What if Don Bluth stayed at Disney?/The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue

The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue is a 1998 American direct-to-video animated adventure film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation and the sequel to the 1982 Disney animated film The Secret of NIMH. In the film, Timothy Brisby, the youngest son of Jonathan and Mrs. Brisby, goes to Thorn Valley wanting to become a hero like his father. Martin is missing and it is up to Timmy and his partner Jenny to confront him and get the rats back. At Thorn Valley, Timothy learns from a young girl mouse named Jenny that the mice who were presumed to have been killed during the escape from NIMH are still alive, so he and the rats mount a rescue operation.

The film, although a sequel, is unrelated to Racso and the Rats of NIMH, the sequel to the book on which the original film was based.

Plot
The film begins with a prophecy from the first film, telling how one of Jonathan and Mrs. Brisby's sons would save Thorn Valley from "the secret of NIMH". Timothy is chosen to go, but his older brother Martin believes he should have been the one chosen. Martin decides to prove his quality, and goes off to find his own adventure.

One day, Timmy comes across a female field mouse named Jenny McBride, whose parents were two of eight mice who tried to escape NIMH but were thought to have died; she reveals that these mice are in fact still alive. The Thorn Valley council decides it would be too dangerous to save the eight mice, so Jenny and Timmy go alone. They take a hot air balloon, but it is attacked by a hawkand crashes in the forest, where a caterpillar named Cecil scares the hawk away.

Seeking help, they visit the Great Owl but instead find Jeremy the crow, posing as the Great Owl. There they learn that Cecil has teamed up with Jeremy to trick the forest animals into paying them money. Jeremy and Cecil take the two mice to NIMH, where they find two of the rats from Thorn Valley, Justin and Brutus. They also learn that Dr. Joseph Valentine, the head scientist, has captured Martin and made him insane. After being made insane, Martin took over the lab, brainwashed Dr. Valentine with a device similar to the one Valentine used on him, and made him think he was a dog. Martin plans to use an army of lab rats riding a flock of ravens to take over Thorn Valley. He even turns two cats, Muriel and Floyd, crazy; they then proceed to catch the others.

Martin asks Timmy to join him, but he refuses and is locked in a cage, while Martin drags Jenny away to make her his queen. Timmy escapes with the help of Cecil and they free Jenny. Together, they knock out Martin, and Timmy tricks his army of ravens and rats to fly in the wrong direction. Timmy and Jenny then leave to find the others, only to find that NIMH is on fire. The survivors flee, while Timmy goes back to save Martin. Before he leaves, Jenny tells him that she loves him and he tells her the same. On the way to Martin, Timmy is attacked by Muriel and Floyd, but he sends them down an elevator shaft.

Timmy eventually finds Martin, and they are able to escape through the lab's skylight with some help from Jeremy. Jeremy then takes the survivors to safety. The mice return to Thorn Valley, where Martin is returned to normal and Timmy receives a hero's welcome by the citizens of Thorn Valley, including his family.

Cast

 * Ralph Macchio - 17 year old Timmy Brisby
 * Andrew Ducote - 10 year old Timmy Brisby
 * Alexander Strange - 13 year old Timmy Brisby
 * Dom DeLuise - Jeremy
 * Eric Idle - Corrupted 19 year old Martin Brisby
 * Phillip Van Dyke - Young Martin Brisby
 * Phillip Glasser - Redeemed 19 year old Martin Brisby
 * Peter MacNicol - Narrator
 * William H. Macy - Justin
 * Arthur Malet - Mr. Ages
 * Hynden Walch - Jenny McBride
 * Andrea Martin - Muriel
 * Harvey Korman - Floyd
 * Meshach Taylor - Cecil
 * Debi Mae West - Mrs. Brisby
 * Doris Roberts - Auntie Shrew
 * Steve Mackall - Dr. Joseph Valentine
 * Darlene Carr - Helen
 * Jamie Cronin - Teresa Brisby
 * Whitney Claire Kaufman - Cynthia Brisby
 * Jameson Parker - Troy
 * Kevin Michael Richardson - Brutus

Reception
Upon its release, the film received largely negative reviews by critics and fans of the first movie. Entertainment Weekly 's Marc Bernardin gave the sequel a C- grade and said, "Alas, this Bluth-less direct-to-tape sequel [...], about a mouse's transformation from misfit to hero, has none of the original's heart or craft, and all of the sappy songwriting and patchwork plotting common to further adventures." The Chicago Tribune 's Harlene Ellin gave it one and a half stars out of four, adding that "the uninspired continuation [...] clearly wasn't worth the wait". The Radio Times panned the film's "sub-Saturday morning level of animation and art design," the "surprisingly grim tone," the "frenzied pace" and "extremely choppy" writing.

TV Guide gave the film two stars out of four.

Soundtrack
The music for Timmy to the Rescue was composed by Lee Holdridge with lyrics by Richard Sparks, with an official soundtrack album released on compact disc on November 17, 1998 by Walt Disney Records. It contains 17 tracks featuring instrumental themes from the film performed by the Philharmonic Orchestra of London & Venezuela, including six vocal songs by various cast members.
 * 1) "Prologue/Timmy and Martin" (4:50)
 * 2) "My Life and My Love" (3:05) - performed by Al Jarreau and Bobbi Page
 * 3) "Come Make the Most of Your Life" (4:12) - performed by Andrew Ducote, Dom DeLuise, Arthur Malet, and William H. Macy
 * 4) "Timmy Says Goodbye/Soaring with Jeremy" (2:06)
 * 5) "Teaching Timmy/The Snake/The Wisdom of Mr. Ages" (3:19)
 * 6) "I Will Show the World" (2:23) - performed by Andrew Ducote, Alex Strange, and Ralph Macchio
 * 7) "Timmy Meets Jenny/Killer, the Attack Dog/Jenny's Story/Muriel and Floyd" (6:19)
 * 8) "Jenny's Plan/The Escape/Flight to N.I.M.H./The Hawk Attacks" (5:42)
 * 9) "Meeting Cecil/Search for the Great Owl" (2:21)
 * 10) "Magic Mystery Show" (2:30) - performed by Meshach Taylor, Dom DeLuise, Ralph Macchio, and Hynden Walch
 * 11) "Angry Animals/Another Escape/Evil Martin" (7:11)
 * 12) "Just Say Yes!" (2:42) - performed by Eric Idle
 * 13) "Taken Prisoner" (1:31)
 * 14) "All I Had is Gone" (1:59) - performed by Ralph Macchio and Hynden Walch
 * 15) "Breakout/Muriel and Floyd Get the Shaft/Trapped by Martin" (5:48)
 * 16) "Escape from N.I.M.H." (4:07)
 * 17) "Finale" (1:57)