The Secret of NIMH was one of my favorite movies as a kid, so I'm sort of shocked that I never read the book before now. But not as shocked as I was tThe Secret of NIMH was one of my favorite movies as a kid, so I'm sort of shocked that I never read the book before now. But not as shocked as I was to discover how different this is -- the novel, unlike the film, has no fantasy elements at all (if you discount talking animals, which in this context, I do). Props to Don Bluth and cowriters for the strange but magnificent adaption, which has one of the most memorable and frightening climaxes of any film -- children's or otherwise -- that I can recall. And this is not in the book! The filmmakers were wise to shift the conflict with Jenner to the present, and the emotional core of the climax to Mrs. Frisby and her children, rather than the rats. Also, props to the way the film covers the rats' backstory so efficiently and with such memorable imagery -- spiraling DNA! Was this the first time I ever encountered that? -- when in the novel it takes chapters. Though of course, in fairness to O'Brien, that is the advantage of a visual medium over a written one.
This has turned into a review of the film much more than of the book, but I can't divorce them in my mind, and my intense fondness for the former certainly colored my opinion of the latter. I think I would have found this inventive but average were Bluth's visuals not imprinted so firmly in my brain. But why quibble over the boost?
Some random other thoughts:
--I had forgotten that our heroic mouse protagonist isn't called Mrs. Frisby in the film, but Mrs. Brisby. Apparently this is because the makers of frisbees threatened to sue the filmmakers for possible copyright infringement. Wow. Fuck off, Big Frisbee.
--I recalled the heroic rat Justin being An Uncomfortably Sexy Animated Animal, a la the Robin Hood foxes, and figured this was because Bluth seems to like to include a certain type of man who is That Way (see also Dimitri in Anastasia, a far inferior film -- don't @ me, Anastasia girlies!). But in fact, O'Brien also takes the time to pause the narrative to let readers know that Justin is one hot rat. No one is allowed to leave this story without understanding what a sexy rat Justin is, okay?
--The Jerry Goldsmith score to the film is so good that just a few notes of the theme reduced me to a blubbering mess when I rewatched tonight. Suddenly I was five years old again, feeling how deeply this story gripped me.
--It's possible that we as a society forgot how to make good children's movies when we stopped making them incredibly terrifying/traumatizing. Without the owl from this movie and the Swamps of Sadness from The Neverending Story, who would I even be? Don't answer that....more
I'm not sure how historically accurate this book is, or even how narratively interesting/successful (why is the end so rushed comMystery box book #26!
I'm not sure how historically accurate this book is, or even how narratively interesting/successful (why is the end so rushed compared to the beginning?) but it's delightfully weird. Bring back more weird YA/MG like this! Who else besides like M.T. Anderson is doing weird shit like this these days?...more
(Semi-fascinating because it retells the movie entirely from Daniel's point of view, so the reader discovers (do I neeListen, I'm not proud of myself.
(Semi-fascinating because it retells the movie entirely from Daniel's point of view, so the reader discovers (do I need to spoiler tag for a movie from 1989?) (fine) (view spoiler)[that Terry Silver is playing Daniel (hide spoiler)]along with Daniel. But it's also for kids so the psychosexual aspects, and, frankly, also the disturbing violence of the ending, are absent. A surreal take on a surreal film.
This has been literary analysis of a Karate Kid movie novelization. Send help.)...more
I don't envy Riordan the task of ending this series, which also sort of wraps up all of his series (at least for the time being). That's a lot to put I don't envy Riordan the task of ending this series, which also sort of wraps up all of his series (at least for the time being). That's a lot to put on one book! As such, the pacing feels off: there's a long windup, then a terrific, action-packed middle, then a sort of "huh. okay" of a climax, followed by a lengthy epilogue reminiscent of David Tennant's last episode of Doctor Who where he goes and says goodbye to everyone he's ever met and you're kind of like, "How has he not regenerated yet?"
But that middle run is highly enjoyable, a great blend of emotion/character/action. And I do love Apollo. I think I just realized toward the end that what I really wanted to be reading was fanfic of this book, something that could really go deep into Apollo's mental and body dysmorphia, pretty much, after his time spent as a human. I'll take 60K of that plus him making out with some hot dudes to go, please....more
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