Flushed Away (2006)

FLUSHED AWAY (2006) is an adventure tale about a pet rat from a posh London neighborhood who is flushed out of his home and into the sewers, where he discovers a thriving rat city.Hugh Jackman voices Roddy, the rat from "up top" who doesn't realize how lonely he is until he gets a taste of life in the outside world. Kate Winslet voices Rita the sewer rat, a street-smart woman-of-action who captains a ship and hunts for treasure to support her poor family. Roddy hopes Rita can help him get home, but his bumbling gets her into trouble with the sinister Toad (voiced deliciously by Sir Ian McKellen).FLUSHED AWAY is a film from the British-based Aardman Studios (of Wallace & Gromit fame). Released through Dreamworks Animation, it is a rare foray for Aardman into the realm of feature-length computer animation, which is stylized to approximate the studio's signature stop-motion aesthetic (particularly with the staccato mouth movements).The animation in the opening scene at Roddy's house seems well below the industry standard, surprisingly poor for a major studio release in 2006, but the film looks better once the action moves to the sewers.Any shortcomings in the animation are easily overlooked because the film is so creative and so much fun. The movie is packed with visual gags and a wonderful sense of comedy. It's a rather unique story, full of delightful quirks. The Toad is a riot and his French cousin Le Frog (Jean Reno) and his team of scuba suit-wearing henchfrogs are hilarious. (The mime gag is comedic genius.) The singing slugs provide well-timed comic relief, and are much funnier (in an oddball way) than the popular comic relief minions of DESPICABLE ME (2010).Very much a British film, the action is set in London around the hoopla of the soccer World Cup. The Toad has a collection of Royal Family memorabilia and even has a tragic personal history with Prince Charles. The filmmakers also have fun with cultural stereotypes, spoofing American tourists as well as Frenchmen, Italians, etc. (as seen through British eyes).And for a movie about toilets and sewers, the script tries to go easy on the really gross stuff. The full implications of the premise are glossed over to make for a more stomachable film, though there are a couple gross-out gags that the filmmakers couldn't pass up.With so many wonderful characters (in addition to those mentioned, Andy Serkis and an almost unrecognizable Bill Nighy voice the Toad's odd couple rat henchmen to hilarious effect), some truly great character animation (the Toad and the bouncy frogs in particular), such a brilliant sense of humor, and an adventure story that is both exciting and full of heart, FLUSHED AWAY is an entertaining flick. Its creativity, especially in the creation of the rat city (built out of miniature odds and ends from the human world above) and the sewer civilization of anthropomorphic critters, is impressive. It's nice to see a film that's not derivative, and one that's so much fun.6.5/10

I saw this in the cinema when it first came out and I enjoyed it more than I did the trailer, which was funny but the film had more to it. Re-visiting this film today for the first time in a few years, I watched it in a different way than I ever did before by pointing out how London was represented as an underground sewer city (one of the key ideas of my London-in-film university assignment) and some patriotic elements.The animation here is not quite as exceptional as that in other Dreamworks (the 'Madagascar' and 'Shrek' franchise) and Aardman ('Wallace and Gromit,' 'Chicken Run') productions what with the odd jerky character movement and lip-sync but I liked how the characters were modelled to resemble those from the likes of 'Wallace and Gromit' and 'Creature Comforts.' The underground sewer replica of London was the most creative background but I also liked the view from the Thames as Roddy and Rita floated above it with the London Eye intact. My favourite characters are Roddy, Sid, Rita, the Toad, Le Frog and the amusing singing slugs, all of which are well-voiced by their respective cast members. The film has some clever links such as the opening shots of Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Piccadilly Circus and Tower Bridge connecting to their underground sewer replicas and Rita's grandmother's love of Tom Jones leading to 'What's New Pussycat?' being played over the closing credits. In addition to 'What's New Pussycat?,' other highlights of the soundtrack were 'Dancing By Myself' by Billy Idol and Generation X, the backing track of Jet's 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl?' that plays as Roddy makes his way to the sewer, 'Bohemian Like You' by Dandy Warhols and, of course, the brief musical numbers by the singing slugs, especially 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' and 'Mr Lonely.' I also enjoyed spotting the pop culture references to James Bond (Roddy watching a fictional Bond-style movie called 'Die Again Tomorrow'), 'Finding Nemo' (the fish asking Roddy if he's seen his dad) and 'Mary Poppins' (a female rat selling fly food in a similar manner to the bird lady).Overall, this may not be Dreamworks's or Aardman's best but it has an original story, a suitable title, some clever links, a rocking soundtrack and some funny moments. 8/10.

Beautiful animation. Loads of great secondary characters and engaging details. Non-stop visual humour of the highest order. I quite fell in love with Rita.It's all spoiled a bit by the protagonist Roddy - who seems to be modelled on the jejune, generic, wise-ass protagonists in '80s American teen flicks and TV. If they'd pushed that angle, to the point of making his character an over the top parody of Michael J. Fox, at the nadir of his entire career singing rock and roll in Back to the Future, it would have added to the film. Rita would have been a far more engaging central character. Instead, they've bottled out - doubtless a decision made for commercial reasons, but a bit disappointing from Aardman.

It is so "adult" in the sense of mature comedy, but you need to know what the references refer to. Those slugs are just adorable, but they're not like real slugs. It's so great, from the French frogs (don't miss the cellphone picture), to the tadpoles in jars who want everything, to the (Irish) siblings dancing on the boat, to all the inhabitants of the sewer city and all the inside jokes. When I first saw Roddy's closet, I knew this would be a spectacular movie. Maybe the best joke was "Millicent Bystander" -- I say it all the time! I wonder why there is no voice information on the DVD box. Were they all ashamed of the film? It's just one laugh after another and the drawings are wonderful! One of the best of all time.