The Secret of NIMH is probably one of the darkest animated movies out there. It tells the story of a widowed mouse who goes on a journey to protect her children. This makes the film stand out above the simpler Disney movies and gives the film much more emotional as viewers know how dire the main character's situation is. The background designs of The Secret of NIMH are incredible and the whole film demonstrated the tremendous talent and creativity of Don Bluth. However I must mention that most of the most of the side characters are underdeveloped. With such an interesting premise and style it's unfortunate that the side characters fail to meet that same quality. On a similar note, I found that the comic relief crow character to be annoying and he did not move the story forward at all. However, he does help lighten the mood in the scenes that he appears in. Overall, though the movie has its flaws, I really enjoyed it.