Flushed Away (2006) User Reviews

Another smash from Aardman!

[Wolf30x · 8/10 · 4 November 2006]

Like a lot of film reviewers, I had a lot of reservations about this film when I first saw the trailer. At first I thought it was going to be just another hastily made CGI cartoon about edgy cartoon animals, filled with top 40 or dance songs and full of topical jokes. The fact that as I waited for the movie to start, half the trailers were for more CGI cartoons about edgy cartoon animals and the other half was for films about trash talking fairy tale characters.

Thankfully this movie was a blessed reprieve from all of that. In Flushed Away, Aardman studios has made yet another family classic that will still be as entertaining ten years from now as it is today. Granted, it's loaded with a lot of pop songs and oldies, but most of them are sung by a chorus of slugs (which makes for one of the best running gags I've seen in a while).

The story actually felt pretty fresh for a family movie, or any movie for that matter. While it's by no means unpredictable, it doesn't feel too much like it's treading over the same ground most family films seem to go over these days. The jokes were surprisingly clever too. While there's the usual slapstick humor, there's also plenty of highbrow jokes thrown in the mix. (How often do you find references to Kafka in an animated feature, after all?) What I liked best about this movie was that Aardman stayed true to its roots of making stop-motion films. My initial worry was that they had sold out and were going to just make CGI films from here on out like everybody else, but when you watch this film, you'll see that they do as much as possible to maintain the look of their other animated films like Chiken Run and Wallace & Gromit. Overall this is a great selection to take your family to see, and worth seeing even if you're a grown up too.

Just call me an English Fool

[bostonlatin · 8/10 · 5 November 2006]

The fact that I could be entertained by another one of these animated talking animal movies is a miracle. Is this number 1000 over the past 2 years? I just love English sarcasm, wit, dryness that strikes a chord in these old bones. The great news, nobody was in drag.

During the movie, there are inside English jokes that Americans may not understand such as "England loses on penalty kicks" which is a modern football tradition in the UK and the English love of knick knacks. The singing slugs don't do it for me but the kids liked them.

I highly recommend this movie even if you are sick of computer animated talking animals.

Flushed Away is far from crap

[bartrenethiel · 8/10 · 2 November 2006]

Flushed Away is the perfect marriage between the American Dreamworks and their crass sense of humor and the British Aardman and their dry sense of humor. Beside the obvious jokes about the sewer there's much to enjoy for the more sophisticated viewer. Like a cockroach reading FranzKafka's The Metamorphosis. The voice-cast is spot on: Ian McKellen as the evil genius The Toad is pure delight, Kate Winslet and Hugh Jackman are clearly having a blast giving their voices to rats Rita and Roddy. But the cream of the crop are the singing and screaming snails. When they sing at the top of their lungs Proud Mary you laugh so hard you have to check your underpants to see if you haven't had a little accident.

Hugely funny, technically brilliant

[Simonster · 24 October 2006]

I saw Flushed Away at a press screening in Berlin where it was shown in English to an overwhelmingly German audience. Leaving aside the clichés (Germans DO have a sense of humour - it's just different, okay?!), coming as yet another in a long line of CGI films and with (let's be honest here) a less than gripping concept, Flushed Away had only a certain amount of goodwill from this professional crowd. So when an audience like this, yours truly included, laughs aloud and often then there's something special up on the screen!

The humour is overwhelmingly English and there is none of the morality messaging that makes family films from certain other studios such a cringe-inducing experience. The characters are very well drawn (literally as well as figuratively) and the voice casting is universally excellent. The standard of animation is fantastic but you never once get the sense that anyone is showing off what they can do. This is a story- and character-driven film, with the technology there to serve. Anyone writing it off because it is not claymation is doing themselves a great disservice.

Lovers of Wallace & Gromit and Aardman's work in general will have a ball spotting the oh so many references. The level of detail is amazing and it's going to take many viewings and many hours with the DVD on pause to spot them all. There are the bunnies from Curse of the Wererabbit, for example. I spotted the Lion King on the little girl's windowsill, and so on. And on.

When a film credits several writers, plus comedy consultants, it's usually a sign that the script has gone horribly and tragically wrong. Maybe it did, to begin with, and the start is just a tad slow, but it soon picks up speed and the jokes, verbal and visual, just keep coming.

