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The Secret of NIMH poster

Movies that feel likeThe Secret of NIMH (1982)

A widowed field mouse must move her family -- including an ailing son -- to escape a farmer's plow. Aided by a crow and a pack of superintelligent, escaped lab rats, the brave mother struggles to transplant her home to firmer ground.

If you loved The Secret of NIMH, the closest films we have are The Dark Crystal (1982), Anastasia (1997) and An American Tail (1986). All three share The Secret of NIMH's epic and warm feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Escape to Witch Mountain (1975).

πŸ… 93% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.5 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Don Bluthepicwarmcozydreamliketwisty
10 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max Β· Amazon Prime Video Β· Disney Plus

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If The Secret of NIMH hit the spot, these will too

The Dark Crystal poster
The Dark Crystal
1982 Β· dir. Jim Henson
πŸ… 78%β˜… 7.1adventure Β· family Β· fantasyPeacock

The same two preoccupations: villain, and good against evil

The difference: Takes it somewhere less twisty than The Secret of NIMH does

On another planet in the distant past, a Gelfling embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magical crystal and restore order to his world, before the grotesque race of Skeksis find and use the crystal for evil.

Anastasia poster
Anastasia
1997 Β· dir. Don Bluth
πŸ… 83%β˜… 7.2animation Β· family Β· fantasyDisney+

Don Bluth directing both, with the same fingerprints on each

The difference: Trades the twists of The Secret of NIMH for an angle of its own

Ten years after she was separated from her family, an eighteen-year-old orphan with vague memories of the past sets out to Paris in hopes of reuniting with her grandmother. She is accompanied by two con men, who intend to pass her off as the Grand Duchess Anastasia to the Dowager Empress for a reward.

An American Tail poster
An American Tail
1986 Β· dir. Don Bluth
πŸ… 76%β˜… 6.9adventure Β· animation Β· comedy

Both are Don Bluth's work, and they rhyme

The difference: Leans harder into comedy than The Secret of NIMH does

A young mouse named Fievel and his family decide to migrate to America, a "land without cats," at the turn of the 20th century. But somehow, Fievel ends up in the New World alone and must fend off not only the felines he never thought he'd have to deal with again but also the loneliness of being away from home.

The Land Before Time poster
The Land Before Time
1988 Β· dir. Don Bluth
πŸ… 65%β˜… 7.4family Β· animation Β· adventure

The same preoccupation in both: playful

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

An orphaned brontosaurus named Littlefoot sets off in search of the legendary Great Valley. A land of lush vegetation where the dinosaurs can thrive and live in peace. Along the way he meets four other young dinosaurs, each one a different species, and they encounter several obstacles as they learn to work together in order to survive.

Jason and the Argonauts poster
Jason and the Argonauts
1963 Β· dir. Don Chaffey
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7.3adventure Β· family Β· fantasy

Epic and warm in the same breath

Jason, a fearless sailor and explorer, returns to his home land of Thessaly after a long voyage to claim his rightful throne. He learns, however, that he must first find the magical Golden Fleece. To do so, he must embark on an epic quest fraught with fantastic monsters and terrible perils.

The NeverEnding Story poster
The NeverEnding Story
1984 Β· dir. Wolfgang Petersen
πŸ… 84%β˜… 7.3adventure Β· fantasy Β· family

Both land comfort and dream logic at once

While hiding from bullies in his school's attic, a young boy discovers the extraordinary land of Fantasia, through a magical book called The Neverending Story. The book tells the tale of Atreyu, a young warrior who, with the help of a luck dragon named Falkor, must save Fantasia from the destruction of The Nothing.

Return to Oz poster
Return to Oz
1985 Β· dir. Walter Murch
πŸ… 59%β˜… 6.7adventure Β· family Β· fantasyDisney+

Adventure built on scale, twice over

Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, finds herself back in the land of her dreams, and makes delightful new friends, and dangerous new enemies.

The Cat Returns poster
The Cat Returns
2002 Β· dir. Hiroyuki Morita
πŸ… 88%β˜… 7.1adventure Β· fantasy Β· animationMax

Both keep coming back to the same thing: crow

The difference: Sits closer to drama than The Secret of NIMH does

Young Haru rescues a cat from being run over, but soon learns it's no ordinary feline; it happens to be the Prince of the Cats.

The Black Stallion poster
The Black Stallion
1979 Β· dir. Carroll Ballard
πŸ… 90%β˜… 7.4family Β· adventure

Warm family, and it commits to that

While traveling with his father, young Alec becomes fascinated by a mysterious Arabian stallion that is brought on board and stabled in the ship he is sailing on. When it tragically sinks both he and the horse survive only to be stranded on a deserted island. He befriends it, so when finally rescued both return to his home where they soon meet Henry Dailey, a once successful trainer. Together they begin training the horse to race against the fastest ones in the world.

The Amazing Mr. Blunden poster
The Amazing Mr. Blunden
1972 Β· dir. Lionel Jeffries
β˜… 6.8family Β· fantasyPrime Video

Fantasy with a pulse of comfort, in both cases

Mysterious old solicitor Mr. Blunden visits Mrs. Allen and her young children in their squalid, tiny Camden Town flat and makes her an offer she cannot refuse. The family become the housekeepers to a derelict country mansion in the charge of the solicitors. One day the children meet the spirits of two other children who died in the mansion nearly a hundred years prior. The children prepare a magic potion that allows them to travel backwards in time to the era of the ghost children. Will the children be able to help their new friends and what will happen to them if they do?

The Rescuers poster
The Rescuers
1977 Β· dir. Wolfgang Reitherman
πŸ… 79%β˜… 6.9fantasy Β· family Β· animationDisney+

Both are built on the same subject: mouse

Two agents of the mouse-run International Rescue Aid Society search for a little orphan girl kidnapped by sinister treasure hunters.

Escape to Witch Mountain poster
Escape to Witch Mountain
1975 Β· dir. John Hough
πŸ… 87%β˜… 6.3adventure Β· fantasy Β· science fictionDisney+

Both lean on dream logic more than on animation

Tia and Tony are two orphaned youngsters with extraordinary powers. Lucas Deranian poses as their uncle in order to get the kids into the clutches of Deranian's megalomaniacal boss, evil millionaire Aristotle Bolt, who wants to exploit them. Jason, a cynical widower, helps Tia and Tony escape to witch mountain, while at the same time Tia and Tony help Jason escape the pain of the loss of his wife.

In the mood for more epic?

all epic movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share The Secret of NIMH’s defining feeling.