injection after injection of an odd serum. Finally, one
day, he was able to look at the latch instructions printed underneath the
cage door, and understand them!
Nicodemus and the other rats quickly
freed themselves and the mice who had been given similar injections, and
together made their way out of the building through the ventilation system.
Unfortuneately, the vents activated while they were inside, and all but two
of the mice, Jonathan and Mr. Ages, plunged to their deaths. Reaching the
grate that led outside, Jonathan was the only one able to squeeze outside
and open it, allowing the rats to escape.
Again, Mrs. Brisby asks why Jonathan never told her about NIMH. Nicodemus says that for Jonathan, it would have been too difficult to admit. The injections they had received not only gave them advanced intelligence, but also slowed down their aging. The last thing Jonathan ever wanted to admit, to himself or anyone else, was that he would stay young while his beloved wife grew old and passed away.
Before taking Mrs. Brisby home, Nicodemus gives Mrs. Brisby a present. It is a pendant, a red stone set in gold, that Jonathan had meant to give to Mrs. Brisby. Nicodemus advises her that the stone is a very powerful item, but only those with a courageous heart could tap it. Mrs. Brisby lovingly reads the inscription on the back, "You can unlock any door, if you only have the key." It's then that Justin arrives to say that Nicodemus' boat is ready and that they can leave anytime. Nicodemus escorts Mrs. Brisby out to home to prepare the children for the move.
Meanwhile, Jenner and Sullivan conspire. Jenner reminds Sullivan that the Brisby home is an old cement block. If there were a carefully arranged "accident", then there would be little opposition to Jenner's scheme to stay in the rosebush and live off the humans of the farm. Sullivan is doubtful, but reluctantly agrees.
The boat ride home takes Nicodemus,
Justin and Mrs. Brisby under the farm's old mill, falling apart as it is.
Justin notes that he hopes it will stay together long enough to complete the
plan. When Mrs. Brisby asks what they mean, Nicodemus tells her that,
although they have acheived a great deal, they're still stealing the
electricty that lights their city. The Plan is for the whole community of
rats to move to Thorn Valley, a wilderness area where few humans ever go.
There, they would be able to live away from humans, without stealing, and be
allowed to be smart without attracting attention to themselves. Sometimes,
though, when a part of the plan forces them to work outside the rosebush,
Mr. Ages would make up a powder that would keep the cat asleep while they
worked. Unfortuneately, Mr. Ages had done this only last night, and when
delivering the powder to Dragon, he had broken his leg. Not quite believeing
herself, Mrs. Brisby volunteers to drug the cat in preparation for the
night's activity. Justin initially objects, but relents and agrees to meet
Mrs. Brisby outside the farmer's house at sundown. Mrs. Brisby says goodbye
and heads for home.
On the way, she meets the now-fugitive Jeremy, running as he had from Auntie Shrew's interrogations. Jeremy initially becomes fixated on the sparkly pendant Mrs. Brisby is now wearing, but she heads him off with a request for as much string as he could carry, to be brought to her home. He agrees, and sneaks off.
That night, outside the farmer's house, Justin leads Mrs. Brisby to a mouse-sized hole in the floor of the kitchen, coming up just underneath a chest of drawers. Justin tells her how to put the powder in the cat's food dish, just as the farmer's wife lets him in the back door, and how she has to hurry, lest the cat catch her before she's safely back under the chest. Leaving her cloak and pendant behind, she steels herself, only slightly succesfully, and bolts for Dragon's dish as he's being let in.
Mrs. Brisby runs with all her might, dashing the envelope of drug into the cat's dish, then runs for all she's worth back to the hole in the floor, but just as she's approaching safety, a sieve is brought down on top of her by the farmer's eager son. He asks his mother if he may keep the mouse he's found, saying that he can keep it in his old bird cage. Justin curses under his breath and leaves for the work site, promising to come back for Mrs. Brisby when the humans aren't watching.
Later that night, during her forced
incarceration, Mrs. Brisby overhears Farmer Fitzgibbons talking on the
phone. She hears him talking to people from NIMH, saying that they're free
to come and investigate the rats if they want, and that he'll be expecting
them in the morning! Mrs. Brisby tries desperately to escape, finally
finding a way out through the cage's water dish. Then, taking a deep breath
to help over come her fear of heights, and clutching a thread for dear life,
she leaps from the cage. She lands right in front of Dragon's mouth!