Like the best family films, Flushed Away appeals to audiences of all ages, but the very young might find it a bit long. Not that it lags at any time, merely that the wee tots might get fidgety, you understand.

The cast do a great job and I'm not going to single out anyone for special mention. The performances are spot on and everyone is obviously having a tongue in cheek good time. For professional reasons, I get to watch some 300 or more films a year. Flushed Away belongs to the very, very few that I wanted to see again right after it had finished. And before you ask, no, I am not being paid, induced or threatened at gunpoint to write this. I had a cracking good time, as did my girlfriend (Julia, German, with sense of humour) and you will too.

Fun movie, just leave the Ritalin at home.

[El-Cid-84 · 7/10 · 3 November 2006]

I have to admit that I went into this movie with the mixed expectations. I'm haven't been especially impressed with Dreamworks animations, minus "Over the Hedge" which I think is their first film that stands on its own two feet without relying on the popularity of previous animations or pop-culture references.

But enough on that, Flush Away was an enjoyable romp of animation. My only real complaint, is the pacing. The entire thing feels a roller coaster that you ride upside down -- with rotating seats. (Perhaps a contraption Aardman would come up with). The gags are amusing and some are very funny, but I need some breathing/laughing time between them.

Yet if your brain can handle the onslaught of information, you will be able to appreciate the extraordinary amount of creativity in terms of visuals and attention to detail. There's also plenty of adult innuendo and witty jabs at Europeans and Americans alike. Katzenburg's philosophy of making movies "for adults, and the adult in every child." is very evident here. The kids were rolling in the theater with all the slapstick, and the savvy adults had their own laugh track.

In this sense, the film is a success minus the ridiculous pacing. It's worth a look, just leave the Ritalin at home.

My favorite Aardman feature so far

[somf · 7/10 · 5 November 2006]

Wallace and Gromit are critics darlings. Chicken Run had great reviews as well. I liked all those animated films somewhat, but I never understood their appeal to the critics. To me they were just so-so. This film has not done as well with the critics. It retains somewhat the look of the aforementioned claymation that Aardman is so famous for, but as most people reading this are probably well aware, it is strictly computer animated fare. I truly enjoyed it more than the other films by the talented animators at Aardman. Not a lot more. I much preferred the Shrek films and The Incredibles for recent animated greats. But you could do a lot worse than spending 90 minutes with your kids in a theater watching Flushed Away. ( The film across the hall at my multiplex comes to mind as I really did not want to go watch Tim Allen in a Santa suit for a third time.) The slugs (or perhaps they were leeches) were my favorite characters in the film. I found myself laughing a lot at their antics, sound effects and musical talent. I had fun. Nothing great but a good deal of fun.

Witty and inventive!

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 27 March 2009]

Flushed Away is very entertaining. Sure, it isn't the best animation in the world, but there was a lot to enjoy. The animation in general is very good, but not as good as Ratatouille. The story was a little bit thin, and sometimes failed to engage. Most of the jokes were genuinely very funny, however it had a tendency to overshadow the story. The french frogs were also very funny, but my favourite were the singing slugs. They were so funny every time they appeared. The voice talents were fantastic, especially Ian Mckellan, a fine recovery after his mistake, Doogal. Hugh Jackman and Kate Winslet also brought a lot of much needed wit to their rather thankless characters. Bill Nighy and Shane Richie also delighted in brief but entertaining roles. The Tom Jones song over the end credits was nice to hear too. All in all, a witty and highly entertaining film. 7.5/10 Bethany Cox

Great movie

[sisubalan · 7/10 · 3 August 2022]

Glad that i gave it a second chance and i really enjoyed it compared to the first time watching it more than a decade ago. Really enjoyed the creative use of characters and plots. Great choices of songs, voice casts and characters design. Love this sewer world and wish i could see more. I get all the jokes unlike back when i was just a kid. Really recommended. One of the best from dreamworks.

Absolutely outstanding

[LennonBlake · 9/10 · 3 November 2006]

Flushed Away carries a weight of intellect with it not often found these days in American cinema and television. It's sharp-witted yet poignant and fresh at the same time.

