The Secret of NIMH

The Secret of NIMH
seen online via Hulu
9.20.10

I don't usually watch many movies online. I only found out about streaming websites like Hulu a couple of years ago, ever since I bought a laptop computer. Before that I had a desktop that was still on (ugh!) dial-up. When I lived in Ohio, I'd take my laptop everywhere, but now I try not to do that as much. For one thing, it's heavy enough to be cumbersome at times. For another, it seems like too many people have become wedded to technology these days. Everywhere you look, you see somebody yakking on their cellphone or Bluetooth, or texting on their Blackberry, or fiddling around with their iPod, and they forget about the world around them. I'm afraid of being like that. I wanna avoid it if I can.

That said, it's nice to watch a movie in the comfort of one's own bed, late at night. I had my laptop literally propped up on my lap, so I could easily hit the mute button whenever a commercial came on. I can accept the necessity of commercials - it's like watching a movie on network television - though in the past, there would be times when commercials would come at odd, disruptive moments in the story. That wasn't the case last night with The Secret of NIMH. The commercials came at more appropriate times, in-between scenes.

I can't watch a movie about mice and rats without thinking of my friend Jenny. She's absolutely crazy for them, has been for as long as I've known her. She's kept a number of them as pets over the years. She's moved a bunch of different places, but they've always come with her. She loves animation, too, so I'm sure this is her kind of movie.

I read the book Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH as a kid many years ago, although the version I have is the movie re-release version, which is actually re-titled The Secret of NIMH and has a still from the film on the cover. It's one of the few books from my childhood that I still have. Not sure why. It's a cool book, but I've never had any special attachment to it.