Alongside Don Bluth's other masterpieces like the aforementioned All Dogs Go to Heaven and The Land Before Time was that cinematic adaptation of The Secret of NIMH. Developed after Bluth's fallout with Disney, NIHM is a quintessential film amongst the pantheon of family-driven narratives. Unwilling to castrate its subject matter for the sake of younger audiences, NIMH was a proving ground for future films of the same ilk. It was dark, dreary and unabashedly violent, but all of its grittier contexts reinforced the dire situation of Mrs. Frisby and the characters around her. The picture is overflowing with lovingly crafted illustrations, effects and bloody, sword-stabbing carnage, but it's the power and determination of a mother's love that melds it all together. The Secret of NIMH wasn't only a rarity in that it used the word "damn," but because it confidently displayed the reality of darkness amidst its many glimmers of hope.