I went in with the expectations of it being another animated film in an ocean of animated films, but I was pleasantly surprised and thoroughly entertained.

The message of the film is an ever-fading idea that isolation from each other is how we will become destroyed. The idea that one must go far, far beyond their comfort zone and any form of complacency to find what truly matters in life. The films treatment of this ideology, again, is brilliant in my opinion.

It has excellent writing, the animation is absolutely top notch, and the voice talent live up to their high dollar reputations. Everyone is outstanding in this film and it is a must see during the holidays.

Go see Flushed Away!!! Go now!!

Fun

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 3 November 2013]

Roddy (Hugh Jackman) is a high class mouse living in the lap of luxury. When sewer rat Sid gets in, Roddy gets flushed down to the sewers. There he meets Rita (Kate Winslet) working her scavenger boat. They are harassed by the henchmen of the Toad. Through Roddy's bumbling, they find Rita, her boat, and the ruby that she was trying to hide.

Aardman is trying a fully CGI feature film. It has the same feel and the same sensibility as their normal fare. If you like those, you'll like this one. The lead characters are likable, and the story has a lot of fun as long as you don't dwell on the fact that most of it takes place in the sewer.

Hollywood action mixed with Aardman humor doesn't go down smooth

[jeuneidiot · 5/10 · 24 March 2007]

This animated film about a rich but lonely rat named Roddy (Hugh Jackman) who gets flushed down the toilet by a sewer rat and ends up finding love and saving the rat world while trying to make his way back home had odd British and American flavors not completely weaved together. A collaboration of Aardman, who does the witty and very British Wallace and Gromit films and Dreamworks, which is about as Hollywood as they come came across as slightly uneven. Even Kate Winslet at Rita the rat or Jean Reno as Le Frog couldn't make this a superior Shrek-like film. The humor was either in-your-face potty (or slug, there's a whole singing slug thing going on) humor, they are in the sewer after all, or way over the head of the kids who would be attracted to this (the French jokes). An American Animated Action film with British wit, it tried and had a few stand out bits, but wasn't memorable in the end.

This movie is like trifle, made with jello cake. You've seen those lemon sponge cakes with the red and green splotches because it was make with red and green jello. It's set and stiff and kind of cold, but cakey too. Take this jello cake and throw it into a trifle with the pudding or syllabub and fruit, even the best fruit and you've got a heterogeneous trifle, partly British, partly American, sweet, but slightly odd and uninspiring. 5/10 http://blog.myspace.com/locoformovies

A Nutshell Review: Flushed Away

[DICK STEEL · 9/10 · 2 November 2006]

Hugh Jackman is everywhere these days, from reprising his iconic Wolverine role in summer blockbuster X3, to starring twice alongside Scarlett Johansson in Woody Allen's Scoop and Christopher Nolan's The Prestige, and now, just lending his voice to a lead character in the animated film Flushed Away, co-starring his summer blockbuster star Sir Ian McKellen. Soon to come will be Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain. Whew! There seems to be no stopping this Hollywood flavour of the month!

Despite this animated movie being yet another one of many based on talking animals, Flushed Away doesn't try too hard to be funny by steamrolling pop culture into the story. It just is funny with its deft touches, be it dialogue, slapstick, or various sight gags. Although it's set primarily in the sewers, it's beautiful chaos, with loads of little details all over that you'll probably need to watch it twice over to appreciate all the effort put in to create the computerized graphical sets.

At first glance, you might think you're watching a Wallace and Gromit animated show. Yes, this is produced by the same studio, Aardman Animations, in association with Dreamworks, and it is no wonder that the animation, although computer generated, maintained a very clay like look and feel, as well as character designs bearing similar resemblance in style to W&G.

The story is simple enough, yet adequately satisfying by the time the end credits roll. As the trailer suggested, Aristocratic rat pet Roddy from Kensington (Hugh Jackman) thought he just had the whole classy apartment to himself, when an unexpected guest Sid (Shane Richie) from the sewers gatecrashes into his abode, and ejects him through the "jacuzzi". All these in less than 10 minutes. So begins a mad journey in an unknown sewer world which replicated the modern London City above it with junk, where he has to figure out friend from foe, and find his way back to where he belongs.

