In a message posted December 22nd in the "Ask Us" section of donbluth.com, Don Bluth and Gary Goldman revealed that a "Special Edition" DVD of The Secret of NIMH is forthcoming, and gave some details regarding the "extras" (which are still being worked on) ...
Message: I recently watched the DVD of The Secret of NIMH, and noticed a lot of scratches and blurry sections in the transfer. Are there any plans whatsoever to have the film restored in any way? I loved it as a child and hope that it doesn't deteriorate any more than it apparently has. Reply: David, Thank you for writing. Actually, we just completed a re-mastering of the film for a new DVD which will be coming out next year. If all goes according to the marketing plan, it will feature an HDTV 16X9 version, a 1:1.85 letterbox version and a full screen version. It will have all the minutia, including negative dirt and scratches removed. We are doing a producer/director's commentary and on camera interviews for the "extras" in about two weeks. When we know the release date of , we will post it on the homepage of this site. Right now, we believe it will be in March or April. The new master looks beautiful! MGM/UA is releasing it thru 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Regards.
If the DVD is released in 2007, it comes just in time for the film's 25th anniversary!
This was the film which transformed my life in 1982 (when I was 12 years old), setting me on the path toward working in the animation field. You better bet I am ecstatic!
Last edited by droosan on January 3rd, 2007, 2:01 am, edited 2 times in total.
Wonderful news! The Secret of NIMH has to be my favorite Don Bluth film of all time -- it never ceases to amaze me, and even more so now that it will finally be released on a special edition DVD.
I knew this was on the cards after the Anastasia SE did quite well for Fox and they then started distributing MGM content.
If you've noticed, Fox has been quietly re-issuing their very first vanilla catalog releases in very dandy collector's editions, and have just started doing the same for their MGM pick-ups, so this was only a matter of time.
Lovely that this very special film will be getting justice served to us in a deluxe edition - perhaps Fox will finally be urged to put out Banjo on DVD too, perhaps as a bonus to NIMH?
After all, that was the short that got them the funding...
I just bought this DVD this past year. Ah well... at least it was only $7.50 at Walmart. Perhaps this special edition will have passable cover art too? *prays*
Good on the DVD contents, but this is an animation title from FOX we're talking about - unless they let Bluth have a say on the art (oh, please use the original "dark" poster!), then we'll get some sappy image that looks like the NIMH 2 cover!
Don Bluth and Gary Goldman are the greatest living animated film makers (John Lasseter is a close second) and it makes me happy that their debut will finally get a proper release. I'm hoping that it will sell well enough for Universal to follow the leader and release proper special editions of American Tail and Land Before Time (the good one, before they did all those terrible sequels).
The Official Lugofilm Ltd Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/bartsimpson83
I guess we're all in the same boat. 
