The Secret of NIMH/Transcript

PROLOGUE:

A long taper lights a candle. We see two gnarled hands dip a pen into a pot of ink, and begin to write in a book.

WRITER Jonathan Brisby was killed today while helping with the Plan. It is four years since our departure from NIMH, and our world is changing. We cannot stay here much longer. Jonathan was a dear friend. I am lost, knowing how to help his widow. She knows nothing of us, or the Plan. Perhaps best that I do nothing at present. I shall miss him.

With a flourish, the speaker signs his name: "Nicodemus"

CUT TO:

The gnarled hands cradle an amulet. It is a round red stone set in a gold base. We see Nicodemus' face dimly reflected in the stone.

NICODEMUS Jonathan, wherever you are, your thoughts must comfort her tonight. She'll be waiting, and you will not return.

Nicodemus places the amulet into an ornate box, and closes the lid.

NICODEMUS Farewell, my friend.

SCENE I:

On the Fitzgibbon farm, an abandoned threshing machine sits, rusting quietly. Suddenly an EXPLOSION shakes the machine and smoke begins to rise from its seams.

MRS. BRISBY (OOV) Mr. Ages? Mr. Ages, is anybody home?

MR. AGES (OOV) Go away!

CUT TO:

Inside the threshing machine, a small mouse wearing a red cape looks around nervously. This is Mrs. Brisby.

MRS. BRISBY Mr. Ages!

MR. AGES (OOV) What is it?

MRS. BRISBY Mr. Ages, may I please speak with you?

MR. AGES (OOV) What?

MRS. BRISBY I said, may I please speak...

COUGHING, Mr. Ages pops up from inside the tangle of machinery behind Mrs. Brisby. With a GASP of surprise, she whirls.

MRS. BRISBY ...with you. Oh thank goodness! I'm so glad you're home!

MR. AGES [still COUGHING] Confounded machine! You never know when it's going to up and blow!

MRS BRISBY Yes...I don't suppose you would remember me...

MR AGES Yes, you're Mrs. Brisby. And I am sorry about your husband's death. Now if you'll excuse me...

Mr. Ages disappears back into the machine. Mrs. Brisby calls after him.

MRS BRISBY Mr. Ages!

Mr. Ages pops up again, in a different place.

MR AGES Great Jupiter, woman, what do you want?

MRS BRISBY Mr. Ages, I know you don't like visitors, but this is an emergency! Please!

Suddenly a second EXPLOSION shakes the thresher. Ages is knocked from his perch and goes sliding and tumbling down into the inner recesses of the machine, finally vanishing down a large vertical shaft. Mrs. Brisby races after him and peers over the shaft's edge. Ages is lying in a basket suspended by a rope.

MR AGES Madam, that is an emergency.

Ages pulls on the rope, sending the basket rising up to the top of the shaft where Mrs. Brisby waits.

MRS BRISBY Oh Mr. Ages, my son Timothy is so sick!

MR AGES Timmy? The one with the spider bite? Oh, just give him some pepsissiwa root and...

MRS BRISBY No! [she grabs Ages by the shirt and shakes him] No, he's sick with a fever!

MR AGES [grudgingly] Well...I suppose I could fix up something...

MRS BRISBY Oh thank you!

MR AGES Follow me, but don't touch anything! Understand?

Mrs. Brisby nods and slides into the basket with Ages. Still MUTTERING to himself, he pulls the rope again, and the basket begins to descend into the shaft. It's not just suspended from a pulley apparently, but seems to be motorized.

MRS BRISBY I do appreciate it...

MR AGES Just how high is his fever?

MRS BRISBY He's burning hot to the touch.

MR AGES Hmmmmmm, yes.

MRS BRISBY He's soaking wet with perspiration...

MR AGES ..yes?

MRS BRISBY ...and there's a raspy sound when he breathes.

MR AGES A raspy sound you say? Well!

The basket reaches the bottom and they climb out. Ages leads Mrs. Brisby towards a round door with light streaming out of it.

MR AGES Does he have a chill?

MRS BRISBY Yes, he does.

MR AGES Have you wrapped him in a blanket?

MRS BRISBY Yes.

MR AGES Now step inside, but keep your hands to yourself! I'm right in the middle of something very important.

MRS BRISBY I understand.

MR AGES Oh, do you?

Ages laboratory is brightly lit, and filled with equipment. It's dominated by a human sized oil lamp in the center of room, and a variety of chemical equipment, also human sized, runs along the walls and ceiling. A bunsen burner is heating the contents of a large flask to a gentle boil. Ages crosses the room to his work table.