The themes of family and friends do not come on too strongly, instead the story preferred to let the character interactions bring forth the messages. Supporting or interfering in his quest are characters like Rita (Kate Winslet), The Toad (Ian McKellen), French Le Frog (Jean Reno), and rat minions Whitey (Bill Nighy) and Spike (Andy Serkis). It's quite commendable that in its less than 90 minutes runtime, it allowed for quite a bit of set action pieces to develop, along with almost laugh-a-minute lines of dialogue, a good mix of songs (Hugh sings!) and ooh, a diabolical plot.

But what perhaps is the show stealer, are the sewer slugs. Ever popping up and performing at the right time, I'm sure they are crowd favourites despite their less than pleasant looking exterior. I wonder if they do sell the soft toy version, as it should be quite hilarious.

If too many animated flicks left this year has left you jaded with the genre, Flushed Away just flushes away the competition. Worth checking out on the big screen!

Well animated, nice plot, fun movie.

[TOMNEL · 7/10 · 11 November 2006]

Stars: Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Bill Nygh, Jean Reno.

Aardman animation has a reputation for making great movies and shorts (Wallace and Grommit, Chicken Run) and this movie was no exception. I found this to be a good movie, especially for children. It's about a pet rat Roddy getting flushed down the toilet while trying to rid the house of a sewer rat. When down in the sewer he finds a huge town and meets a girl and feels a bit less lonely. He gets caught trying to get back to his house, in a wild adventure with a mean toad and his henchmen. This movie didn't really have much of a plot, and many of the gags got annoying, but kids will enjoy it and adults will tolerate it. The kids will find the singing slugs funny, while the adults marvel over the excellently animated sewer mouse town.

My rating: *** out of ****. 81 mins. PG for crude humor.

A real stinker that belongs in the sewers.

[BA_Harrison · 2/10 · 5 January 2008]

Flushed Away sees Wallace and Gromit creators Aardman Animation (in cohorts with Dreamworks) making the transition from plasticene stop-motion to CGI in order to tell the tale of Roddy, a pampered pet rat who struggles to cope with sewer life after being flushed down a toilet.

Unfortunately, although the plasticene quirkiness of Nick Park's style is digitally emulated to some degree of success, the film is ultimately let down by a weak plot, charmless characters, a rushed approach to the storytelling, and a distinct lack of decent laughs. Even the singing slugs, the best things in the film, aren't entirely original, being highly reminiscent of the three musical mice from Babe.

The comedy mainly consists of toilet humour and visual gags, with references to many other films thrown in for good measure, but everything is so scatter-shot that much of these jokes will be missed on the first (and probably only, if the viewer has any sense) viewing.

Considering Flushed Away has come from the combined talents that gave us the brilliant Curse Of The Wererabbit and the mighty Shrek, one can only come away feeling very disappointed indeed.

Smile Away

[Chrysanthepop · 4 September 2007]

I've always enjoyed those Aardman animations. The characters look very similar to those seen in Aardman's 'Curious Creatures'. However, here instead of using the 3d models (claymation), computer graphics have been applied. Even though the story isn't something people take away home, 'Flushed Away' has its own charm and the British humour stands out thanks to the smart and witty character(ization)s and smart dialogue and becomes a cleverly significant part of the screenplay. The screenplay is extremely fast paced such that if you miss a minute, you'll be lost. The character formation is remarkable. Both worlds are created with great attention to detail. I particularly liked the wonderful way the underground world was created. The voice actors form a one-of-a-kind fantastic ensemble and do nothing short of a great job. This is one film that i think will get better with repeated viewing. At least I can bet that you'll smile away for the most part. A great movie for kids. Heck, why only kids?

