On Sept. 13, 1979, Don Bluth led a band of fellow artists out of Walt Disney studios. Almost three years and $7 million later, the result of their exodus can be seen on the wide screen.
The MGM-United Artists release is called The Secret of NIMH and its similarity to the classic Disney animated features is more than coincidental. Bluth, Gary Goldman, John Pomeroy and the other 14 defectors vowed to carry on the Walt Disney traditions that they felt were being stifled at the studio Disney had founded.
Don Bluth Productions started in Bluth's garage and still operates in modest circumstances -- the headquarters is a building behind a savings and loan in Studio City. The atmosphere is more confident now than it was when NIMH was in its early stages. The company has now completed its first feature and has already embarked on another.
Bluth was in a state of high anticipation as the NIMH openings approached. That's unusual for a man who is normally under total control.
"We proved we could make a feature on schedule and on budget," he said. "Now we hope producers and exhibitors will be convinced there is a future for animation. They will be -- if our picture makes money."
The Secret of NIMH is based on a Robert O'Brien book about Mrs. Frisby, a resourceful mouse who tries to keep her family together and seeks help from a number of forest animals, including a superintelligent cadre of rats.
The animation and effects are top grade, as are the voices -- Dom DeLuise, Elizabeth Hartman, John Carradine, Peter Strauss, Derek Jacobi, Hermione Baddeley.
Bluth said that he had learned much as leader of his own band of artists.
"First of all, the value of story," he said. "I bought five or six how-to books and learned all about plot points and paradigms -- the rise-and-fall action of the story. I also realized that we needed a comic and a villain. We turned Jeremy the crow into a comedian; the villain came late, one of the rats.
"The second thing I learned was how to get along with people," Bluth said. Bluth provided incentive for co-operation. He cut in all of the staff -- 140 at full production -- for a share of the profits.
The Secret of NIMH is a rarity this summer: a G-rated movie. Most producers seek to avoid the G. Not Bluth.