The Secret of Kells

Don't let the beautiful, charming animation fool you. This is not a movie for young kids. People die.

This engaging movie draws you in with fascinating characters and edge-of-your-seat drama. One of the most interesting things about this film is the importance it gives to the written word. Our greatest achievement, it would seem, is what we write. The most important thing we can do and the biggest contribution we can make is to keep and preserve our "journal." As long as our records survive, we survive.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Galadriel: Why the Hafling?
Gandalf: Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay... small acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? Perhaps it's because I am afraid and he gives me courage. 

Yeah, okay, I'm not a huge LOTR nut, but I loved seeing and exploring more of Tolkien's world, and I loved Gandalf in this movie.

The Secret of NIMH

Justin: It's wrong to take electricity from the farmer.
Nicodemus: My child, we can no longer live as rats. We know too much.

A while ago, I got an ominous and isolated tweet that from Adam Young that said, "Johnathan Brisby was killed today while helping with the plan." I didn't know what that meant, but it sounded very intriguing, so I followed the link on the tweet to the hauntingly beautiful music of this video:

This is a seriously freaky movie. It scared me as a child. I didn't remember very much about it except the feeling of prevailing gloominess and the terror and helplessness I felt as the frightened animals fled in panic as the tractor destroyed their homes. That is, until I watched it again tonight for the first time in maybe ... 20 years? As I immersed myself in the movie, I felt like I was facing my fears. My heart was pounding for the first half hour, until I finally got a hold of myself. I was utterly horrified when Mrs. Brisby lost Timmy's medicine, and I was moved by how much she missed her husband.
You can tell that the team of animators (who left Disney in the early 80's because they didn't like the way the studio was cutting corners on the animation quality) painstakingly crafted every detail of the gorgeous hand-drawn images.
In a world where motherhood is too often mocked, it's refreshing to see a film that exalts the role of a mother. Mrs. Brisby has guts! She's much braver than I think I ever could be. She loves her kids and fights to protect them.
Do we live in a way that reflects how much we know?