A dull central character hurts a film filled with great asides and one liners

[dbborroughs · 6/10 · 24 November 2006]

Beautiful pieces never hang together in this tale of a family pet who ends up in the sewer when a rat from the street turns the tables on him and flushes him down the toilet. This is the first Aardman piece that I really don't care for. Certainly I will watch it again to see if I'm wrong, but for the most part this film didn't work for me. Its not that the film is bad, as such, its not, its just that Hugh Jackman's lead is rather a dull fellow. From the moment his owners left him home alone and he began to occupy himself in the big house all alone I was lost. There was no reason for me to care about him or his world. That changes to some degree once he gets into the sewer which holds a vast number of visual an aural wonders to behold. From a mini version of London to slugs that sing to spoofs and one liners this film is all about the throwaways (many of which are real gems). As a group of loosely connect bits its more than fine, unfortunately there is nothing to hold the bits together and as a result the film falls apart. Worth a look for Aardman fans and for those are undemanding in their cartoons.

Best animated film this year!!

[TheEdge-4 · 7/10 · 2 December 2006]

Aardman Animations are best known for Creature Comforts and, of course, Wallace and Gromit. After they joined forces with DreamWorks to produce features films, they came up with Chicken Run and last year's Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. And now we have their first CGI animated film, Flushed Away. Well it isn't as good as The Curse of the Were-Rabbit: It's better. Much as I liked the inventiveness which Nick Park has brought to Wallace and Gromit, the Curse of the Were-Rabbit dragged in a few places, despite its short running time. It seems as Wallace and Gromit are best suited to a short film rather than a full-length feature.

Flushed Away, however, does not make that mistake. All the visual inventiveness and Aardman "look" are all present and correct but aided by a script by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais amongst others which means better lines and better gags. Toilet humour is almost a given considering the location of the story but crudity is kept to a minimum and this is definitely a film the whole family can enjoy, with adults and children able to find different things in it to enjoy. Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen and Jean Reno give good voice and the whole thing zips by as quick as a flash. And despite the U.S. money and the fact it was made in L.A., it's a refreshing change to see a CGI film that has an English slant on things and clearly made by English people rather than an American's quaint and outdated view of England.

And wisely, the result of the England v Germany World Cup Final, against the background of which the finale is set, sees England beaten on penalties. Quite right too. I'm prepared to accept talking rats and dancing frogs and a miniature city in the sewers but England beating Germany in the World Cup Final? Some things stretch credibility just that bit too far.

It's a shame the critics have been so negative about this film. Aardman isn't just Wallace and Gromit and whilst this may not look as technically polished as Pixar's films, this is as easily as entertaining as the best of them. So ignore the bad reviews and go and see this for yourself. I think you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

Generally fun

[kitejan · 7/10 · 5 January 2007]

Went to see this with my 8 year old daughter - and generally I enjoyed it. I wouldn't say it was the best film I saw and (for CGI films) not on the level of Shrek (for nasty humor :-) ) or the Pixar films (for depth and stuff). However it was just good fun.

Both me and daughter really liked the scenes with the slugs and the french frogs. The animation is fine - nothing out this world - but does often look like the traditional Wallace & Gromit style which is nice. Again the story is pretty standard but its more the relationship between the characters which carries the film (along with how the city inhabitants have rebuilt London out of bits and pieces).

From daughters comments I guess we will end up of the DVD of this in time (something that didn't happen with both "Over the Hedge" and "Open Season") so it's a nice film.

This "Flush" is not crap

[Gidget3200 · 7/10 · 3 December 2006]

*i wrote this for my university's newspaper, so bare with the format, please!

This past year has been big for animated movies. Hits like "Cars" and "Open Season" have been box office successes. So what exactly do directors like David Bowers and Sam Fell consider while trying to make "Flushed Away" stand out? For starters, it helps having a creative and original plot. And whether or not Bowers and Fell actually thought about gearing this movie directly towards kids, they were clever enough to add jokes that can be enjoyed by adults.

Hugh Jackman voices Roddy, a sophisticated mouse who lives as a pet to an upper-class family in a Kensington neighborhood. When a sewer rat named Sid comes out of the sink, he immediately becomes keen on the lifestyle Roddy lives. In attempt to get Sid back to his home, his plan backfires and Roddy finds himself in the sewers. It seems there is a whole other world, which Roddy was never aware of, living in the sewers. Desperate to get back home, Roddy meets Rita (Kate Winslet), a scavenger who agrees to get him home in exchange for some of his families' (well, owners') jewels. Little does anybody know that this "city's" fate is doomed, as the villainous Toad (Ian McKellen) plans to unleash a wall that will leave the entire metropolis flooded. And since Rita has taken the wire needed to do so, she and Roddy are forced to take a detour on their way up top, to avoid running into Whitey (Bill Nighy) and Spike (Andy Sarkis), employees of the Toad. After seeing this "city" where rats live freely, and witnessing Rita with her family, Roddy feels lonely and questions whether he belongs on top.