MR AGES Look at this mess. Oh, shoo, shoo, go on!

Ages tosses a ladybug off the table like a cat.

MR AGES Your son has pneumonia.

MRS BRISBY Pneumonia?

Ages begins mixing powders and herbs in a bowl and grinding them with a pestle.

MR AGES It's not uncommon, but you can die from it.

MRS BRISBY Oh please dear God, no.

MR AGES Your son must stay in bed. Bundle him up.

MRS BRISBY Yes.

He pulls a string running over his head, and the bunsen burner turns to high, heating the fluid inside a large flask. A tube runs from the flask to just above Ages' head. The fluid expands, forcing a single drop out of the tube. Ages deftly catches it in his bowl.

MR AGES Not to go outside...

MRS BRISBY But how long must...

MR AGES Three weeks. He cannot be moved for at least three weeks.

MRS BRISBY But Moving Day is nearly here!

MR AGES You asked my advice, and I gave it to you!

MRS BRISBY I'm sorry.

MR AGES He must stay in bed. Now, mix this powder in a broth and make him drink it. It'll bring down the fever.

Ages pours the contents of the bowl into an envelope and hands it to her.

MRS BRISBY Oh, bless you sir!

MR AGES And bless yourself, you'll need it. Now, you must excuse me, you know the way out.

MRS BRISBY Oh, of course.

Ages leads her to the door and hustles her through it.

MRS BRISBY Thank you once again.

MR AGES Shoo shoo shoo. Go on now. Go on.

MRS BRISBY Thank you so...

The door slams shut in her face.

MRS BRISBY ...much. Goodbye.

SCENE II:

Mrs Brisby runs home clutching the envelope to her chest. She enters a hollow log and stops. There's a disturbance at the other end. She climbs up through a hole in the top of the log, and approaches the sound from above. String is tangled in the branches at the far end. Mrs. Brisby peers over the end of the log, and sees a large black bird hanging upside down, tangled in the string and making frustrated noises. This is Jeremy the crow.

MRS BRISBY Is everything all right here?

JEREMY What the...Oh! Lady, don't sneak up on me like that!

MRS BRISBY I didn't mean to frighten you...

JEREMY [laughs] Oh, you didn't frighten me, I was just sort of...working out. You just broke my concentration, that's...

MRS BRISBY You look more like you're all tangled up.

JEREMY Er, yeah, I guess that's enough exercise for one day.

Jeremy pulls himself up to the top of the log and sits down.

JEREMY Besides, I'm really after this terrific string! I'm working on a love nest for two. You know what I mean?

Mrs. Brisby starts untangling one of Jeremy's feet.

MRS BRISBY Oh I see...you have a girl.

JEREMY Well, not really, I mean...I haven't found Miss Right yet. But when I do, [sings] the whole world will hear us singing.....

While singing, Jeremy leans back too far, loses his balance and falls off the log. We hear a SPLASH. Dripping, he pulls himself back up.

JEREMY Excuse me, pardon me.

MRS BRISBY Well, you keep making all that noise and Dragon will hear you. If he hasn't already.

JEREMY Wouldn't you sing too? I mean, if you felt... heh heh ... if you felt the call of the wild, but...

MRS BRISBY [loudly] I would...[lowers her voice] I would not, if I knew there was a cat nearby.

Mrs. Brisby bites through one of the strings.

JEREMY But...but SHE'S out there...somewhere...and when I find her I'll feel it, way down in my wishbone! I -- what cat?

MRS BRISBY Dragon! He belongs to Farmer Fitzgibbons. Look towards the house. See if you can see him.

Jeremy spreads his wings and flies up to a branch sticking straight up in the air. Mrs. Brisby, holding onto the strings entangling him, is pulled along after him. She swings at the end of the string down at the bottom of the branch.

MRS BRISBY [pulling on the string] Come back down here! He'll see you for sure up there!

JEREMY Hey, there's a cat out there!

MRS BRISBY Quiet! Does he see you?

JEREMY No. [pauses] Yes!

MRS BRISBY Stand perfectly still.

JEREMY [weakly] Everything's fine...he's headed right for us.

MRS BRISBY Don't panic! Fast or slow?

JEREMY Medium. Make that fast. Very f -- I have to go now! Excuse me, I really....

Panicking, Jeremy tries to flap away, but keeps getting more and more tangled in the string. Mrs. Brisby is caught up in the flailing string, and ends up swinging upside down by one foot. Finally, Jeremy pulls with all his might...

