From ScreenRant:
The Secret Of Nihm (1982)
Many fans of this Don Bluth classic might be shocked to know that the movie was very loosely based on an old novel from the 1970s by Robert C. O’Brien. The story is about a family of mice who live near a farm and struggle to survive. One day, Timothy, one of the children, becomes sick and delays their plans. On the advice of a mysterious owl, the family asks for help from escaped lab rats from “NIMH.”
This movie was Don Bluth’s first-ever feature film and is a cult classic amongst old school animation fans. The Secret of NIMH sets the tone for Don Bluth’s solo projects going forward. Audiences knew they could expect amazingly high-quality animation as well as darker story elements within Don Bluth’s movies. They were beautifully made dark fantasy movies and could be enjoyed by both kids and adults alike.
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs
Considered by many to be one of the best animated movies produced by Sony, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs was based on a 1978 novel by Judi Barret, with illustrations by her then-husband, Ron Barrett. Of course, the only thing the movie really adapts from the book is the part about food falling from the sky. Otherwise, they go completely off the rails with the premise.
The story is set in a town called Swallow Falls, where Flint Lockwood, a mad scientist, invents a machine that converts water into any type of food. When Sam Sparks covers this story, he finally gets the respect he had never had before. However, the machine soon grows unstable, and it’s a race against time (not thyme, please) to fix everything. The movie is remembered very fondly thanks to its incredibly zany visuals as well as absurd and over-the-top humor, totally deserving of its Certified Fresh on RottenTomatoes.
Link to the rest at ScreenRant
If you haven’t read the book version of Cloudy with a chance of meatballs, you are missing out, no matter how old you are. The story of the good residents of ChewAndSwallow always delivers. Very highly recommended.
It’s one of the kids books we’re keeping, even though the “kids” are now teenagers 🙂
Just found out today that there are two sequels!
The link appears to be broken.
No link there, actually. Link to it at ScreenRant.
Simple search by article title. Not that I am going to read it, when the writer is sloppy enough to call the movie “The Secret of Nihm.” It wouldn’t add to my knowledge, in any case – four out of the ten were books I had bought for my children, and the rest I knew anyway.