"Flushed" is a creative and well-written animated film. A film well suited for every age, I will admit that I laughed on more than one occasion. With a cast whose voices were both playful and energetic, they were easily able to charm the audience with their witty one-liners. In fact, "Cars" may have some competition come time of the Oscars. Although I question the mad rush of animated films, "Flushed Away" is one that is definitely worthwhile.

A sure knock out!

[Joejoesan · 8/10 · 24 October 2006]

Being the creators and producers of both Chicken Run and the Wallace & Gromit series, people should expect a lot from the talents of the Aardman company. Luckily, again they succeed in making a great movie with their first computer animated flick Flushed Away.

The story is about a spoiled rat named Roddy (Hugh Jackman). He leads a save life as the pet of an upper class English girl. When the family is away on holiday Roddy gets flushed in the toilet and suddenly finds himself in the sewer. There he discovers a giant city filled with rats and a cruel frog boss called Toad. In an attempt to get back home Roddy enlists the help from the female shipper Rita. But she gets him into more trouble when she accidentally steals an import item from Toad. It doesn't take long before both Roddy and Rita are wanted by the whole frog mob…

When movies like Cars or Over the Hedge get more and more photo realistic, Flushed Away puts an emphasis on fun and visual comedy. From the first screen second you know that you're looking at a different kind of movie. This is England, not America. Here they play soccer and not football. The movie starts at a fast pace and never lets go. The opening scene, in which Roddy plays with the toys in the house, is so funny that you get scared that the makers will not run out of bright ideas too soon. But one shouldn't worry. Most of the visual ideas are absolutely brilliant. Just take a look at rat city, which is made of microwaves, phone boots and washing machines. You should watch the movie at least twice to see it all. Of course there are a lot of reverences to other movies (James Bond, Finding Nemo and even Terminator 2) but those moments don't play a mayor part in the movie. The story is fresh and funny and leads to a nice finale involving an important soccer match.

What makes Flushed Away succeed for sure are all the great characters. Toad (Ian McKellen) is a great and funny villain, the always likable Kate Winslet is a strong heroin, Bill Nighy has great moments as Toad's bodyguard Whitey and Jean Reno plays a very laughable French hit-man. But Flushed Away really is carried by Hugh Jackman, who's great performance makes you both laugh and cry. He is both the spoiled nerd as well as the over polite butler. He gets heroic if he must and even carries a great tune singing Tom Jones songs. Actually there are a lot of songs in this movie. Usually that's a thing that I don't like in CGI movies, but in Flushed Away it just works out fine. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that most of the singing was done by maggots…

Because of all the scenes with water Flushed Away couldn't have been done with clay animation alone. So don't be fooled by the combination Aardman and computers. Flushed Away is a sure knock out!

Original, but there's something I Didn't like...

[solidgameboy12-1 · 7/10 · 18 November 2006]

Aardman, the company that created Chicken Run, and Wallace and Gromit, comes with a new film, which is bursting with originality and clever ideas all around, but with some lagging humor and a few overplayed jokes, it doesn't quite feel the same as when it was clay.

The story is about a rodent named Roddy (Hugh Jackman) who finds that when the cats are away, the mice will play, and having fun has never been so good, until a fat rat Sid (Shane Richie) intrudes, and sends Roddy flushed away. Now that Roddy has experienced the good life, he learns how down and dirty the world beneath him is, and falls accidentally into a plot with a female rodent Rita (Kate Winslet) an evil Toad (Sir Ian Mckellen) and a journey home that will prove to be difficult, but friendship will lead the way.

The movie is all in all fantastic, it's simple, easy to look at and overall fun. The voice acting by all the cast doesn't make them seem like a bunch of no talent voice actors that are often heard today. It's just the right length of time, so you won't be glancing at your watch, because your eyes will be lifted to the screen.