Fortuneately, though, the cat merely casts a glazed eye at her before
rolling over and going back to sleep.
Meanwhile, the Rats of NIMH are hard at work, using an elaborate system of wheels and pulleys to lift the Brisby home, with the children still in it to help Timothy stay warm. So busy is everyone under the watchful eye of Nicodemus that no one notices Jenner and Sullivan taking up their swords in position at an anchor point. Sullivan tries to back down from the dirty deed, but Jenner threatens to turn him in for conspiring against Nicodemus, if not actually killing him. Finally, with the block in the right place, Jenner slashes the ropes while Sullivan can only watch in horror. With a resounding crash, the equipment flies out of control. Pieces of wood, rope and cement strike Nicodemus just as the block comes down on top of him. A horrified Justin takes up a torch and runs under the rubble to search for Nicodemus, but is only successful in recovering his body.
As the events of the night sink in, Jenner begins orating to the rats. He tells them that the course of action now is to leave the Brisby home, unmovable without the equipment, and return to the rosebush to live. But his speech is interrupted by the shouts of Mrs. Brisby, desperately trying to warn Justin about NIMH's arrival. The other rats begin murmuring in the crowd, wondering whether or not to run from NIMH or follow Jenner. Furious, Jenner flings Mrs. Brisby into the mud, but then he notices the pendant Mrs. Brisby is wearing. Recognizing it for what it is, he leaps after Mrs. Brisby, trying to take it from her by force.
At the sight of this, another rat fetches Justin to intervene. When he does, Jenner draws his sword on Justin and slashes his arm. Sullivan runs up to the duelling pair and throws Justin his sword. At this perceived betrayal, Jenner turns and guts Sullivan. Then, Jenner and Justin begin to duel in earnest.
It doesn't take long for Jenner to get
the upper hand, however. Justin finally realises that it was no accident
that killed Nicodemus, but Jenner himself. Jenner even feels high and mighty
enough to admit it to the younger rat, just as he raises his sword to kill
the now-disarmed Justin. It's then that Jenner suddenly receives a knife in
his back. Hissing at the impact, he falls from his vantage point in a heap.
Noting his final act had hit the mark, Sullivan then falls limp himself,
having made up for his part in Nicodemus' death.
It's only after the fight is over that Mrs. Brisby learns that Nicodemus is dead. Sad and alone, she shuffles through the mud to where her house is still sitting above ground. She despondantly wonders how her house can be moved now when it shifts a little, then a little more, and then begins rapidly sinking into the mud! Mrs. Brisby frantically cries out for Justin, and he rallies the other rats to help raise the house above the mud, but to no avail. The breaking ropes give way and the block sinks beneath the surface. Justin hauls a hysterical Mrs. Brisby onto solid ground to keep her from suicidally going after it. Mrs. Brisby sobs uncontrollably for a few seconds, but stops when she realises her pendant is now glowing. Cautiously taking hold of it, it begins to burn in her hands and her entire body starts to glow bright red. Almost as in a trance, she picks up the rope that was attached to her house. The block begins to rise up from the mud and float slowly to where the rats had prepared a new foundation for it. Then it slowly lowers into the hole. As the glow subsides, Mrs. Brisby swoons, then collapses unconscious as the rats look on, wondering what had happened.
The next morning, Teresa is busy
bandaging her mother's burnt hands when Jeremy finally arrives, eagerly
presenting Mrs. Brisby with all the string he had been saving for his love
nest. Then he realises that her house was already moved, and that she had
given the pendant he had so hoped to get in return to Justin as they set off
that morning to Thorn Valley. Jeremy despondently decides that he doesn't
need the string, or the pendant. After all, who'd want to share a love nest
with him. Right on cue, a young female crow misjudges her landing and slams
right into him. After the two finish apologizing, they burst into laughter
at the sight of each other, tangled in a mass of string. Jeremy and his Miss
Right fly off to start anew, leaving Mrs. Brisby and her family to live
safe from the plow for the rest of the spring.
The Secret of Nimh Drinking Game
Participate in the survey to Name
Mrs. Brisby!
The National
Institute of Mental Health
The genuine article. See what kind of work these people are actually into.
They also have a more whimsical web server at
http://secret.nimh.nih.gov
I'm always
looking to improve this page, both in visual appeal and informative text.
If it doesn't appear here now, I probably don't have it. Please E-mail me
with comments, corrections, or additions, or your own site's URL so I can
add a link to it.
Back to the Virtual Tea
House Directory