Other Connections

Trivia

• Based on the novel "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien. In the film however, the main character is named Mrs. Brisby due to avoid legal concerns with Wham-O, the makers of the Frisbee (Aurora Productions contacted during the film's production to waiver the same sounding name, but Wham-O rejected it). By the time this happened, the voice work was already done and since it wasn't feasible for the cast to come in and re-record the dialogue (and because John Carradine wasn't unavailable for further recordings), the sound editors carefully sliced the "br" (from other words spoken by the case) into the "fr" on the magnetic dialogue tracks (all by hand).
• Reportedly, the film rights were offered to Disney in 1972, but turned it down for being too dark. Awkwardly, the film was made by former Disney animators Don Bluth, John Pomeroy, and Gary Goldman left the studio to pursue the project with 20 additional animators soon followed (and all dubbed "The Disney Defectors" by the trade press). The film eventually became the largest non-Disney animated movie at the time of its release.
• Jerry Goldsmith's first animated movie score.
• Feature film debuts of Shannon Doherty (who recorded her lines wearing a bow similar to her character in the film, Teresa) and Wil Wheaton.
• Final film of actress Elizabeth Hartman.

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