THE SECRET OF NIMH

JERRY GOLDSMITH

Rating:

Original Review: Jerry Goldsmith's first and, until Mulan, only foray into the world of animation was for the 1982 movie The Secret of NIMH, a big-screen adaptation of Robert C. O'Brien's classic children's novel "Mrs. Brisby and the Rats of NIMH", about a colony of rodents who develop a vastly increased intellect after being the subject of experiments by the National Institute of Mental Health - NIMH. Of course, with Goldsmith being Goldsmith, this is no ordinary animated score, as is about as far removed from the mickey-mouse techniques of Alan Menken as it is possible to be.

In the liner notes to this 1993 re-release of the score, Goldsmith muses that he "was initially concerned as to whether the very special techniques which animation requires should also be reflected in a different approach to the music". In the end, Goldsmith decided to score the film as though it were live-action, and his correct choice not to dumb down is immediately noticeable. There is an immense scope and intriguing beauty to the music, as Goldsmith frequently employs the vocal talents of a high register choir to add a sense of both mystery and enchantment to his work. It is, by turns, playful and endearing, then dark and menacing, as the incarcerated lab animals slowly begin to become aware of their circumstances and, with the help of the intrepid Mrs. Frisby, plan their escape.

The 'Main Title' is actually an underdeveloped precursor of the theme Goldsmith would later re-use to great effect as the Ba'ku theme in Star Trek: Insurrection, but with different orchestrations (here, the theme is played by soft strings and muted brasses rather than as a harp solo with flutes). After this quite delightful opening, the score take a surprising turn and become rather dark and moody. The next seven tracks are all either fast-moving action cues with an urgent, brooding overtones, or strangely dissonant, unsettling suspense tracks featuring low-register brasses and circular string work reminiscent of, but less harsh than, his work on horror scores like Alien and Poltergeist. Standouts include 'The Sentry Reel', 'The House Raising' and 'Moving Day'. For an animated film, this use of this generally discordant music is a bold move on Goldsmith's part, especially when you consider the bright, upbeat scores Disney and Don Bluth asked Alan Menken and James Horner to provide for their films thereafter.

The flighty main theme, a vibrant, soaring string melody, begins to become more dominant during 'No Thanks', and finally sweeps fully into the forefront in the film's emotionally resonant song, 'Flying Dream', which is performed both by Sally Stevens and its lyricist Paul Williams. This is another of The Secret of NIMH's strong points - the fact that there is only one song performed on-screen during the film, meaning that Goldsmith had plenty of space to be creative with his underscore and didn't have to worry about having to leave room for lots of redundant musical numbers. The genuine quality of The Secret of NIMH is even more surprising when you remember that this is a score for an animated film, a genre which Goldsmith had never tackled before at that time, and that there is a large amount of quite serious, mature and complex music within it. Many live-action movies are not blessed with music as truly affecting as this.

Track Listing: Running Time: 48 minutes 31 seconds

That's Entertainment CDTER-1026 (1982)

Music composed and conducted by Jerry Goldsmith. Lyrics by Paul Williams. Performed by The National Philharmonic Orchestra of London. Orchestrations by Arthur Morton. Recorded and mixed by Len Engle. Album produced by Jerry Goldsmith.


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