Disney’s The Lion King 1 1/2 came to DVD and video 20 years ago today. I was originally going to talk about that here, since it’s actually a really funny movie, but then I realized I missed a far more important film anniversary from last year. And I can’t believe I did that. Because on December 20th, 1998, the greatest sequel of all time was released on VHS, and I failed to commemorate its 25th birthday. So, time to make up for it.

The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue–aka The Secret of NIMH 2: Yes, They Seriously Called it “Timmy to the Rescue”–is a follow-up to Don Bluth’s 1982 feature film debut. It tells the story of Timmy, who is destined to come to the rescue someday according to a prophecy. He grows up being told he will one day be a hero, which makes his brother Martin jealous. Anyway, the crow from the first movie is back, and so is Mrs. Brisby, the mother mouse, but I think she says only like four lines. Or maybe it’s just three. Flash forward a couple of years, and Timmy is a young adult, and he meets a female mouse who has mouse boobs. I have to assume the director must have told the animators “make sure you give her mouse boobs” when they were designing the character.

Now, if you saw the first Secret of NIMH, you know that “NIMH” is a lab that experimented on rodents and accidentally caused them to have human intelligence. Well, they’re back for…revenge? And they’re now run by mad scientists? And they’ve kidnapped many of Timmy’s mouse friends! Who could be behind it? SPOILER ALERT FOR THE GREATEST PLOT TWIST OF ALL TIME: it turns out the mastermind behind everything is Martin. You know, Timmy’s brother who I mentioned a little while ago. He has taken over NIMH by giving all of the humans the brains of dogs, for reasons, and now he wants for Timmy to join him. And he has an army of pigeons. Also, he sounds like Eric Idle. And he sings a song.

Now it’s possible you’re wondering “why the hell does this movie even exist?” After all, while The Secret of NIMH has developed a very loyal fanbase over the years, it hasn’t really achieved what would be called mainstream success. In fact, it was more or less a box office failure, grossing only $11 million (for those keeping score, The Black Cauldron made more money. The Black Cauldron, people!). So why make a sequel? Well, the answer is obvious: CINEMA! This story about Timmy coming to the rescue to stop his insane British brother just HAD to be told. It was just THAT important. The mouse boobs, the songs, the rescue! It’s mind-blowing! I know, I know, the original Secret of NIMH was “atmospheric” and “scary” and silly things like that, but the sequel fortunately exchanges all of that for, well, EVIL MARTIN! And at the end of the day, that’s really all it needed to have. EVIL MARTIN!

Also, the movie did have a soundtrack album, because “Just Say YES!” was everyone’s jam in 1998…

Have a great night, y’all! Also, who would win in a fight: Evil Martin or Ruber?