Trivia / The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue

• All-Star Cast: The film has an impressive cast, (though Dom De Luise and Arthur Malet aside, few are taken from the original). Ralph Macchio voices Timmy, Eric Idle plays Evil Martin, William H. Macy plays Justin, Debi Mae West plays Mrs. Brisby, and Kevin Michael Richardson is Brutus. Phillip Glasser briefly voices the reformed Martin at the end; he voiced Fievel from An American Tail when he was younger. Hynden Walch voices Jenny. Even Auntie Shrew is voiced by Doris Roberts of Everybody Loves Raymond fame.
• B-Team Sequel: The film was made without involvement from the creative mind behind The Secret of NIMH, Don Bluth.
• Creator Backlash: In the years since its release, at least one person to work on the film, Paul Dale, went on Facebook to pan both the animation and the story. He called the film "crap" when recalling his experience with it.
• Creator Killer: This DTV sequel's infamous reception and the critical failure of MGM's Tom Sawyer cartoon electrocuted their animation arm.
• Disowned Adaptation: Don Bluth, who did not work on The Secret of NIMH II, made it clear at a convention appearance that he hates it, along with all of the other direct to video sequels to his films. He also mocked the hypocrisy of MGM, given they had previously claimed the first film hadn't been profitable enough.
• The Other Darrin: Almost everybody from the first film that reappears in this one has new voice actors. Jeremy and Mr. Ages are the only characters from the first film that retain their original voice actors.
  • Ms. Brisby (in the handful of lines she gets) is voiced by Debi Mae West. This is justified, as Brisby's original actress, Elizabeth Hartman, committed suicide in 1987.
  • Justin was voiced by Peter Strauss in the original film, while William H. Macy voices him in the sequel.
• Role Reprise: Dom Deluise and Arthur Malet reprise their roles as Jeremy the Crow and Mr. Ages respectively. Sadly for Mr. Malet, it was also his final film role before he retired from acting.
• Sequel Gap: 16 years between the original and the sequel.
• What Could Have Been: MGM actually asked Don Bluth Studios to work on the sequel, but due to heavy development on Anastasia, it had to be turned down. Bluth had actually spoken of early story ideas in which Timmy and Martin would play hero and villain, albeit in reversed roles from the final product.

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