Live Action ‘Rats of NIMH’ Adaptation Lands Director

I’ve got a lot of feelings about the upcoming live action/ CGI adaptation of “Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH” (and it’s original animated adaptation: The Secret of NIMH, directed by Don Bluth in 1982). Both the book and the movie were favorites of mine as a child. To see the story being prepped for another remake has me concerned. In instances like this, I always fall back on the question: Will it add something new and retain at least the same quality as the version that came before it? That’s exactly the question that tends to make me worry about advancements in CGI that make something look cool today, but campy and outdated in three years. Don Bluth’s animation is timeless and the film will have the same visual impact in 20 years as it did when it came out in 82.

Today, Variety is reporting the James Madigan has been picked to tackle directing duties on the film, and that it will be his first outing as a director. On the upside, he’s a VFX man. That gives me at least a little relief as to the care he’ll take with the look of the mice. Some of his previous VFX work includes The upcoming Jason Statham thriller Meg, HBO’s Rome, Iron Man 2, and The Da Vinci Code.