However, there were somethings I didn't care for. For one, a lot of jokes in the movie are mostly aimed at adults, the other kind of jokes are those that are aimed for children, and it's mostly chaotic and often painful scenes (I.E. midsection groin smashes, smashes against objects, Etc.) and it's okay, but there's too many of them, but consider it the idea of Fart jokes in American Cartoons to these, The smashes are much funnier.

Children under the age of 5 will not find humor or amusement in the movie, A number of kids in the movie were making noises, running through the aisle, and talking. I'm not referring to all of them, but majorities probably won't find this very fun.

If there is one other thing I didn't care for much was the modern music in the film, which is large leap from their original, mostly composed music pieces. In the film, there are slugs, and the slugs sing. I thought the music was good, but it annoyed me that a lot of the music was somewhat almost forced into the movie, and sometimes it work, but others were just annoying.

In short, the movie is okay, but Rental is much more worth it, avoid theater viewing.

Aardman proves that they can make a mediocre film instead of their usual stellar products.

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 12 June 2019]

Despite "Flushed Away" being a film from Aardman (the makers of "Wallace and Grommit"), this is NOT a stop-motion picture. According to IMDB, the water was difficult to animate using stop-motion and CGI seemed like a better bet. However, when seen now in 2019, the CGI now looks very dated....whereas stop-motion would have held up better.

When this film debuted, it did not perform well in theaters and lost money for Aardman. This might indicate that others were not exactly enthralled by the CGI...or the story itself of a rat crawling through sewers wasn't exactly something folks wanted to see. Or, more likely, the film cost an astronomical 149,000,000 to make and even if the film did okay at the box office, it was going to lose money. I assume most of this huge budget was to pay for the big-name voice actors.

When the story begins, a family leaves for a trip...and soon the family pet, a rat named Roddy (Hugh Jackman), runs amok in the house. Ultimately, he ends up going on a big adventure involving some ruby and a host of baddies...in the sewers! How he got there and what occurs....you'll have to see it for yourself.

So is it any good? It's fair and far from one of Aardman's best. I think a lot of it is because the main character lacks the endearing qualities of many of the studio's leading characters. The rat simply isn't particularly cute nor do you care much about him or his plight.

Super cute!

[rfarra4100 · 8/10 · 31 October 2006]

This film didn't sound appealing to me when I first heard about it; a rat society living in the underground waterways of England wasn't my idea of an interesting movie. But, I was invited to see a screening of it recently, and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised after seeing it! This film is different, exciting, adventurous, and fun to watch! I liked Rita (Kate Winslet) the best, but that's if I had to choose one character. Roddy (Hugh Jackman) was the star though. The little slugs singing on the side are cute in their own way too. The underlying message of how important family and friends are is well done. It's great for the whole family!

Aardman delivers, again

[LazySod · 7/10 · 11 December 2006]

Aardman Studios is back with another humorous animation flick. This time not the clay puppets that everybody got used to, but with a fully computer animated film. But, do not despair, the animation is done in such way that it still looks like clay puppets.

The story then. It all starts as Roddy, an upper class rat, ends up in the sewers under London. From there things start rolling, and rolling quickly in an adventure that will lead Roddy onto a new path in life. And what passes in the mean time? The stuff we have grown to expect from Aardman - fast paced action, brilliant facial expressions, jokes with words, expressions, strange characters and all.

It didn't have me rocking in my seat all the way through as Wallace & Gromm-it and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit did, but it wasn't bad, not bad at all. So, Aardman delivers, again.

7 out of 10 rats flushed through the toilet

A real pain to watch for the grown-ups

[blacktim · 2/10 · 9 December 2006]

Ultimately too silly and pointless. Yes there is the gilded cage metaphor but probably most kids would miss that. Forgettable. Instantly.

Animation is, as we have come to expect, super-real. The plot-line could best be described as thin but tenacious. Although the ending seemed arbitrary to me.

The sewer underworld is a suitably disgusting reflection of the world above and, somehow, wealth and money seem to count for a lot there too. Oh yes, and there's a romantic interest with the female being the smarter, more savvy and go-getting of the pair - this in itself is rapidly becoming a tiresome (anti) stereotype. Probably your kids will love it though.