JEREMY Break!

...Mrs. Brisby jumps up and bites through the cord he's straining against, and he goes flying backward, nearly falls over the edge of the log again, then pulls himself up. They both look down inside the log and see something approaching quickly with a THUMPING noise.

JEREMY [weakly] Oh my goodness.

Jeremy SCREAMS and tries to take off again, but is pulled up short by the string. He falls back down and ends up swinging in front of the entrance to the log, barely missing a rabbit that runs out of the opening.

MRS BRISBY It's a rabbit!

Immediately Jeremy's panicked SCREAMING turns into LAUGHTER.

MRS BRISBY Well of all the silly nincompoops! You got yourself all worked up over a rabbit!

Mrs. Brisby bites through the string holding him up, and he falls to the bottom of the log.

JEREMY You should have seen yourself!

MRS BRISBY (OOV) Will you keep quiet?

JEREMY You were scared stiff! A rabbit! I knew it all along!

Unseen by Jeremy or Mrs. Brisby, Dragon creeps up on them from inside the log.

MRS BRISBY (OOV) Will you hush up?

JEREMY (OOV) Admit it! You were scared!

MRS BRISBY (OOV) Oh...fiddlesticks. Hold still.

JEREMY If I had actually been near a cat, I'd be sneezing my brains out. See, I'm allergic to ca...I'm allergic to caaaaa...I'm allergic to...mfffff...ah..ahhh-CHOOOOOO! I'm allerg...AHHH-CHOOOO!

Jeremy turns his head and SNEEZES right in Dragon's face.

JEREMY Excuse me, pardon me.

Dragon ROARS. Jeremy SCREAMS and tries to take off. Mrs. Brisby dives for cover. Jeremy again is brought up short by the string, so Mrs. Brisby leaps out and bites through it. He flies up into the sky, leaving Mrs. Brisby alone with Dragon. He climbs up to the top of the log. Mrs. Brisby runs for her medicine, then doubles back, ducking under Dragon as he pounces. He smashes the dead branch to bits. Mrs. Brisby suddenly trips over Jeremy's string, and drops the medicine. It falls down into the water. Mrs. Brisby runs after it, Dragon forgotten for the moment, and tries to reach it. From above her, Dragon ROARS again, and leaps. She jumps clear, into the water and tries to swim away from the cat. From above, Jeremy grabs the cat's tail and tries to hold him back. A chunk of Dragon's fur rips out. Dragon lunges for Mrs. Brisby.

JEREMY The string, quick! Grab the string!

Jeremy, trailing a length of string behind him, flies past Mrs. Brisby, Dragon right behind him. She grabs the string, and is pulled up into the branches of a tree. The string tangles in the branches, and she is knocked loose. Dragon leaps up the tree after her, chasing her out to the tip of a branch, overhanging a waterfall. She turns, sees Dragon leap toward her, and jumps backward, falling down into the water. Dragon follows as the branch snaps under his weight. The water is not deep, and he hits the bottom hard. Dragon decides he's had enough. Mrs. Brisby struggles with the pull of the waterfall for a moment, then breaks free and swims toward the waterwheel of the old mill, riding it up out of the water. A few moments later, Jeremy lands and enters the mill as well.

CUT TO:

Inside the mill, Mrs. Brisby sits CRYING.

JEREMY Hey, Miss Mouse, don't worry, I'm ok. [he WHISTLES to prove it] See? I'm alright.

MRS BRISBY That's not the reason I'm crying. I lost Timmy's medicine.

JEREMY Aw, don't cry. I hate to see a woman cry...Hey! Was I great, or was I great? Did you see that cat out there? All dripping, and...and wet.....with water....[his voice trails off]

MRS BRISBY I'll...go back to Mr. Ages tommorow, and....

JEREMY You weren't so bad yourself. Hey, we make a pretty good team! Oh, here, you dropped this back there.

He hands Mrs. Brisby the envelope of medicine. It takes a moment for it to register with her.

JEREMY Nobody messes with ol' Jeremy, boy. Nobody!

MRS BRISBY That's it! Timmy's medicine! Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!

JEREMY [distractedly] Huh? It i... what? It is? I mean, it is. Well, I saw it lying there, and I said uh......[remembers his manners] My name is Jeremy.

MRS BRISBY I'm Mrs. Brisby. Thanks again! I have to go home now.

JEREMY Uh, where's home?

MRS BRISBY In the garden patch, by the stone.

JEREMY Well....do you like me?

