The Secret of NIHM quotes

View Quote Beth: Dear, a man came by today, from NIMH.
Farmer Fitzgibbons: [sleepily] NIMH?
Beth: Yes, the National Institute of Mental Health.
[Closes window shade, rats come running with an electric cable] Beth: He was asking if we had noticed anything strange about the rats on the farm. Well, I said "No, nothing unusual".
Farmer Fitzgibbon: Beth, I have to get up early.
Beth: Oh, it gave me goosebumps to hear him carry on that WAY! Like the rats might have some horrible disease!
Farmer Fitzgibbon: [to Beth] Good night, Beth!
Beth: I told him you'd call him back.
Farmer Fitzgibbon: [yawns] Uh-huh.
Beth: Yea. Right.
[BUZZ! The rats plug the cable into the bush and the lights flicker through the night]

View Quote Jenner: Hear me! The Thorn Valley plan is the aspiration of idiots and dreamers! We...! [Laughs] We were just talking about you.
Justin: That's refreshing, Jenner. Usually you're screaming about us.

View Quote Jeremy: [after splashing in water] Excuse me. Pardon me. [coughs]
Mrs. Brisby: You keep making all that noise and Dragon will hear you, if he hasn't already.
Jeremy: Wouldn't you sing too, I mean... [flapping his wings and drying himself off] if you felt... [laughs] if you felt the call of the wild?
Mrs. Brisby: I would- [lowers her voice] I would not, if I knew there was a cat nearby. [snapping string with teeth and setting Jeremy's claw free]
Jeremy: But she's out there somewhere, and when I find her, I'll feel it, way down in my wishbone. I-- What cat?

View Quote Justin: It was you! You did it! You killed Nicodemus. That was no accident!
Jenner: Yes! I killed him. He wanted to destroy everything! I've learned this much: take what you can...when you can!
Justin: Then you've learned nothing!

View Quote Sally Stevens: ♪ Dream by night ♪♪ Wish by day ♪♪ Love begins this way. ♪♪ Night's a friend ♪♪ With love to send ♪♪ Each new day. ♪♪ Bless you heart ♪♪ Bless you soul ♪♪ Let your dreams come true. ♪♪ Future songs and flying dreams ♪♪ Wait for you. ♪♪ Love it seems ♪♪ Made flying dreams ♪♪ So hearts could soar. ♪♪ Heaven sent ♪♪ These wings were meant ♪♪ To prove once more ♪♪ That love is the key. ♪
Cynthia: [to Mrs. Brisby] Is Timmy gonna die?
Mrs. Brisby: [responding] No, sweetheart. He's just very sick.
Teresa: What's the matter with him, mother?
Mrs. Brisby: Mr. Ages called it "Pneumonia."
Teresa: "Pneumonia"?
Cynthia: When will he get better?
Mrs. Brisby: Soon. I hope.
Sally Stevens: ♪ As you wish ♪♪ As you will ♪♪ Dream a flying start ♪♪ Love and care ♪♪ The power's there ♪♪ Trust your heart ♪♪ Trust your heart ♪
Mrs. Brisby: [to Martin, Teresa and Cynthia] Off to bed with you now.

View Quote Teresa: [long after Auntie Shrew has gone] What are you doing here?
Jeremy: It's a good question, but don't ask. The legs. The legs! The legs! [collapses with a thud]
Cynthia: [mournfully, coming up to Jeremy's beak] Oh, the poor turkey fell down!

View Quote Timmy: [from inside his room] Mommy, I'm tired of bed. I want to get up.
Mrs. Brisby: [responding from outside] Well, you're not getting up.

View Quote [As Nicodemus and Mrs. Brisby leave]
Sullivan: I don't get it.
Jenner: [snickering] With Nicodemus out of the way, what's to stop us from taking over?
Sullivan: Jenner, you can't kill Nicodemus.
Jenner: No taste for blood, huh? [flicks Sullivan on the nose] They've taken the animal out of you.
Sullivan: What if we're discovered?
Jenner: Listen. The Brisby house is a large cement block. In the moving, what if it should fall?
Sullivan: An accident?
Jenner: Of course! Cut the lines, and the weight of it will crush his bones.
Sullivan: It's risky.
Jenner: Once rid of Nicodemus, the plan will die. We can stay here as long as we like.
Sullivan: What about Justin?
Jenner: Leave him to me... [echoing] to me... to me...

View Quote [inside a derelict tractor]
Mrs. Brisby: Mr. Ages? Mr. Ages? Is anybody home?
Mr. Ages: Go away!
Mrs. Brisby: Mr. Ages!
Mr. Ages: What is it?
Mrs. Brisby: Mr. Ages, may I please speak to you?
Mr. Ages: What?
Mrs. Brisby: I said, "May I please speak..." [Mr. Ages appears, coughing behind Mrs. Brisby] [shocked gasp] "...with you?" Oh, thank goodness. I'm so glad you're home.
Mr. Ages: 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'm sorry about your husband's death. Now if you'd excuse me.
Mrs. Brisby: Mr. Ages!
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--
[a sudden explosion shatters the tractor, sending Mr. Ages down in a basket. Mrs. Brisby comes over to him as he nears the basket.]
Mr. Ages: Ma-- [coughs] Madam, that is an emergency.
Mrs. Brisby: [worried] 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: [interrupts; more worried] No! No, he's sick with a fever.
Mr. Ages: Well, I suppose I could fix up something.
Mrs. Brisby: Oh, thank you.
Mr. Ages: Follow me, but don't touch anything. Understand?

View Quote [Mr. Ages is grabbed from behind by a disguised rat while guiding Mrs. Brisby through the rose bush]
Rat: Reveal thy name...
Mr. Ages: [Recognizes the rat's voice; annoyed] Justin! You featherhead! Get your hands off me!
Justin: Okay, okay! Just a joke! I didn't mean any harm. The meeting's already in progress.
Mr. Ages: What's this all about?
Justin: [Gestures at Mrs. Brisby] Who, may I ask?
Mr. Ages: Oh, yes. She can be trusted. This is no stranger. [To Mrs. Brisby] My dear, may I present Justin, the Captain of the Guard. Justin, this is Mrs. Brisby.
Justin: [Amazed] Not Mrs. Jonathan Brisby?
Mr. Ages: Yes, the same.
Justin: [Takes off his hat and bows] It is an honor and a privilege, m'lady.
Mr. Ages: If we could dispense with the formalities?

View Quote [Mrs. Brisby is riding in a boat with Nicodemus and Justin when a rock falls, barely missing them]
Justin: That was close.
Mrs. Brisby: What's up there?
Justin: The mill. It's falling apart. I hope it stays up there...at least until we're done with The Plan.
Mrs. Brisby: "The Plan"? What is "The Plan"?
Nicodemus: Why, to live without stealing, of course.
Justin: It's wrong to take electricity from the farmer.
Nicodemus: [To Mrs. Brisby] My child, we can no longer live as rats. We know too much.

View Quote [Twice during the film]
Auntie Shrew: Brisby!

View Quote [after lighting a candle] 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. [While writing words in a book] Jonathan was a dear friend. I am lost in knowing how to help his widow. She knows nothing of us or the plan. [Reloading ink for fountain pen] Perhaps best that I do nothing at present. [As he quickly writes signature] I shall miss him. [Holding and looking at amulet] Jonathan, wherever you are, your thoughts must comfort her tonight. She’ll be waiting, and you will not return. [as he puts away amulet in a case, closing it] Farewell, my friend.

View Quote [mesmerized by the amulet] A sparkly!

View Quote [repeated line] Excuse me. Pardon me.