The Secret of NIMH 2 – Timmy to the Rescue

DVD review of The Secret of NIMH 2 – with the voice talent of Ralph Macchio, Dom De Luise, Harvey Korman, Eric Idle

The Secret of NIMH  2 — Timmy to the Rescue (1998) starring  Ralph Macchio,  Dom De Luise,  Harvey Korman,  Eric Idle

Editorial review of  The Secret of NIMH  2 — Timmy to the Rescue  courtesy of Amazon.com

 The Secret of NIMH 2 – Timmy to the Rescue:  A huge letdown after the grandeur of Don Bluth’s 1982 adaptation of Robert C. O’Brien’s book (this was the first feature Bluth made after leaving Disney to protest the studio’s allegedly lowered animation standards), this straight-to-video sequel offers far poorer art and thinner characterizations. The story finds Timmy (voiced by Ralph Macchio), son of the Jonathan Brisby character from  The Secret of NIMH, leaving the family farm and heading to Thorn Valley, where the rats of NIMH live. There, Timmy seeks a path in his father’s footprints to become a hero and meets a girl mouse who tells him her parents are among some NIMH mice wrongly presumed dead for years. A rescue ensues, of course, in which Timmy and the refugee rats risk getting caught themselves.

The film is about an hour in length, and genuine entertainment is at a premium in this production, making it even harder to ignore point-by-point comparisons between NIMH 2 and its predecessor — especially when those comparisons, time and again, find the sequel wanting. The very best element here is the vocal and singing performance by Eric Idle as the villain, Martin, who resorts to electric shock to “improve” his intelligence and whose song, “Just Say Yes,” is a real highlight. —Tom Keogh

Product Description of  The Secret of NIMH 2

Join a mighty little mouse as he discovers he has the strength to face his foesand end up the Big Cheese in this rousing musical adventure your family will treasure. Featuring the voices of Ralph Macchio, Dom De Luise and  Harvey Korman, this charming adventure is a wonderfully heroic tale that will make your family want to stand up and cheer! Welcome to beautiful Thorn Valley, where the mice-folk have everything they could possibly need — €¦except a hero. that’s why they call upon Timmy Brisby, the youngest son of Jonathan Brisby who once saved them from an evil place called NIMH.

There’s only one problem Timmy’s a novice, so it’s necessary for him to go through hero training 101, but before he even has a chance to graduate, Timmy must put his new skills to the test. Taking on NIMH is a big job for a little guy, but Timmy is up to the challenge and before he’s through, he’s going to prove that no matter one’s size, anyone can be a hero.

Cast of characters

• Peter MacNicol (Bean the Movie; Dracula Dead and Loving It) … Narrator (voice)
• Andrew Ducote … Timmy At 10 (voice)
• Phillip Van Dyke … Young Martin (voice)
• Dom DeLuise (The Secret of NIMH; Haunted Honeymoon) … Jeremy (voice)
• Whitney Claire Kaufman … Cynthia (voice)
• Debi Mae West … Mrs. Brisby (voice)
• Doris Roberts … Auntie Shrew (voice)
• Jamie Cronin … Teresa (voice)
• William H. Macy … Justin (voice)
• Arthur Malet (Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N.) … Mr. Ages (voice)
• Alex Strange … Timmy At 13 (voice)
• Ralph Macchio … Tim (voice)
• Kevin Michael Richardson (Planet Hulk) … Brutus (voice)
• Hynden Walch … Jenny (voice) (as a different name)
• Andrea Martin … Muriel (voice)
• Harvey Korman (The Carol Burnett Show season 1) … Floyd (voice)
• Steve Mackall … Dr. Valentine (voice)
• Meshach Taylor (Designing Women) … Cecil (voice)
• Eric Idle (102 Dalmatians) … Martin (voice)
• Darleen Carr (Walt Disney’s The Jungle Book) … Helen (voice)
• Jameson Parker … Troy (voice) (as Jamison Parker)
• Phillip Glasser … Martin At 19 (voice)