MRS BRISBY Of course I like you! Bye now.

Mrs. Brisby tugs on a rope to be sure it's secure, then slides down it into an old lobster trap lying on the ground.

JEREMY No! I mean...I mean, um....I mean, you don't think I'm clumsy or anything?

Jeremy loses his balance and falls through the hole that Mrs. Brisby just descended through, into the trap. Immediately, he gets tangles in the old netting.

JEREMY Oh...sorry. Excuse me, pardon me.

MRS BRISBY Oh. Well, if you're going to feather a nest, you've got a lot to learn about how to treat a lady!

JEREMY Right. When you're right, you're right. And you're right. None of the girls I meet want to get serious!

MRS BRISBY I doubt they'd survive.

JEREMY Huh? Maybe it's my approach. Say! You were a girl once! You could teach me how to...you know, how to.....

MRS BRISBY Behave yourself?

JEREMY I'm not that bad! I just need a few pointers to polish my style.

Jeremy tries to strike a pose, and falls flat on his face.

MRS BRISBY Jeremy, I have got to go home!

Jeremy follows Mrs. Brisby out of the mill, trying to shake a piece of netting off his foot.

JEREMY Well let me...Let me fly you home! We can talk on the way!

MRS BRISBY Oh, no thank you. I'm afraid of heights.

JEREMY OK, then we'll walk.

MRS BRISBY Bye now.

Mrs. Brisby crosses to the other side of the millpond, leaping nimbly from one lily pad to another. Jeremy follows, but the pads don't support his weight as easily, and he splashes across noisily.

JEREMY (OOV) I think I got real potential, I mean, girls go for the athletic type, don't they?

MRS BRISBY (OOV) Jeremy, you're stepping on my tail.

JEREMY (OOV) Oh! Oh, yeah! Excuse me, pardon me...

EPILOGUE

The Fitzgibbons farm the following morning. Two tanker trucks are parked in the front yard near the rosebush. At the Brisby home, the sound of children GIGGLING can be heard. The Brisby's are gathered outside the bedroom window, while Timothy is inside looking out. Teresa is wrapping bandages around her mother's hands.

TIMOTHY Momma, I'm tired of bed, I want to get up!

MRS BRISBY Well, you're not getting up.

Timothy sulks.

JEREMY (OOV) Miss Briz! Oh Briz! Where are ya?

MRS BRISBY Over here!

JEREMY Here it is! I brought the whole mess! [dumps a load of string] There's plenty more where this came from too, I got connections! Hey! Your house is moved! Oh no! What am I gonna do with all this string?

MRS BRISBY You'll think of something.

JEREMY [sighs heavily] Ah, what's the use? What's a guy like me going to do with a love nest anyway?

He turns and starts to walk away, head low. Then, from out of nowhere, another crow swoops down and crashes into his back, sending both of them sprawling into the tall grass.

JEREMY (OOV) Excuse me, pardon me

MISS RIGHT (OOV) Excuse me, pardon me.

CYNTHIA Look Mommy! Another turkey!

Cynthia creeps closer to the grass for a better look.

JEREMY (OOV) Stay right there.

Jeremy explodes out of the grass, sending Cynthia running for cover.

JEREMY Miss Briz! Miss Briz! Lemme have the sparkly! I gotta have the sparkly! Miss B, I gotta have it! Girls can't resist a sparkly, oh please! Pleeeeeeese!

MRS BRISBY I gave it to Justin.

JEREMY Justin? Who the heck is Justin?

MRS BRISBY The leader of the rats.

JEREMY The leader of the rats!? How could you do this to me? What'll I say? Mrs. B, what'll I do?

MRS BRISBY Well...just be, ummm...Be athletic!

JEREMY Ah! That's right! Athletic! I'll just be a little...AAUUGHHH!

Jeremy runs back and trips over Cynthia, vanishing back into the grasses. Male and female LAUGHING can be heard. Cynthia peers into the growth, and sees Jeremy and the female crow completely tangled in his string, and laughing their heads off.

TERESA Mother, did the rats really go to Thorn Valley?

MRS BRISBY Yes, they did.

MARTIN Will we ever see them?

MRS BRISBY Perhaps.

CYNTHIA Today!

MRS BRISBY [laughing] No...when you're older.

AUNTIE SHREW (OOV) Brisby!

TERESA Oh! Auntie Shrew!

CYNTHIA Oh Auntie!

MARTIN Oh no!

Still tied together, Jeremy and his new love fly out of the grasses, and up into the sky. They disappear into the distance.

THE END