Films like The Secret of NIMH.

The Secret of NIMH (1982) reads as Neutral, kinetic, measured animation / family, inventive in texture. Ambivalent, mid-stakes, measured. Every film below is ranked by distance across the same twelve hand-scored axes — with what it keeps, and where it walks away. Not a genre dump.

Galaxy Express 999 (1979) poster
1. Galaxy Express 9991979

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the documentary-plain realism — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Phoenix 2772 (1980) poster
2. Phoenix 27721980

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the documentary-plain realism — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Legend (1985) (1985) poster
3. Legend1985

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the documentary-plain realism — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Adieu Galaxy Express 999 (1981) poster
4. Adieu Galaxy Express 9991981

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the documentary-plain realism; trades toward a unmistakable directorial hand.

Princess Mononoke (1997) poster
5. Princess Mononoke1997

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the documentary-plain realism — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

To the Stars by Hard Ways (1981) poster
6. To the Stars by Hard Ways1981

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the documentary-plain realism; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

The Last Unicorn (1982) (1982) poster
7. The Last Unicorn1982

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the documentary-plain realism; trades toward a strange, dreamlike logic.

Arion (1986) poster
8. Arion1986

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the documentary-plain realism; trades toward a unmistakable directorial hand.

The Swordsman (1990) poster
9. The Swordsman1990

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the unmistakable directorial hand; trades toward a relentless forward drive.

Green Snake (1993) poster
10. Green Snake1993

Keeps the documentary-plain realism and the unmistakable directorial hand — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

The Flight of Dragons (1982) (1982) poster
11. The Flight of Dragons1982

Keeps the documentary-plain realism and the patient, unhurried pace; trades toward a cold, bleak undertow.

Batman (1989) poster
12. Batman1989

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the unmistakable directorial hand; trades toward a chilly detachment.

These are The Secret of NIMH’s neighbours — where are yours?

Rate five posters and the same twelve axes read you — then tonight’s pick comes from your own centre of taste.

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