Fox is about to give some '80s kids a little slice of nostalgia with their latest animated offering. A new series aims to adapt the adventures of a certain plucky field mouse that saw a rather popular retelling by Don Bluth back in the day with The Secret of NIMH. But as exciting as that prospect is, it may not be what many fans are expecting.
Fox is looking to create an animated drama based on the Rats of NIMH book series written by Robert C. O’Brien and eventually his daughter Jane Leslie Conly. Cartoon fans of a certain age will likely recognize that name as one shared with Bluth's beloved (and deceptively traumatizing, like most 80s movies were for some reason) 1982 film The Secret of NIMH, which was based on the first book in O'Brien's series. However, Deadline reports this series will take its inspiration directly from the main trilogy of books rather than the movie. So those hoping to hear a Dom DeLuise soundalike may be out of luck.
This is just the latest in Fox's current strategy to roll out several new animated shows in the coming years, and only the most recent of many attempts to revive the franchise as a show or film. While the unnamed NIMH project is apparently a drama, other series like the upcoming Flintstones animated sequel series Bedrock demonstrate a more wide-reaching range of styles. This is further demonstrated by the presence of Krapopolis, a comedy based on ancient Greek mythology coming in 2022 from Dan Harmon. So as great as NIMH sounds, it's a little relieving to know that it won't all be doom and gloom.
The Rats of NIMH series follows Mrs. Frisby (changed to Mrs. Brisby in the 1982 film when a toy company got all weird about it), a widowed field mouse who goes on a journey to protect her family. During her adventures, she seeks the help of a group of escaped lab rats who aid her in both relocating her family and saving her son from pneumonia. Yes, it's a remarkably adult story considering it's about a bunch of talking animals. But then again, even Pixar isn't shy about that sort of thing either.
This series could be a nostalgic blast from the past or a sobering new show for everyone who didn't get enough of that from Invincible and BoJack Horseman. The original books dealt with lots of brutal themes that juxtaposed rather abruptly with the whole talking mice setting. But maybe that's just one way to make it all the more palatable.
It's not like cute concepts on the surface haven't been used to convey mature themes before. The upcoming game Cult of the Lamb from Devolver Digital and Massive Monster seems to positively revel in that idea. So it will be interesting to see how this new series pans out, at the very least out of morbid curiosity.
The Secret Of NIMH film is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Deadline