'' The Secret of NIMH '' received widespread critical acclaim upon its release . It has a 96 % " Fresh " approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes , based on 25 reviews , with an average rating of 7.11 / 10 . The consensus states , " '' The Secret of NIMH '' is a dark , well-told tale that respects its young audience enough to not tone down its subject matter . " Critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert gave the movie two positive " yes " votes on a July 15 , 1982 , episode of their television program '' Sneak Previews '' with Ebert stating " Walt Disney would 've liked '' The Secret of NIMH '' . " Ebert would give '' Secret of NIMH '' three out of four stars in his review for the '' Chicago Sun-Times '' , calling it " an artistic success " , praising the quality of its animation and that it " contains that absolute rarity among feature-length animated cartoons , an interesting premise " . However , Ebert found that '' NIMH '' may not resonate as well on an emotional level with younger viewers , since " it has so many characters and involves them in so many different problems that there 's nobody for the kids in the audience to strongly identify with . " Siskel , writing for the '' Chicago Tribune '' , found the movie " charming " , but stated that the narrative was " littered with too many unimportant characters " and that Dom DeLuise " insert ed too much of himself " into the character of Jeremy . Despite this , Siskel found the film , particularly the second half , to be a " genuine pleasure " and felt that even adults will be drawn into the story by the end , giving it three stars out of four . In his review for the 1990 VHS re-release , Jeff Unger of '' Entertainment Weekly '' gave '' The Secret of NIMH '' a grade of " A " , calling it " a wonderful adaptation " of the original book , adding that " Bluth and his animators , bless them , chose to revive an endangered art form – classically detailed animation . They drew their characters exquisitely and gave them individual personalities . The entire ensemble – artists , actors , animals , and musicians – created something unique : the world 's first enjoyable rat race . " Similarly , Richard Corliss of '' Time '' magazine called the movie " something gorgeous to look at " . '' The Secret of NIMH '' won Best Animated Film of 1982 at the 10th annual Saturn Awards , where it also received a nomination for Best Fantasy Film , losing to '' The Dark Crystal '' . In his acceptance speech , Bluth remarked , " Thanks . We did n't think anyone had noticed . " The film was also nominated for Best Family Feature for Animation , Musical or Fantasy at the 4th annual Youth in Film Awards , being beaten by '' E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial '' , while the home video release received an Award of Excellence from the Film Advisory Board . In 2008 , the American Film Institute nominated this film for its Top 10 Animation Films list
4th annual Youth in Film Awards
4th Youth in Film Awards
The Secret of NIMH