Mrs. Frisby to Return to the Big Screen

“I say, if you believe what you read in the comic strips, then you believe that mice run around with little gold buttons on their red pants and drive cars.”
-- Mort Walker

The movie world sent me some great news this week, with the announcement of a new adaptation of one of my favorite childhood books. That book is none other than “Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.”

I was very excited to hear that this movie was announced for several reasons. The first being the animated film, The Secret of NIMH, (1982) was a phenomenal movie and really captured the essence of a haunting story. The second reason, is the fact that in a new era, the spin and interpretation of all of the intense sociological and political commentary that takes place in Robert C. O’Brien’s, Newberry Medal winning, book will show much this book stands the test of time.

Originally written in 1971, and inspired by the work of John B. Calhoun at the National Institute of Mental Health or NIMH (you see what O’Brien did there? Pretty clever!). Mrs. Frisby, has to deal with being a widow trying to protect her home from destructive humans, and enlists the help of Nicodemus and other Rats who escaped the research facility with knowledge comparable, if not exceeding, that of humans.

There is very little information out about this movie though rumor has it this film should be released sometime in 2013. Thus far Neil Burger is the only person attached to the film. Burger will be writing the screenplay, but in all reality he may direct as well, since that has been the case for all of the movies he has made, even though that is not a very long list.

Burger does have a knack for writing and directing darker films. To his credit, he has written and directed, Interview with the Assassin, The Illusionist, and The Lucky Ones. He is also in the process of making a remake of the 1935 classic Bride of Frankenstein. He took over directorial duties on this film after Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini both dropped out. To his credit Burger has worked with some great actors even if his movies have not been great successes. Tim Robbins and Rachel McAdams (The Lucky Ones), Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, Jessica Biel and Rufus Sewell (The Illusionist), have all worked with Burger, so it shows he can bring in big name talent if necessary. It would be interesting to see Edward Norton or Tim Robbins doing voice acting for this movie too.

At any rate this will definitely be a movie to look out for, especially if Where the Wild Things Are turns out to be as big a hit as I think it will. But until then I highly recommend reading “Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH” or checking out The Secret of NIMH before the new edition comes out. You won’t be disappointed. Secret of NIMH is comparable to other fantastic, animated mouse movies like The Great Mouse Detective and The Rescuers Down Under for its darkness, or The Rescuers and An American Tail for their political and social commentary. Needless to say I am excited.