Secret of NIHM 2: Timmy to the Rescue, The MPAA Rating: G Entertainment: +2 Content: -1

In this animated direct to video sequel to THE SECRET OF NIMH, Timmy Brisby, the son of mouse Jonathon Brisby who was the hero in Part One, goes back to NIMH, the National Institute of Mental Health. He tries to rescue the six lost mice who were not able to escape to Thorn Valley with the rest of the Smart Mice. In Part One of the story the evil scientists at NIMH performed experiments on mice and found a way to make them smart. The mice became so smart that they devised a way to escape and create their own hidden community called Thorn Valley. Jonathon Brisby was the leader of this mouse exodus but he died in the escape. Timmy, his son, was prophesied by Nicademus to be a great hero of Thorn Valley who, like his father, would save the mice from the evil plans of NIMH. When Timmy finds out that the lost six mice are still in NIMH, he knows he must go there to rescue them and fulfill his destiny. He does not know that in the process of saving these mice he will also be saving all of Thorn Valley from an invasion, led by his now evil brother, Martin.The production quality of this childrens video is exceptional, but small children may get lost in this almost adult-like plot. This is probably not a video kids will opt to watch over and over again.

This story is set around the dark and sinister place of NIMH, which may frighten small children. Also, the inclusion of a prophet who foretells the future goes against a clear biblical warning against soothsayers. At one point one of the rats invokes the prophet as a kind of god in an exclamatory comment, What in the name of Nicademus! The central message of Timmy fulfilling his destiny and having the courage to follow his heart, while not expressly unbiblical, has some new age and humanistic connotations. Animated violence includes scary cats and dogs chasing the mice, a building fire, a few skirmishes between animals, and mice being caught in traps and subjected to experiments. The story is not without some positive messages as well, like the benefit of listening to others, especially ones elders, and thinking things through beforeacting. Unfortunately, the pagan religious practice of soothsaying is portrayed favorably. This and the film's subtle new age message centered around fulfillment of ones destiny could seriously distort the religious ideas of impressionable viewers. These elements go well beyond fantasy.

Preview Reviewer: Cliff McNeely
Distributor: MGM/UA Home Video 2500 Broadway St., Santa Monica, CA, 90404-3061